Tag Archives: humpback whale

Home Sweet Home

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I’m back for two weeks and so grateful that its during my favourite month to be at Race Rocks!

The weather today started off a little stormy and then the sun came out and never left. The water was glassy and I lost count of how many humpbacks I saw. They were in and out of the reserve all day long, it was incredible!

Tons of sea lions, and even one lone elephant seal hanging down on the rocks. She is tagged L334 and this is the third time I’ve seen her here which is super fun! It’s like I get to watch them grow up.

Not too many repairs needed on the fence today but did have a few spots were a couple California sea lions managed to sneak through.

I’m keeping a close eye out for the little sea lion we disentangled last October and hoping he shows up again!

No island visitors today but it sounds like the next week or so will be busy and fun!

Vessels:
Ecotourism: 15
Private: 1

Sept. 19, 2025 – Animal Census Day

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Luckily for me it was a clear morning for the day of my first animal census. With coffee and binos in hand I headed up to the top of the lighthouse tower and began the count of every seal, sea lion, whale, and bird in sight… needless to say it took me much longer than expected! The sun was quickly heating up the tower and by the time I was finished counting the hundreds of sea lions, beads of sweat were dripping down my brow. Despite the heat, it was plenty worth the effort as I spotted some interesting animals – most notably, a Northern Fur seal! This little fellow was hiding in amongst the Cali’s and Stellers on the East corner of the island, not making many friends as it was crawling overtop the sea lion’s bodies and getting consistently yelled and snapped at.

Animal Census Report:

* Note the animal census was time limited to the morning only. Due to bright sun & shadows, cormorants were not distinguished by species.

Mammals:

  • Steller sea lion: 371
  • California sea lion: 906
  • Harbour seal: 89
  • Northern Fur seal: 1
  • Humpback Whales: 6

Birds:

  • Glaucus-winged Gull: 201
  • California Gull: 1
  • Western Gull: 6
  • Cormorant Spp: 701
  • Black Turnstones: 8
  • Surfbird: 14
  • Savanah’s Sparrow: 1
  • Western Sandpiper: 1

Facility work:

It was a busy day trying to fit in all my tasks on top of the animal census, as I was leaving the island for the weekend. Thankfully Richard was patient with me trying to get packed to go last minute.

  • Electric fence repairs – corner post on jetty snapped and got replaced.
  • Cleaned solar panels
  • Water sampled – just in time!
  • Batteries filled (early as I would be away on Saturday)
  • Animal census
  • Compost and tidying of house

Weather:

  • Sky: Mainly clear and sunny
  • Wind: 5-10kts
  • Sea state: calm
  • Air temp: 23C

I was sad to be leaving for any time at all, given the excitement of the animal census. Thankfully, Bella and the students were incoming to keep an eye on the place in my absence. I’ll be back to it Monday morning!

 

Sept. 16, 2025 – First Day Onsite was a Delight

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I arrived onsite around 1pm with Greg & Richard for my first shift as a new Eco Guardian. Bella greeted us at the jetty along with many hauled out sea lions. It was a quick orientation through the sites and tasks, then getting settled in while testing was being done on the water maker. Once finished up for the day and left alone on the island I decided to take my dinner up the lighthouse tower to enjoy my first sunset at Race Rocks. What a delight to finally be here!

Wildlife

The sea lions are in full force, and so are the whales. Blows all around the island, but a few humpbacks tucked in close to the North-east end and towards North Rocks.

Facility work

  • Facilities and site orientation
  • Testing and work on the water maker by Greg and Richard – still not in working order
  • Re-filled water in batteries
  • Took water sample at jetty
  • Switched out empty propane on main house for full tank
  • Moved into the Main House

Weather Sunny and calm in the afternoon

Vessels Call from Seascape on radio for a quick hello. Some whale watching vessels in the afternoon.

August 19

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Wildlife Notes:

  • As I was doing my breakfast dishes, I was delighted to see two humpbacks on the south side of the ecological reserve. I watched them from the back porch and witnessed two breaches, but I was too slow on the camera.

Facility work:

  • The generator ran automatically for 7 hours due to not getting a full charge yesterday.
  • Checked the battery fluid levels and topped up distilled water.
  • Cleaned the windows.
  • Topped up the diesel tanks in the energy building.

Visitors:

  • Two visitors, Michael and Andrew, arrived in kayaks this morning to have a tour of the island. I have known them for many years through the outdoor industry. Andrew taught me how to sea kayak in 2006 when I worked at MEC Victoria. A couple years ago, Michael taught a sea kayak instructor course to me and my outdoor education colleagues. I enjoyed catching up and showing them around this amazing island.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 20
  •  Private: 8 (including two kayaks)

Weather:

  • Sky: partly cloudy
  • Wind: variable 2-20 knots
  • Sea: rippled
  • Air temperature: low 13 °C, high 18 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.5 °C

Photos from today:

6*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

August 14

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Wildlife Notes:

  • A couple of humpback whales passed through the northern and eastern side of the ecological reserve this afternoon. At 14:30, I saw a spout just beyond the North Rocks and watched as the whales swam south. I heard over the radio from the ecotour boats that there appeared to be a mother and calf. I was surprised to see several sea lions swimming around the humpbacks. Most likely the sea lions were feeding on the fish that were being stirred up by the big whales.
  • Early this afternoon, I noticed a Steller sea lion that had hauled out on the boat ramp beside the jetty. The sea lion did not move when I walked near it several times to fix the electric fence at the end of the jetty. It also wasn’t breathing, so I suspected it had died at some point overnight or this morning. I checked on it at this evening’s high tide at 19:30, by which point the sea lion’s mouth and nose were just under the water, but there didn’t appear to be enough tide to take it out. I reported it to the DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) BC Marine Mammal Response Network, in case they want to check it out. Fortunately, I did not notice any signs of trauma on the animal from what I could see on the top. It had some battle scars on its back like most of the male sea lions and elephant seals I see. I am fairly sure it’s a male that is not mature, based on the thicker neck but not bulk of the fully mature males.

