BC Swallow Conservation Project Plight of the …...Tiny Technology - Mapping Marten Movement BC...

Tiny Technology - Mapping Marten Movement

BC Swallow Conservation Project

www.bcnature.ca • Winter 2014 • Vol. 52 No. 4 • ISSN 0228-8824

“Know nature and keep it worth knowing”

The Magazine of BC Nature

Plight of the Eagles

BCnature Winter 2014

BcnatureVolume 52 No. 4

In This Issue: Objectives of BC Nature (Federation of BC Naturalists)

• To provide naturalists and natural history clubs of BC with a unified voice on con ser va tion and environmental issues.• To foster an awareness, appreciation and un der stand ing of our natural environment, that it may be wisely used and main tained for fu ture gen er a tions.• To encourage the formation and cooperation of nat u ral his to ry clubs through out BC.• To provide a means of communication be tween nat u ral ists in BC.

2

Cover Photo: Tufted Puffin on Triangle IslandPhotograph : Catherine Jardine

BCnature is printed on 100 percent recycled stock

Feature articles and Editorials are the sole responsibility of their au thors. Opinions expressed therein are not nec es sar i ly those of BC Nature.

In association with the Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia, BC Nature's home office is located at the Heritage Centre in Mount Seymour Provincial Park. Please visit Elders Council website http://www.elderscouncilforparks.org/

Color Version of BCnature is available online www.bcnature.ca

Regular columns:Editorial.........................................................................3Letters to the Editor...................................................... 4Presidents Report - Climbing onto the Rock................5Natural Mistakes............................................................6Book Review.. ..............................................................26The Last Word..............................................................31Spotlight on BC Nature Club......................................32Features:AGM 2015 - Salt Spring Island......................................7Trans Mountain Expansion Update..............................7Tatlayko Lake Camp.......................................................8Tofino Camp..................................................................8Report on FGM 2014 - Shuswap...................................9Status of Heerman's Gull.............................................10ELC Update..................................................................11BC Naturalists' Foundation .........................................12A Call to Naturalists.....................................................12All Buffleheads Day......................................................13Getting to know Garry Oaks........................................14Not-so-scary World of Birdwatching.............................15Fox Sparrow..................................................................16Elders Council Summer Recap....................................17Mummy Berry...............................................................18Dispatches from Triangle Island...................................19BC Swallow Conservation Project...............................21Squamish Eagle Watch Gala........................................22YNC Update.................................................................23Kitimat Naturalists Update..........................................23Plight of the Eagles - An urban Tale............................25Tiny Technology: Mapping marten Movement...........27A Butterfly Park for the Gulf Island............................28Christmas Bird Count..................................................31Notices:Dates to Remember......................................................12AGM 2015 Schedule....................................................29AGM 2015 Registration...............................................30

BCnature magazine is published quarterly byBC Nature - Cir cu la tion 5,400

Editorial Team: Penelope Edwards - [email protected] Betty Davison - [email protected] John SpragueWebsite: www.bcnature.caBC Nature Office - [email protected]: Mark Angelo - [email protected]

We welcome your articles, photos and let ters. Please email your articles-photos-thoughts to the office. BC Nature reserves the right to edit submissions for length, style and clarity. For advertising rates, and cut-off dates, please email the office.

BC Nature - Heritage Centre, 1620 Mount Seymour Rd.

North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9 Tel: 604-985-3057

Photo: B. Davison

Conditions for Fungal viewing were great in October!

BCnature Winter 2014 3

The Making of RiverBlue By Mark Angelo

Editorial

Mark Angelo reflects on the highly anticipated film

that took him and his crew on an unprecedented world-wide adven-ture; one that set out to film great rivers in an effort to protect them, but in the process, uncovered the dark underside of the global fash-ion industry.

I’ve had a love for rivers ever since I was a boy and, as a river advocate and paddler for almost five decades, I’ve often thought about working on a feature length, global river documentary. And while I’ve written extensively about rivers and have been part of many television produc-tions over my career, my day-to-day river-related work simply didn’t allow the time needed to undertake a film.

But all that changed in 2011 when I retired from my posi-tion with the Rivers Institute at the British Columbia Insti-tute of Technology. Around that same time, along with pro-ducer Roger Williams, I had just completed work on a Global BC television special entitled "Water for Life," which turned out to be a very successful and highly rated program. We then started talking about an appropriate follow-up and the idea of a movie suddenly became a very viable option.

When talking about how we might approach such an endeavour, I felt an important key was to find a way to con-vey the river conservation message, in a relatable way, to a much broader audience. In terms of my own experience, I’ve been fortunate to have paddled on close to a thousand rivers spanning well over 100 countries. These trips have provided a wealth of great memories for both myself and my family, but I’ve also seen enough to make me fearful of what lies ahead for all waterways. Clearly, clean water and healthy rivers are becoming increasingly scarce commodities to the point where, I believe, the proper care of rivers, and water resources in general, is our planet’s most pressing environmental chal-lenge. Consequently, to the greatest extent possible, I wanted our film to be an agent for positive change.

We embarked on the filming of RiverBlue in the summer of 2012 with an initial plan of documenting the state of many of the world’s best known rivers in the hope of better protect-ing them in the end. Virtually all the rivers we chose to travel to were waterways I had paddled in past decades – so I was anxious to see if things had changed for the better, or worse.

As our trip went along, our journey soon became an around-the-world adventure by river; an incredibly ambi-tious undertaking that, in many ways, was unprecedented. Looking back, there were times when we were inspired by improvements that had taken place on some rivers - but there were far more examples of waterways that were under great stress and in deep trouble. As our experiences mounted, it became evident that many of the world’s rivers are now in a state of crisis.

As a river advocate and conservationist, I’ve been involved in many issues over the decades where rivers faced an array of threats such as sewage pollution, hydro development, mine runoff, siltation from logging, and urbanization. But in recent decades, some of the most severe water pollution examples I’ve witnessed stemmed from the fashion indus-try. This includes the production of items ranging from gar-ments/textiles to leather goods.

It also often bothered me that the environmental impact of the fashion industry, for the most part, has flown under the radar in the public’s consciousness. The severe pollution caused by this sector has not been chronicled in the media nearly to the same extent as other industries. Yet, the fashion industry is very consumer focused – so I couldn’t help but wonder, if there was more public awareness of the seriousness of the issue, would customers become more discerning in the products they buy? And if so, would the industry opt for changing the way it does business and start doing things in a better and more ethical way?

About mid-way through our filming, we saw an opportunity for RiverBlue to take the first in-depth look at the impacts the textile and tannery sectors were having on rivers. And given that we all buy clothing (blue jeans being a good example) and, given that our current buying practices actually help enable and foster the environmental and public health damage now being inflicted, documenting this issue helped to achieve our goal of making personal, the river conservation message in a way that most can, and will relate.

