On May 8th a group gathered at Cowichan Bay for the last Coastal Waterbird Survey until September. The Waterbirds were scare – apart from Double Crested Cormorants and Glaucous- winged gulls, we only observed a few Bufflehead and one female Common Merganser. The resident Mute Swans graced us with their presence. Great Blue Herons were…
Hi Guys On Sunday I was sat at my window with my daughter Sally and Irene when one of the few Purple Finch we have coming landed on one of my wooden props which I use for taking pictures. It was very obvious that this female Purple Finch was not well. I have taking down…
One of the most welcome signs of Spring is the chorus of frogs. If you are lucky enough to have a wetland area near where you live, you will know what I mean. The tiny Pacific Tree Frog (also called the Pacific Chorus Frog) is the one most common to me. The Scientific name for…
Here we are in January of 2022! My last Blog was months ago and I cannot offer a good excuse for my silence. Members of the Cowichan Valley Naturalists continue to be involved in Citizen Science Projects: Bird Surveys; Invasive Plant removal; Planting of Native plants and Fish Forage sampling for some examples. In cooperation…
It has been a while since I have written anything here. Who knows where the time goes? The long dry summer seemed to cause me to draw into my shell. Now we have had some rain, although I am still hoping for more. I do love this time of year – so much colour and…
Starlings are an introduced species. It seems they have taken to demolition of Purple Martin Nest boxes! Willie Harvie captured this photo recently at Cowichan Estuary. Look carefully and you will see a nail flying through the air.
The recent, record-breaking heat-wave, described as a heat dome, caused shocking devastation on some many fronts. Our Violet-Green Swallows abandoned their nest. We watched four adults swirling around in front of the birdhouse on one of the hot afternoons and then they were gone. I knew that no young had fledged as I had been…
It was nearing 21:45h on June 20th. Steve and I were visiting Bruce and Adele with several other friends. The sun had set behind Mount Prevost an hour earlier. Adele disappeared and then I heard her call, Gail, come here quickly! Through the twilight, I spotted her sitting on a beautiful old wooden bench at…
Thanks, again to Kerry Finley for the following delightful account – including a bird and a tree – a perfect story for a Nature Blog! Also thanks to Mike Yip for the photos of the male and female Grosbeaks. Mike’s latest book: “a beginner’s guide to the common VANCOUVER ISLAND BIRDS” is one I am…
I am enjoying visits from a pair of Violet Green Swallows as they perch on our deck railing above their nest box. Their presence always makes me smile and I hope the aerial insect population is healthy this year. Therefore it was timely when this came into my inbox recently. Thanks to Kerry (kj finley)…
Thank you Katharine Staiger for this photo of mating Sphinx moths (Smerinthus ophthaimica) found on a peony in their garden. This is likely one of the largest moths that can be found in the Cowichan Valley. I am guessing the large one is the female, measuring about two inches. The hind wings, which have the…
Bruce Coates and his friend Dan have been keeping an eye on this Common Bushtit’s nest. These little balls of feathers with long tails build the most distinctive nests in this region. The Common Bushtit is a delight to watch when they swoop down on a suet feeder in the winter. A whole flock of…
If you were walking along a sandy beach and saw this, what would you think? This is what a couple of friends of mine discovered some years ago. After photographing this, they went closer and discovered the answer: It seems that herring not only have a lot of vertebrate predators (including us!); they also have…
I am happy to tell you about another way to help children experience nature. Thanks to Jim Wisnia for writing about this: The Eric Marshall Memorial Bursary Fund will make bursaries available for children to attend nature and science day camps at the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre as noted in Amy Clinton-Baker’s article in the…
It is bird nesting season in the Cowichan Valley. The Spotted Towhee appears on the Cowichan Valley Naturalists’ brochure: Thanks, again, to Willie Harvie for sending me this photo. Gail