Facility work:

  • Fix parts of the electric fence that were breached by party animal California sea lions. One made a foul mess at the end of the jetty that I washed away with many buckets of sea water. Any excuse to use a bucket on a rope to pull up seawater.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 13
  •  Private: 2

Weather:

  • Sky: partly cloudy
  • Wind: variable directions 0-30 knots
  • Sea: riippled
  • Air temperature: low 12 °C, high 15 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11/2°C

Photos from today:

*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

August 7

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Wildlife Notes:

  • Orcas and humpback whales were south and east of the ecological reserve throughout the day. I did not get any photos, but enjoyed catching occasional glimpses of them through the binoculars.

Facility work:

  • I replaced the hand winch on the boat cradle. The old winch was getting rusty and the strap was beginning to fray. I also tested all the electronics on the boat and motor while it was tied to the jetty.

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 18
  •  Private: 4

Weather:

  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: West 15-30 knots
  • Sea: rippled in morning, up to 2′ chop in afternoon
  • Air temperature: low 13 °C, high 17 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.1°C

Photos from today:

*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

August 4

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Wildlife Notes:

There were many humpbacks to the south of the ecological reserve again today. They were too far away to get any decent photos even with the 400mm lens.

The population of the California sea lions is increasing by a few each day. I woke up this morning to their barks in the east bay.

Facility work:

  • Clean the 44 solar panels
  • Check the electrical systems on the station boat
  • General tidying around the island’s buildings

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 19
  •  Private: 5

Weather:

  • Sky: Partly cloudy
  • Wind: West 15-26 knots
  • Sea: 2′ to 3′ chop
  • Air temperature: low 12 °C, high 17 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.7°C

Photos from today:

*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

August 3

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Wildlife Notes:

There were many humpback whales seen throughout the day to the south of the ecological reserve. They did not come close enough to this rock for any great photos. Although that did not stop me from trying. Many ecotourism boats spent time out there observing and must have got excellent photos from their vantage.

Three California sea lions have landed on the main island. This advanced team marks the beginning of the takeover that will last into the fall and winter, when several hundred of them will sleep, bark, and attempt to occupy any surface. The Californians have not always been the best neighbours at Race Rocks when it comes to the human built infrastructure. So far these three have been respectful and keeping to the perimeter.

A few times today, I saw a very small and fast bird flying around the middle of the tower. I wonder if it is living in the currently malfunctioning foghorn sensor nearby where I caught glimpses of the quick bird. Coast Guard technicians are planning to visit next week to do maintenance on their equipment like the foghorn. I will keep looking out with binoculars for the fast flyer. Hopefully the bird is actually living in the recently installed nesting boxes attached to a post above the ecoguardian’s back porch.

Facility work:

  • Run generator in the evening to top up the batteries after not getting enough solar energy on the mostly cloudy day
  • Clean windows in the lantern room so I can better spy on marine mammals
  • Clean ecoguardian’s house windows so I do not have to look out through guano

Vessels:

  •  Ecotourism: 20
  •  Private: 1

Weather:

  • Sky: Cloudy in morning with some sunny patches in the afternoon and evening
  • Wind: west 16-29 knots
  • Sea: 1′ to 2′ chop
  • Air temperature: low 12 °C, high 16 °C
  • Seawater temperature at max flood: 11.5 °C

Photos from today:

*All wildlife photos are taken at the furthest distance possible, and may be cropped to improve detail.

Last Day!

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That week flew by – I am heading home tomorrow and my time spent here was amazing as always! 

 

Vessels:

  • 1 Private 

Facility Work:

  • Filled generator with diesel
  • Cleaned main house windows 
  • Hauled up logs for firewood 
  • Cleaned house/prepped for next Ecoguardians

High Tides and Logs Galore

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Over the past few days I’ve noticed how many logs and driftwood seem to be out in the ocean this time of year. I’ve heard its significantly worse than previous years but thankfully not too much has been accumulating at the jetty (as I’ve been told it can). Until today. 

Yesterday afternoon there were a few small bits of driftwood/logs but nothing out of the ordinary, however the tides and wind must have been combined in all the right (or maybe wrong) ways over night. This morning when I woke up there was enough logs and debris around the jetty to open up my own lumber mill. I’ve never seen anything like it. For the better part of the day the waves have been crashing directly into the jetty making it impossible for any of it to be pushed out. In the afternoon I pulled a few of the reachable logs up to use for future firewood but it barely made a dent in whats there. Hopefully some of it gets pushed out tonight! 

The fur seal has not shown up again, so I guess he was just passing by, although I’m hopeful we’ll see him again one day! Ollie is still around and a few humpbacks are passing by each day. 

I haven’t seen the entangled sea lions today, but the Cali was around yesterday and the Steller the day before. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 2

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes 
  • Cleaned/organized inside main house 
  • Hauled in logs for firewood