The last few years, while working on RiverBlue with people like Roger Williams, Lisa Mazzotta and Director, David McIlvride, has been an unforgettable experience. We’ve filmed and chroni-cled some amazing and disturbing things and I think the film is unlike any river documentary that has been produced to date. There were also times when going back to a river I had travelled on long ago was difficult, simply because some of the changes that had occurred were not what I had hoped for.

In addition, our journey reinforced my belief that, from an environmental perspective, everything is interconnected – and when toxins released from a riverside Asian textile mill end up in the tissue of a North American polar bear, one can’t help but appreciate these are things we should all care about regardless of where we live.

Mark Angelo is a long time river advocate, educator and paddler as well as founder and Chair of both BC and World Rivers Day. He is a recipient of the Order of BC and Order of Canada for his river conservation efforts and, over the decades, he has traveled on more than 1000 rivers spanning well over 100 countries. Over the past three years, he has focused on making the soon-to-be-released film, RiverBlue, which took Mark and his crew on an around-the-world journey by river

I’ve had a love for rivers ever since I was a boy and, as

Mark rowing on the Ganges River with producer, Roger Williams, behind the camera during Kumbh Mela, the largest gathering of human kind on the planet.

Photo: RiverBlue


I was pleased to see Mike Nash raise the issue of BC Nature's tone when dealing

with environmental concerns. This is much more important than most seem to realize. To achieve their aims, naturalist organizations need to think strategically about how their messages should be framed – and we're failing conspicuously to do so, with worrying results. As a Naturalists Club official I'm sometimes asked by local media to comment on the latest economic development issue, be it pipelines, gas, mining or whatever. I find that the journalist works on the assumption that I'll automatically be opposed to whatever development is in question, and that I'll then expostulate on how everything in nature is going to the dogs because of man's greed. If the general public comes to accept that this is de rigueur for a naturalist spokesman, we'll fail in our objectives.

First, we won't be listened to. Since every-one knows what we'll say, why bother listen-ing? Secondly, many people that might have joined a naturalist organization will assume that it is compulsory to be opposed to each and every economic development and to wear a hair shirt and long face. This is absolutely not the way to get millions of people to join our ranks.

It's those millions that we need, and if we were to play our hand right, they'd join us. The huge viewership of BBC nature pro-grams shows the tremendous potential. Note, though, how those programs balance their messages. First, they show us why we should care about nature, by presenting the sheer, joyous, magic of nature. Having done that, and won over the audience, the conservation messages flow both naturally and effectively. We need to do the same. There's lot of won-

Letters to the Editor

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derful stories out there, and even plenty of positive conservation stories to be told. Of course we can coat the sugar with judicious medicine sometimes. But if we insist of force-feeding large doses of medicine to the unconvinced, we'll end up talking just to ourselves. C. Keen - P.G. Naturalists

Correction from the Editorial Staff:In the Fall Edition, we mis-labelled the mushroom photograph - Page 15 - Bird's Nest Fungus - (should be) - Nidula niveo-tomentosa and the photograph should be credited to Rosemary Taylor. Correction - Page 16 and 17 - photograph credit should be Vivan Miao. Photograph on the Annual Appeal insert is Coral Fungus - RamariaOur apologies to the Vancouver Mycological Society for the errors in both the photo credits and mis-naming of the fungi.

Dear member,

In the Fall issue of the BC Nature Magazine, you will have noticed that the joint Foundation-Federation Annual Appeal arrived in your mail box in a different

format. Rather than a separate large mailing envelope with inserts, including the Foundation Annual Report and return mailing envelope, the format of the Annual Appeal has been reduced, both to cut costs and reduce paper use.

The Appeal Letter is the centre spread of the magazine, so we trust that has caught your attention and that you will give generously. We hope that you liked this new format.

At this time we have received a similar amount of donations as last year, and I like to thank those members who have already donated. For any members who had it in mind to donate and have put it off for later in the year, please do not forget us.

We are indeed proud to be a force of 53 BC natural history clubs and many direct members (and are still growing)! We are extremely committed “to know nature and keep it worth knowing”. BC Nature and the BC Naturalists Foundation continue to work hard for nature and we need your ongoing support.

Now, more than ever, it is essential, that nature be valued and cared for, as so many habitats are at risk. For many years, BC Nature, in conjunction with BC Naturalists Foundation, have supported club programs with grants, which both educate and conserve.

We support club programs, mentor young naturalists, take care of Important Bird Areas (IBA), support Wildlife Tree Stewardship (WiTS), campaign governments on conservation issues, and support a large number of nature projects throughout the province

If you could manage to give BC Nature and the BC Naturalists Foundation some financial help, it would be greatly appreciated. Kees Visser - President, BC Nature

Letters From the President's Desk

4


Climbing onto the Rock By Kees Visser

It's almost November as I write this report. Somewhat crazy, because with a few rainy and

windy day exceptions, the Gulf Islands have not looked or felt like winter at all.

After a long, dry, summer, not too hot, but pleasantly warm, we slowly moved into Fall. There were some rainy days but the tempera-tures have been nice and pleasant. Although many of the (newer) Gulf Islanders are con-cerned about the dry and warm summers,

statistically the weather here at the West Coast is still the same as or even a bit cooler than the coastal average of the last 50 years. It's funny to see how many of us jump on the climate bandwagon. Obviously I know that the earth is warming and alarmingly and population pressure is increasing, but it is also clear that there are local anomalies, and some areas are barely affected. Person-ally I find the acidification of our oceans very alarming. This will affect all life forms in the ocean, and in the end, all of us, as we are at the top of the food chain.

In late September we attended a successful Fall General Meeting in Salmon Arm. Many thanks to Janet Pattinson and the organizing committee of the Shuswap Naturalists Club. This Conference was a well-organized event. Unfor-tunately, we were a week too soon to witness the sockeye salmon run. After the conference, we travelled on to wintry Calgary, and on our return a week later, we had the opportunity to see the full run on our return trip. Very impressive!

Looking at the Salmon Arm Fall General Meeting and Conference it is clear to me that most clubs of 40+ members could organize such an event. Only two or three motivated members are needed initially and the remainder will fall in place in due time. BC Nature is willing to advance money if deposits are needed. We have a comprehensive guide and know that Betty, the office manager, as well as the Executive are willing to help. It should be clear that at the time of this printing we do not have a volunteer club to host the FGM for 2015. I have contacted a number of clubs, and it's possible that one of them will offer to host, if we do not get a club to step forward by November 24, the FGM for next year will have to be canceled. I hope not to have to resort to this because I strongly feel that these conferences are the glue which keeps BC Nature together.

At present we have a firm commitment from Salt Spring Island (AGM 2015) and from Vernon (FGM 2017), and some clubs are seriously considering host-ing in 2016.

Earlier in the fall, we went for a camping trip to Wells Gray, Manning and Otter Lake Provincial Parks. I have been backpacking in Manning Park many times and never tire of going up the north side, Blackwell Peak, to look at the wildflowers and the 360 degrees scenery.

