The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge.
We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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July 7, 2018
Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest
Our excursions out to the offshore waters in our boat always reveal beautiful moments of nature, and often surprises too. This trip was no exception.
Before even getting onto the boat, the lone bufflehead bobbing in the bay was a hint as to the BIG surprise we saw later. *
Pootling past Hall Island, we kept 200 yards off, as this is bird nesting season. Cormorants and gulls are intensely focused on incubation and protecting their eggs from aerial predators. Quite a cacophony! I didn’t see any chicks, but that’s not too surprising yet.
Our usual route takes us around Whale Rocks, tidal currents permitting, to see the wildlife on the rocks themselves and in the nearby kelp beds. There’s an ebb and flow of animals there, varying with the seasons. For example in winter a huge flock of Brandt’s cormorants arrives, using south Whale Rock as home base for the season. There are no Brandt’s around right now — I didn’t expect to see them, and I didn’t. They are off at their breeding sites on the open ocean coastline.
This being midsummer, I did expect to see Harbor seals hauled out on the Rocks. We’re into pupping season, and I was on the lookout for any “big one and a little one”s. Didn’t see any but it’s hard to see them on shore; in the water the mom and pup pairs are very obvious.
The reason I expected to see seals on the Rock is because the Steller sea lions who occupy it from September to May return to their breeding rookeries on the Oregon and BC coastline in summer, freeing up this valuable real estate. Sea lions are vastly bigger than seals, and will dominate choice haulout sites — and the Whale Rocks site is one of the most attractive in the Salish Sea. For one thing, these rocks are large enough to accommodate the 100 or so sea lions who regularly spend the winter here. Stellers are extremely social, preferring to rest together at one haulout. The other reason this site is attractive to pinnipeds is its location in the pathway of swift turbulent currents, productive waters with lots of prey.
So imagine my surprise when we came around the corner and saw sea lions on the Rock!
There were about 20 of them, all crowded together on one corner.
This is the first summer any Stellers sealions have declined to make the journey back to their rookeries.
Why didn’t they depart? Well, in doing a bit of reading I discovered that as many as 45% do not return to rookeries (North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium). Only a few bulls can successfully establish and defend breeding territories, and female sea lions do not mate every year, since their pups remain with them up to 3 years before weaning. I guess not everybody is interested in breeding or the rookery scene.
I briefly considered the possibility this might be a new rookery, but seeing several bulls in this peaceful group means it’s not. Rookeries have a lot of fighting and posturing and birthing and mating. These sea lions were sleeping, including one bull, who nearly fills the frame of the photo below. Juveniles and even full grown females are much smaller than adult males. These sea lions go out fishing mostly at night, and generally kick back during the daytime.
The Rocks may now be a full time haulout. The number of sealions has been increasing here since they first appeared about 20 years ago, and they are evidently finding enough to eat. Stellers, like seals, are opportunistic hunters, eating whatever fish are around and cephalopods (oceana.org/...). These sea lions will be competing with the resident harbor seals in summer as well as winter now. Who knows how that will sort out in future.
It had been over a month since we'd last been out in the boat, and I figured the sea lions would be long gone. It was quite a surprise to find a few still here. I’m reminded once again that while it’s not always eventful when we go out into nature (it’s not like a National Geographic video), you can be certain you won’t see cool things if you don’t go out.
So,
What’s up in your natural neighborhood today?
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* The Bufflehead connection? Buffies are strictly winter ducks, and migrate north in to spend the summer by mountain streams, where they breed. This particular Buffie is the first I’ve ever seen in summer, he stayed behind for some reason. I hope he’s ok. Appears healthy enough.