We usually pass by Wells Gray, which is very wrong; it is a wonderful park, especially if you like geology. The park is famous for its volcanic features with numerous lava flows, impressive waterfalls, basaltic and other extrusive rocks and of course the volcano itself. Much of this volcanism in Wells Gray hap-pened during the last ice age (Fraser glaciation, 25,000 to 10,000 years ago) and volcanoes erupted under ice. Obviously the heat from the eruption melts the ice and the resulting erosive landforms are rather unique. There are some spectacular examples, such as “tuya’s”, flat-topped, steep almost perfect cones. Wells Gray endured at least six ice ages during the last 2 million years and erosive results of these are present everywhere.

We spent almost a week in Otter Lake and surrounding area, which also has some great remote camping and impressive birdlife. Near Princeton we visited the Swan Lake Wildlife and Rehabilitation Centre, managed by the Vermillion Forks Field Naturalists. Swan Lake, geologically, is a kettle lake, surrounded by impressive grasslands. At some point I hope Vermillion Forks will have a FGM. They have a lot to showcase in their area.

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Visitors to my house might be puzzled by names given to the various bird species at the feeder. They'd soon cotton on to

the "Upside Down Bird" (guess) and the "Junky Bird" (guess again), but "Bedroll Wobbler," "Bandit Bird," "Chickaduck," "Pilomena?"

I suspect all families collect some of the mispronunciations of their junior members. A Redpoll can so easily lisp into a Bedroll and a Warbler into a Wobbler, and it's all too amusing to waste. The neologisms will probably be handed down for generations at Chateau Keen. You'd think "Bandit Bird" might have been attrib-uted to Yellowthroats, but they don't visit feeders, while Mountain Chickadees do, so it was this species of Chickaduck that received the label. Chickaduck? That one requires some history. "Are all birds related to ducks?" asked one child. "Sure," said another, so for a while the family vocabulary included Hummingducks, Spar-rowducks, and more, although just Chickaduck stayed the course.

"Pilomena" requires another story. When a feeder is visited regu-larly by a Pileated Woodpecker, it's almost a given that the bird will be referred to as Pilly. A few people, though, will recognize that one of those things is not like the other ones: it lacks a flaming red cheek. The observant will realize that we are spotting male and female, so when two birds appear at the feeder together, we have Pilly and, um, what shall we call her ... Pilomena!

My family is hardly alone in making up bird names. Black cor-vids in bad light, I've recently found, are known to some of my colleagues as Cravens. This approach opens the gate to all sorts of creativity. How about "Scooper’s Hawk" for the Sharpie that might have been a Coop? Or "Chortling Goose" for the Cackling that might have been a small Canada? "Adequate Yellowlegs" would work well if you can't tell whether you are seeing a Greater or a Lesser. This game could run and run, and sometimes turn up something worth keeping. Barred and Spotted Owls have been hybridizing, I hear, so "Sparred Owl" is actually entering the lexi-con. We don't even have to limit ourselves to birds that might be confused with one another: those people on the annual Swan and Eagle count are, I now hear, off looking for Sweagles.

It's not surprising that groups of birders generate their own abbreviations for species: around where I live, Turkey Vultures are TVs, an Albatross is an Albert, a Bonaparte's Gull is a Boney, and a Bohemian Waxwing is a BoWax. Saving a couple of syllables makes some sort of sense, though there are costs when you travel. One group's Baldy can be an Eagle, while for another it can be a Coot. The House Jerk can be a Sparrow in one town, and a Finch in another. A Maggie, understood as a Magnolia Warbler in my part of the world, is likely to be interpreted as a Magpie by a visitor. See, for instance, if you can make sense of the following,* which are in perfectly common usage in particular areas: • Trickly Herring• Butterbutt• Pinky• Vermin

And on top of this we've got semi-official names. "Peep", for instance, like "empid," is accepted parlance amongst most North American birders, but look it up in Wikipedia, or otherwise try to make sense of it with a Google search, and you'll find that it has at best a shadowy status. The Brits don't have quite as much of a problem with "wader," though it will confuse American birders, who – if they employ the term at all – use it just for long-legged birds such as herons and storks. Semi-official names are a great way of ensuring that North America and Britain remain divided by a common language.

What I'd really like to see, though, is a competition to come up with alternatives to the most awful bird names. Pyrrhuloxia, Phaino-

Natural Mistakes By Clive Keen

Bird Names You Might Not Know

pepla and Dickcissel really ought to go, since nobody can spell them without cheating. Names soaked in pedantic obscurity ought to be given the boot, too: think Fulvous Whistling Duck, Hepatic Tanager, Plumbeous Vireo, Glaucous-winged Gull and Flammulated Owl, most of which sound as if they've one heck of a health problem. Then there are the names that are just plain dumb: Red-bellied Woodpecker for a bird with a cream-coloured belly; Orange-crowned Warbler for a bird without an orange crown; Red-cockaded Woodpecker for a bird that lacks – you guessed it – a cockade, red or otherwise. Here's a final mixed bag for the awful-name list:• Bristle-thighed Curlew – sounds vaguely

pornographic• Little Stint – ah, poor thing• Groove-billed Ani – as above, in spades• Pomarine Jaeger – you need a PhD to understand

"pomarine"• Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet – you gotta be

kidding• Worm-eating Warbler – except it doesn’t eat worms• Northern Rough-winged Swallow – brevity being

the soul of witSee if you can do something about them. For inspira-

tion, think of some of those tropical birds – Tourmaline Sunangel, Sparkling Violetear and Nutmeg Mannikin, for instance – which automatically cheer you up when-ever their name is mentioned. In a future edition of my book, I'll promulgate the brightest ideas and give you full credit.Tricolored Heron, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pink-footed Shearwater, Verdin.

One of the these things is not like the other ….Note the red cheek on Pilly (Bottom), while Pilomena, (Top) has the less flamboyant black. See web version for colour version

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Salt Spring Trail & Nature Club - Hosts BC Nature Conference & AGM - May 7 - 10, 2015"Living by the Salish Sea: Protecting our Eco-region"

Following two very successful camps, the Salt Spring Trail and Nature Club (SSTNC) decided to host the BC Nature Confer-

ence and AGM in May, 2015. The theme is Living by the Salish Sea: Protecting our Eco-region. This theme will be reflected in the presen-tations and field trips throughout the duration of the conference.

Field trips will cover most of the island as well as the ocean sur-rounding it, exploring intertidal life, ocean wildlife, unique land habitats, wetlands, habitat reclamation, birding areas and sustain-able food production on the island. We invite you to visit some of the other southern Gulf Islands. The preconference day trips (details Page 25) offer exploration to either Pender, Mayne, or Galiano Islands. On the Thursday preceding the conference, work-shops will be offered such as nature photography, Salt Spring Island geology (indoors in the morning followed up by a field excursion in the afternoon) and “Stewards in Training”, a hands-on nature education program for school children from Kindergarten onwards, run entirely by volunteers. On Sunday, there will be post-conference excursions in all directions, there are three to chose from. You are of course very welcome to prolong your stay on beautiful Salt Spring!

How are we going to pull this off? Agreed, we do not have a large convention centre, but our beautiful Artspring Centre has a theatre with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment . It also has a multipurpose facility that can be divided into separate rooms, or be expanded into one large area suitable for presentations as well as hosting large receptions.

As for accommodation, Salt Spring has no large resorts, but there are plenty of smaller hotels, inns, resorts and countless B & B's that are eager to welcome you and are lining up with attractive discounts. Most are within walking distance or a very short drive from Artspring. There are campsites close by as well and if you have a boat, there are several marinas where you can moor your vessel.

Our volunteers will guide you throughout the duration of the conference. To stay in tune with island life, this conference may turn out a little different, but most importantly it will be a lot of fun. We hope to see you at any time from May 7 through May 10, 2015, when we will show you what Salt Spring has to offer in terms of "Know Nature and Keeping it Worth Knowing." Full program and registration details Pages 29 and 30 of this edition.

By Nieke Visser

Entrance to Fulford Harbour from Hope Hill

Photo: Nieke Visser

18th AnnuAl

tofinoshorebirdfestival.com

MAy 1-32015

•Birding Clinics & Evening Speakers •Tofino Mudflats Exploration (WHSRN Site) •Pelagic Birding Trips & Birding by Kayak •Offshore Cleland Island Birding Trips

festival packages available - more info online

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presents...

MMAyAyA 1-3y 1-3y

2015

Join us in the clayoquot sound unesco biosphere reserve for:

Photo: Mark Maftei

Trans Mountain Expansion Update

In mid May, BCN in partnership with Nature Canada submitted our first round of Information Requests to which Trans Moun-

tain responded in June. Our information requests were related to assessing impacts of tanker traffic on marine birds and the pro-posed pipeline crossing of several protected areas including Finn Creek Provincial Park, North Thompson River Provincial Park and the Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area. Like many other intervenors, we found the responses provided by Trans Mountain to our requests for more information were quite inadequate. In fact, Trans Mountain provided an identical response to 38 of our 65 requests for more detailed information. On July 16, our lawyers filed a motion to compel full and adequate responses. We were preparing to ask more detailed questions for the second round of Information Requests originally due in mid September. However, on August 12, we received notice from the National Energy Board (NEB) that this second round of Information Re-quests will not be due until January 9, 2015 which will give us more time to prepare. The oral hearings (at which, shockingly, no cross examination of witnesses will be allowed) are now sched-uled to take place in October 2015. Thus, this Hearing will not conclude until well after the next federal election…something, I surmise, not intended by the Harper government when it rewrote the rules for these Hearings. The full Information Requests and subsequent responses from Trans Mountain and BCN/Nature Canada are posted to the NEB website (click on Trans Mountain Expansion and go to the hearing documents where the Interve-nor submissions are posted alphabetically).

By Elaine Golds


We invite you to participate in a field camp in the beautiful Tat-layoko Lake Valley and surrounding areas. This remote valley

in the west Chilcotin is part of the Homathko River system located on the east side of the Coast Range. The driving time from Williams Lake to the Tatlayoko Lake Ranch is about three hours.

During the main camp, which includes the first four full days, field trips will provide opportunities to observe birds during the fall migration, visit a fen at Skinner Meadows, travel to the Chilko River to view salmon spawning and perhaps grizzly bears, hike along the scenic shorelines of Tatlayoko Lake, learn about the geology, forests, wetlands and grasslands of the area and visit a bird banding station in the Valley. On the fifth day we are offering an optional hike (moderately strenuous) to the alpine of the Potato Range which forms the east side of the Tatlayoko Lake Valley. There will be eve-ning presentations during each of the first five days.

Our base will be at the campground of Tatlayoko Lake Ranch, operated by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, where participants are invited to tent or park their campers. A rustic experi-ence! There will be outhouses and outside showers. In addition, a limited number of guest rooms at the nearby Homathko River Inn and other locations will be available. Meals will be served at the Homathko River Inn.

Registration is limited to 24 BC Nature members. The full cost is $450 for the main camp, September 6 - 11, and an addi-tional $90 for the optional day (12th) which features the Potato Range hike, September 11-12. These costs include all meals, campground fees, presentations and outings. Field trip travel will require carpooling with voluntary payment of fees to drivers. For the guest rooms, an additional cost must be paid to the operators.

Registration is first-come-first serve. It will begin - by phone call only - on Sunday, March 15, 2015 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Please call 250-398-5485. If we do not receive the maximum number of registrants during the phone-in period we will take registrations by email at [email protected].

More details about this camp are available on the websites of either BC Nature www.bcnature.ca or the Williams Lake Field Naturalists www.williamslakefieldnaturalists.ca For further information contact the registrar, Christie Mayall (250-398-5485; [email protected]) or Fred McMechan (250- 392- 7680; [email protected] - note the underscore between “fred” and “mcmechan”.

2015 Tatlayoko Lake Camp - Sept 6 - 12, 2015Hosted by the Williams Lake Field Naturalists

Tatlayoko Valley - View to Tatlayoko Lake

Photo: Peter Shaugnessey

By Fred McMechan

2015 Tofino Camp - May 3 - 6, 2015 Marine Exploration of the Wild West Coast: Spring Shorebird Migration, Birds, Whales, Bears & Hot Springs & Much More

Come and join BC Nature's Spring Camp in Tofino BC on the wonderful wild west coast of Vancouver Island where we hope

to see bears, whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters and sea birds. Our cen-ter will be the Ecolodge in Tofino BC where we expect to witness the yearly shorebird migration that occurs every spring. We look forward to observing flocks of Sandpipers, Plovers, Whimbrels - plus many other shorebirds passing through this area of Clayoquot Sound. We will be in a vast temperate rainforest with extensive beaches, deep fjords and inlets - all just minutes from Long Beach and Pacific Rim National Park! This four-night, five-day camp includes all of the boat trips – Whale-watching with a hike on a boardwalk through an old

growth forest to a Hot Spring, with a second boat trip to observe Sea Birds and Bear Watching plus water-taxi to Meares Island.

2015 Tofino Camp - May 3 - 6, 2015

Photo: Anne Gosse

Only 24 spaces are available! Total costs of $700.00 will include all boat trips, marine wildlife walks & talks, all meals, and full camp-style accommodation for four nights, (*shared rooms & bathroom and some shared kitchen chores required). Not included are ferry & travel costs to Tofino - although car-pooling can be facilitated.)

Registration will start promptly at 9:00 a.m. by phone call only Wednesday, January 14, 2015 (on a first call basis) to Anne Gosse at 604-888-1787. After registration is complete, please mail two cheques, for $350.00 each - made out to BC Nature - one can be post dated to April 1, 2014. ***This camp will fill up quickly, so plan to call early that morning! Sorry no pre-booking but we can registrar two at a time.***

* All the rooms are on a “shared” basis (two to three to a room) so please keep in mind that each person is a distinct individual and in camp-style situ-ations you have to be tolerant of other people. Bring sleeping pills, ear plugs, etc. There are shared bathrooms and you must be willing to sleep on cots. It would be helpful if you have a “share” person in mind.Office Note: This is the third and final year for this sure-to-sell-out camp. It is widely anticipated by our members and is touted as one of our "must attend" camps. The last two years, this camp has booked up with a lengthy wait list.


An enthusiastic gathering of 140 birders and nature devotees from around the province spent the weekend of September

25-28 at the Prestige Harbourfront Resort in Salmon Arm for the Fall General Meeting and Conference of BC Nature. Sponsored by the Shuswap Naturalist Club, the theme of this year’s FGM was Salmon & Shorebirds – Incredible Journeys. Participants had plenty of opportunities to see all of the riches that the Shuswap has to offer during informative sessions and field trips.

A slide show of the amazing Adams River salmon run by local nature photographer, Clive Bryson, welcomed everyone on Thurs-day evening. As expected, there were numerous requests for the field trip to Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park for a first-hand view of the migration spectacle. Although this weekend turned out to be a bit early for the peak numbers of sockeye, spectators saw some early fish from a new viewing platform and extensively restored (after previous years’ flooding) trails in the park.

Friday morning’s focus was on three speakers who introduced the local environment both from the naturalists’ and educators’ point of view. Avid birder, photographer and writer Don Cecile’s passion for his subject was clear as he shared his knowledge of the 37 shorebird species that frequent Salmon Arm Bay during migrations. This natural north/south valley route attracts such incredible numbers that Don described it as "the Boundary Bay of the Interior", where even some coastal birds feel at home on the mudflats. This area has seen the highest count in BC of Kill-deer, and has produced the rare sighting of a White Wagtail. Don led Friday afternoon and Sunday morning field trips on the fore-shore. On early morning birding walks, river otters and a white pelican turned up to greet the groups.

Representing the Kingfisher Interpretive Centre (KIC), local teacher Pat Danforth described the highly successful educational programs carried out over the past 30 years under the leadership of volunteer hatchery manager Neil Brookes. The centre, a non-profit community-based society, is located on the Shuswap River east of Enderby. Its programs have reached more than 80,000 students and ensured that 200,000 chinook salmon fry per year, raised in 52 classroom aquaria across the Shuswap, have been released into the river system. On Friday afternoon KIC volunteer Shona Bruce took viewers to see the new rock berm-in-progress along the riverbank, part of the restoration after the May 4 land-slide in nearby Cooke Creek. In an interesting note, she men-tioned that wild ginger in the area appears to be larger since the flood, perhaps due to an infusion of nutrients. Shona’s dissection of a salmon on the beach gave an up-close and personal look (and smell) at this keynote species.

Friday’s third speaker was Dave Ramsey, Salmon Arm high school educator, who has developed an Environmental Science 11 course, “The Shuswap Watershed — Exploring Sustainability through Education.” It provides a meaningful way to satisfy his personal philosophy of connecting theoretical classroom content with practical applications, engaging his students in a real-world exploration of environmental problems, and hopefully inspiring them to pursue science careers. The theme of sustainability was reinforced for conference attendees during an afternoon field trip to two farms in the Salmon River Valley where rehabilitation of riparian environments has yielded successful results. John Vivien shared his experience with restoration of eroding river banks, and Gene Puetz explained his volunteer role with DFO at a fish count-ing station. Those who ventured out on the Fly Hills field trip had an impressive overview of those riparian areas as well as the foreshore mudflats.

Report on FGM in the Shuswap, September 2014

The field trip to Eagle River produced a spectacular diversity of fungi as well as some surprises to coastal visitors: the size of cedars and amount of Devils Club were both unexpected. The Brighouse Nature Centre on Salmon Arm Bay was open for FGM visitors to see the exhibits and watch video of the western grebe courtship dance.

After Saturday’s General Meeting, participants enjoyed a banquet featuring salmon (of course!) and the keynote presentation by local educator, Geoff Styles. His experi-ence and observations monitoring shorebirds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway in the Yellow Sea came during three years’ teaching in South Korea. Geoff’s passion for birding and conservation has translated into keen partici-pation in local and North American initiatives, as well as continued interest in Birds Korea.

By all accounts, everyone enjoyed the quality of presen-tations, informative displays and variety of the field trip venues, and offered praise for the expertise of the leaders. Many found treasures in the silent auction, and appre-ciative comments were heard for the efforts of the 33 volunteers from the local club who organized the event. Even the weather cooperated, for the most part! After sampling what the Shuswap has to offer naturalists, we hope many will return often to discover more about our community.

By Gillian Richardson

9

Photo: Clive Bryson

Photo: Clive Bryson

Members the outing to Kingfisher Interpretive Centre

Chinook and Sockeye Side-by-side on Salmon River


Status of the Heerman's Gull in Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary By James K. Finlay

Heerman's Gulls, looking like tanned cousins of their boreal cousins, the Mew Gull, share a com-

mon roost on Sidney's Surfside Islets, overlooking Sid-ney Channel Important Bird Area. They share these roosts with a diverse community of migratory shore-birds and seabirds in September and October. With Mount Baker in the hazy background, it is a spectacu-lar vista.

Virtually the entire population of this handsome Mexican gull nests on a small island (142 acres), Isla Rasa, in the Gulf of California. It is entirely depen-dent on shoals of "forage fishes", anchovies, sardines and sandlance, and is often found in large mixed feed-ing aggregations with marine mammals and seabirds. In Canadian waters, they make their furthest north migrations in late summer and fall, and the largest aggregations occur around southeast Vancouver Island.

A video of Isla Rasa, an Important Bird Area, is shown here : www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUBX_tlHySc

Some of the largest aggregations (400 - 600) of this species used to occur in Sidney Channel, particularly over the large underwater dune field between Sidney and James Island, that formed the habitat for large Sandlance populations. Its no accident that the once thriving Chinook Salmon fishery coincided with this feature, and that knowledgeable fishermen followed the seabird frenzies.

Heerman's roosting on the small islet in evening light off Surfside in Sidney

Although the Heerman's Gull is not considered endangered, its extremely confined breeding habitat and its dependence on oceano-graphic conditions favouring small foraging fishes, make it highly vulnerable to fisheries practices and climatic-oceanographic patterns. Its abundance is a reasonable reflection of the state of the marine environment, and their northern-most extension into Canadian waters is an indication of particular ecological conditions unique to this country. It is no accident that exotic elements of the Coastal

Douglas Fir ecosystem, such as the iconic Arbutus. Just as the endangered Sage Grouse finds its northernmost extension on the Canadian prairies, Canada has international responsibili-ties to protect the habitat of this migrant.

Last year, after inquiring about the status of the Heerman's Gull, I made contact with several Mexican and American biolo-gists, concerning the apparent decline over the last decade or so, in Sidney Channel IBA. Regrettably I didn't keep records of this species over this time, but as part of my volunteer counts for the BC Coastal Waterbird Count, I have kept regular daily counts of their roosting islets ( Site 39). Their numbers have been very consistent at 80 - 100 through September. I have also conducted a few boat surveys of Sidney Channel and have seen very few; and practically none on their former sandspit roosts (James Island). It is apparent that they show strong preference for certain islets at the mouth of Shoal Harbour Sanctuary and the IBA. These essential roosting sites and migratory stop-over places for many other species have no protective status.

This is the very first place in Canada, where, when visitors step off the ferry at Swartz Bay, or the international Anacortes ferry, or the Victoria airport, they can see a real Heerman's Gull and an Arbutus, hand in hand, and get a sniff of the Salish Sea, and a taste of our Spanish heritage in Quadra, Galiano and Lopez.

James (Kerry) Finley has been a steward of Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary and adjacent IBA for over thirty years. He initiated regular bird surveys in 1991, and became involved in the Coastal Waterbird Surveys in 1999. He joined the IBA network when it was formed. He is a founding member of the Friends of Shoal Harbour, and has formed international ties with the Isla Rasa IBA site in Mexico.

Heerman's roosting on the small islet in evening light off Surfside in Sidney

Photo - Suzanne Holt

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This spring, join award-winning travel company Finisterra Travel on a 13-day avian adventure to the land of the Inca. Peru will send your camera into overdrive with its jaw-dropping terrain, colourful markets, exotic wildlife conservation areas, forgotten temples entangled in jungle vines, and world-class bird watching - over 1800 species!

Visit with remote Amazonian tribes, bird watch in National Reserves, and eat delicious food along the way during this once in a lifetime adventure.

Peru: A Birding Adventure


It’s a real pleasure to provide this update on the recent work the UVic Environmental Law

Centre (ELC) has been doing on your behalf. In my last column, I introduced you to the ELC as an organization that, in recent years, has been acting as pro bono ‘in-house’ legal counsel to BC Nature, particularly in relation to the Trans Mountain and Northern Gateway pipeline ap-plications.

For almost twenty years, the ELC has provided free legal representation to community groups, conservation organizations and First Nations across British Columbia, building legal capacity to tackle the complex environmental challenges our province is facing. The ELC receives its core funding from the Tula Foundation as one of the many initiatives supported by its Hakai Pro-gram. The Hakai Program is a set of interlocking programs in science, education and community leadership on the BC Central Coast.

One of the reasons that our working relation-ship with you has been so successful to date is that BC Nature and the ELC share many of the same values and have a similar strategic approach to conservation and environmental issues. We are both committed to bringing rigorous science into environmental decision-making in our com-munities and our governments and, likewise, to fostering pragmatic and thoughtful solutions to the issues of conservation, environmental deg-radation, sustainable development, and climate change.

On May 2, 2014, I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with many of you at BC Nature’s AGM. At that meeting, I was gratified and impressed by the commitment of your member-ship to the legal work we have been doing, and of your recognition that, at this juncture, BC Nature needs to take leadership in the legal arena to protect this province from ill-conceived bitu-men pipeline projects. It was also a nice oppor-tunity for the ELC to express its gratitude for the support it had received from your Past President John Neville (particularly in the high stakes work to fight the Northern Gateway proposal) and to welcome incoming president, Dr. Kees Visser. The ELC team, thanks to John, had already met and briefed Kees, whose background in oil and gas sector will be very helpful as the Trans Moun-tain and Northern Gateway files develop.

There can be no doubt that we live in strange and challenging times. In my comments to your membership, I said that I was proud to be rep-resenting ‘radicalized’ birders. Little did I know that the Canada Revenue Agency had its sights on an Ontario birding organization for express-ing political opinions about the Harper govern-ment’s environmental agenda. I suppose we should be thankful that suing the federal gov-

Environmental LawCentre (ELC)Update

ernment over its pipeline policies is not deemed to be a prohibited political activity under the Income Tax Act, at least so far. I attended BC Nature’s AGM with one of the ELC’s bright young stars, Anthony Ho. As a second- year law student in our clinical program, Anthony Ho’s first exposure to the world of environmental law and litigation was as my junior counsel at the Northern Gateway hearings in Prince George in the fall of 2012. He has been immersed (“blissfully”, he says!) in pipeline hearings and litigation work ever since, and is now doing his articles with the ELC. On these files we also have the good fortune to have the services of another star articling student (Kyle McNeill), and a science team comprised of bird experts Anne Harfenist and Carolyn Fox (on loan to us, for the Trans Mountain file, from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation).Northern Gateway: BC Nature is now pursuing two legal challenges in the Federal Court of Appeal.

When I last reported, we had just filed a judicial review of the Joint Review Panel’s report. In this challenge, we are arguing that the JRP’s report is seriously flawed in various ways, including that the report fails to offer a legally adequate justification for the harm that it acknowledges the pipeline will do to caribou and that it makes erroneous conclusions about the likelihood and impacts of a catastrophic oil spill.

On June 17, 2014, the JRP’s recommendation was accepted by the fed-eral Cabinet, which granted the approvals necessary for the project to go ahead. We fully expected this outcome, and were ready to file our legal challenge against Cabinet’s determination within the required 15 days. In this second judicial review application, we argue that Cabinet erroneously relied on a flawed JRP report, and that Cabinet failed to provide adequate reasoning in justifying its decision to approve a project that is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects On September 26, 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal granted leave for BC Nature to bring the Cabinet judicial review.

It seems likely that BC Nature’s two lawsuits—its challenges against the Cabinet and JRP decisions—will be consolidated with the other challenges that have been brought by others against the Northern Gateway decision in what promises to be one of the biggest and most significant cases ever heard by the Federal Court of Appeal. Currently, it looks like the hearing in this matter will occur sometime in the fall of 2015.Trans Mountain - BC Nature is making the most of a flawed process.

The Trans Mountain file has been heating up of late. As I write this, the company is going to court to get an injunction against protesters on Burnaby Mountain, and the news is filled with stories highly critical of the National Energy Boards (NEB) process.

By Chris Tollefson

Continued Page 12

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"Bird Watchers"


Dates to Remember2014-2015

2014 Charity Receipts - December 31/14Club Support Grant Applications Jan.31/15

Club Resolutions - Feb.28/15Nominations - BC Nature Awards - Deadline Feb.28/15

Tofino Camp - May 1 - 6, 2015AGM Salt Spring Island - May 7 - May 10/15

Skagit Bird Blitz - May 22 - 24/15Manning Bird Blitz - June 19 - 21/15

Tatlayoko Camp - Sept. 6/15 - Sept. 11/15

On your behalf, we have played a vocal role in objecting to the NEB’s decision to eliminate oral cross examination from the hearing process. The lack of oral cross examination is unprecedented in the NEB’s history. In our view, the loss of cross examination not only impoverishes due process, it will also seriously compromise the ability of the NEB to assess properly the evidence and ultimately discharge its duty to make findings of fact and reach legal conclusions on that evidence.

While some intervenors have withdrawn or are considering withdrawing from the Trans Mountain hearings as a result of these and other important due process concerns, our instruc-tions from BC Nature and Nature Canada are to continue to work within the process to make the best of those avenues for advocacy that still remain.

At this point, we are focused on securing as much evidence as we can through the one remaining avenue we have left: the submission to the proponent of written questions. There will be two rounds of written questions or “information requests” as they are known. As a result of inadequate responses by the proponent to our first round of questions, we applied to the NEB for an order compelling better answers. The NEB granted, in large measure, the order we were seeking and we are now awaiting further and better particulars from the pro-ponent. Due to procedural wrangling and delays, it now looks like final argument in Trans Mountain will occur in the summer and fall of 2015, with the report from the NEB expected in January 2016.

BC Nature members should be proud of the role you are playing in these historic cases. We are and will remain grate-ful for your support.

ELC Update Continued

BC Nature is looking at expanding in areas where we cur-rently do not have clubs. We are starting with Vancouver

Island, specifically, Northern Vancouver Island. If you have friends or family or know of anyone in the areas of

Campbell River, Port McNeil, Port Hardy and Tofino that have a love of nature, we would love to hear from them. John Neville, Past President and Vancouver Island Regional Coordinator is looking to go into these areas and do a presentation in the hopes of starting up some Naturalists Clubs.

Contact people in these areas need only to have a keen interest in Nature and do not need to be "expert" naturalists. further enquiries can be made either through John - [email protected] or by calling BC Nature office - 604-985-3057.

Visit www.bcnature.ca to view up coming events in your area

A reminder to clubs that the deadline to apply for a Club Support Grant is January 31. The application form can

be found on the Foundation’s page of the BC Nature websitehttp://www.bcnature.ca/bc-naturalists-foundation/club-support/.

The Foundation thanks the many generous donors who have responded to the annual appeal. If making a donation did slip your mind, you can still do so before the end of December to receive a tax receipt for 2014.

Since its formation 23 years ago, the BC Naturalists’ Foun-dation has provided $135,000 in grants to BC Nature and its member clubs for conservation and education projects.

As the Foundation’s capital grows, its earnings are able to provide increasingly large annual grants for naturalists’ pro-jects. The Foundation capital assets are now approaching half a million dollars.

Please consider naming the Foundation in your planned giv-ing, to help build this capital. You can name the Foundation in your will, as a beneficiary in your Retirement Savings Plan or Retirement Income Fund, gift your life insurance proceeds, or gift the remaining capital in your annuity to the Founda-tion.

A Note from the BC Naturalists’ FoundationBy Bev Ramey

A call to naturalists in Port Hardy, Port McNeil, Tofino, Campbell River

12


On October 15, All Buffleheads Day (ABD), the citizens of North Saanich and Sidney gathered to celebrate the return

of the Bufflehead to Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary, one of the oldest national wildlife sanctuaries on the Pacific coast. Despit the drizzle and heavy overcast, spirits were high as natural-ists scanned Roberts Bay for the honoured guest.

A week earlier, I’d forecast that they might be a little late, prob-ably by a day, and I was quite certain of that as I began to explain to the crowd.

ABD doesn’t necessarily fall on the 15th, but occurs on the 14th in Leap Years, and the 298 day is the sidereal calendar. The statistical variation around this constant is 2.9, making the Bufflehead the most punctual migrant in the world, so far as is documented, leav-ing the Capistrano Swallows in its dust.

This will mark the 18th season of close observation, as of Noon. Not only are they punctual to the date, but also to the clock, usually arriving between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m.

As I was about to explain that they had a 67% chance of appear-ing by noon, and that I expected them tomorrow, a voice piped up “ I think I see it.” Alas, it proved to be a Horned Grebe, so I gathered my thoughts and proceeded to give a brief overview of probability theory, before eyes could glaze over. The amazing thing is that Buffleheads have never appeared on the day before ABD. Try eighteen tosses of the dice and never get a three.

Sure enough, the Buffleheads appeared next morning. A pair of them flew in, circled and landed at 08:27, a trifle early.

In all my years as a field biologist I’ve never encountered such a remarkable data distribution and precision. Initially I hypothesized that it was due to an internal timing mechanism and the constant of shifting night length, but I’ve learned that it's due to an exter-nal environmental signal, entrained by regular oscillations of the Rossby Waves which guide storm tracks.

Buffleheads are truly harbingers of "Jack Frost." ABD is a phe-nomenal phenological constant, a comfort in a climate of change. It is a national day as Le Petit Garrot arrives from coast to coast.

All Buffleheads Day 2014

1-800-373-5678 [email protected]

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Whooping Cranes and specialties of the Rio Grande!

Manitoba Owls Photo TourMarch 3 - 8, 2015 with Brad Hill

Manitoba Owls Tour March 11 - 15, 2015 with Rudolf KoesExcellent opportunities for seeing/photographing

northern owls - Great Gray, Snowy, Northern Hawk-Owl plus Sharp-tailed Grouse, boreal forest specialties.

Hawaii March 11 - 22, 2015 with Jody Allair

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potoos, parrots - great tour, many exotic & exciting birds!

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Greater & Gunnison’s Sage-Grouse, Greater & Lesser Prairie-Chickens, Mountain Plover, all 3 Rosy-Finches, amongst magnificent canyons, vistas and alkaline lakes

By James K. Finlay

13

Male Bufflehead

Photo: Suzanne Huot


Getting to know Garry Oaks: A Summer Student UpdateBy Michelle Law

What’s a Garry Oak? I am often asked this ques-tion when I tell someone that I spent this past

summer as a scholarship student at a Garry Oak nursery. To be honest, prior to my experience at the nursery I would not have had much of an answer to this question. It was only after two BC Naturalists, Loys and Alison Maingon, gave me the opportunity to spend the summer working with Garry Oaks at their nursery in the Comox Valley that I became bet-ter acquainted with this at-risk tree, which happens to be native to British Columbia. But beyond getting to know the Garry Oak, I also gained valuable knowl-edge and a new perspective on biology and plants.

On my fi rst day as a summer student I received a tour of the nursery. It was mid-spring and the many rows of pots had little more than brown twigs to boast. However, over the summer I watched these young trees go through several growth cycles, trans-forming them into luscious green sculptures (that is, except for the handful of trees that sprouted fascinat-ing albino foliage).

I had the opportunity to do a lot of hands-on work this summer, which included the seeding of Garry Oak acorns, transplanting trees into larger pots, per-forming a count of the nursery’s Garry Oak indi-viduals (to be used for statistical purposes), learning about seed collection, and other nursery tasks. This was my fi rst glimpse into just how many details go into maintaining a healthy nursery, and it gives me a great deal of admiration for my mentors.

Throughout the summer I also had the opportunity to learn about native plants while hiking with local naturalists, as well as opportunities to read journal articles and publications recommended by my men-tors. Needless to say, my brain did not turn to mush over the summer.

My fi nal project was to create the plans for a native plant garden which would include Garry Oaks and associated species. This project was a joy to com-plete because it allowed me to employ my artistic side while also integrating what the local naturalists

had taught me about native plants. Finally these garden plans needed to be translated into a digital format, which is a useful skill that I now possess.

The idea I am relaying above all else, my experience as a summer student has given me a new perspective with which to approach my second year of studies at the University of Northern British Colum-bia. I owe a big thank you to my kind mentors, Loys and Alison Maingon, as well as to the Comox Valley Naturalists who gener-ously awarded me the summer scholarship that made this wonderful experience possible.

Finally, when people ask me “What is a Garry Oak?” I now have an answer to their question: Garry Oaks are an ecologically important tree which is native to BC, they are exceptionally beautiful trees, and well worth preserving. I am a member of BC Nature and spent this past spring-summer 2014 as a scholarship student at a Garry Oak nursery. It is actually as a direct result of my summer scholarship program that I ended up becoming a member of BC Nature; I’m thankful for both events. I benefi ted and learned so much from this experience that I wanted to share my thoughts with other members of BC Nature. Please enjoy my short refl ective piece regarding my wonderful summer experience.

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A Garry Oak perched high above the seaside

Photo: Wikipedia Commons


The not-so-scary world of birdwatchingBy Anne Murray

When I heard that a small bird-watch-ing club in Ontario had received a

warning letter from the Canada Revenue Agency, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why on Earth would the agency need to warn the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists “to refrain from under-taking partisan activities” and threaten them with future audits? Could it be that the shocking decline of birds locally and globally is finally forcing even Canada’s reticent and small-C conservative bird-watching community to speak out in defence of birds? In that case, the gov-ernment must certainly have a problem. Let’s take a look at who these infamous birdwatchers are: they live among us!

Birdwatching, birding, or ornithology is a worldwide pastime. Interest in birds and their conservation is the rationale for the world’s largest nature conserva-tion partnership: BirdLife International. This extraordinary global organization has more than 13 million members and supporters in 120 countries, from Andorra to Zimbabwe. BirdLife is eco-nomically vibrant, employing 7,400 staff with a budget of US $39 million, and its leaders are eminent: Queen Noor of Jordan is president emeritus; Princess Takamado of Japan is honorary presi-dent; and two of Canada’s most respected authors, Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, are honorary presidents of the BirdLife Rare Bird Club.

Furthermore, good science and sus-tainable economic solutions for human communities are key principles behind the partnerships’s actions. BirdLife strives to solve problems that are critical and global, such as the near extinction of India and Africa’s vultures, and the decimation of Albatross by long-line and trawl fishing. Clearly this is not a group the CRA should be worried about, yet the Ontario club is a grassroots part of BirdLife, as are most of Canada’s feder-ated naturalist clubs.

But perhaps CRA was not thinking about that sort of birdwatcher. Perhaps they were nervous of “twitchers”. These are a subset of birdwatching enthusiasts, like those featured in the 2011 comedy movie, The Big Year, starring Owen Wil-son, Jack Black, and Steve Martin, based on Mark Obmascik’s autobiographi-cal book. Whereas many birdwatchers keep detailed records of the birds they have seen, hard-core twitchers take it a step further, focusing almost entirely on finding new birds for their life list.

It is akin to a sport, with lists kept and compared, and many thousands of dol-lars spent in locating rare birds around the world. Dan Koeppel’s fascinating biography of his twitcher dad, To See Every Bird on Earth, is a window on this world of obsessive birding and the hand-ful of champion twitchers who have seen upwards of 8,000 of the estimated 10,000 bird species in the world. While most birdwatchers are evenly split male and female, most twitchers are men, though women are becoming increas-ingly interested. The legendary cancer survivor and birdwatcher Phoebe Snet-singer had seen 8,450 species before she died in a car crash in Africa while look-ing for birds.

Twitchers are not generally too involved in conservation activities. In fact, even many regular birdwatchers are reluc-tant to become involved in campaigns, as nature observation is an escape and a relaxation, away from the cares of the world. Environmental groups have tried in vain to get birders, as a group, to be stronger advocates for habitat conserva-tion. Will the CRA may succeed where Greenpeace has failed?

Watching birds can be both relaxation and muse. From Ovid and Aristotle to Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson, the Nobel prize-winning co-discoverer of the double helix structure of DNA, scientists, artists, writers, and poets have drawn inspiration from watching birds. Ian Fleming named his famous spy, James Bond, after an ornithologist with that name. Jared Diamond was a bird-watcher before he wrote such ground-breaking books as Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse. American novelist, Jona-than Franzen, “confessed” to the hobby and later starred in the movie The Central Park Effect, about New York city’s sub-culture of birdwatchers. Comedian Bill Oddie and actors Cameron Diaz, Steve Martin, and Sean Bean watch birds. So, apparently, do former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and Laura Bush. It is not a partisan political activity!

Britain has been a hot-bed of bird-watching activity ever since clergyman Gilbert White wrote The Natural His-tory of Selborne in the mid-1700s. The famous broadcaster and writer, Sir David Attenborough reinforced this love of the natural world over the last five decades, with programs like Life of Birds, Blue Planet, and Planet Earth. In America, the 19th century paintings of ornitholo-gist John James Audubon opened the American public’s eyes to the beauty

of birds. Illustrated guides appeared around the world in the 1930s, such as Roger Tory Peterson’s Field Guides to North America and Salim Ali’s The Book of Indian Birds, bringing the possibility of bird identification to the masses. This effectively ended the necessity of shoot-ing a bird to identify it and led instead to the rise of the camera. Now bird photog-raphers almost outnumber those using binoculars and the quality of spectacu-lar photos has increased exponentially. Wildlife paintings are still much enjoyed by Canadians, however, as illustrated by the popularity of Robert Bateman’s beautiful artwork. Bateman was born in Ontario, and was at one time a director of the Federation of Ontario Natural-ists; he is now an honorary life member.

For everyone who goes out searching for birds in the wild, dozens more bring birds to their yards by hanging up feed-ers full of nuts and seeds. Supplying the vast array of food is a multimillion dol-lar industry. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-vice surveys show that about 42 million Americans are backyard birders, surpass-ing almost every other recreational pur-suit. Most birders are 35 or older, but there is a fair sprinkling of folks who catch the bug at a younger age too. Our federal government might take note of the fact that many U.S. states with active birding participation are those consid-ered more conservative in nature: such as Montana, South Dakota, and Wyo-ming. In contrast, “liberal” states like California and New York have some of the lower participation rates.

Canada has no recent surveys of bird-watching activity. However, hundreds of bird-watchers participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count, begun in 1900, and many small towns have naturalist clubs. In BC, the Federation of B.C. Naturalists (BC Nature) has 53 clubs scattered around the province, and about 80 percent of the nearly 5,400 members are keen on birding. Birders


buy equipment, such as binoculars, telescopes, cameras, and books, and often travel to enjoy their hobby. Point Pelee in Ontario, a migratory bird hot spot less than three hours drive from Kitchener, draws visitors from around the world who pour millions into the local economy.

The federal government has denied that the CRA’s warn-ing to the Ontario birdwatchers is politically-motivated, although the club had recently written a letter expressing concern about the detrimental effect of pesticides on bird populations. To target birdwatchers for such a scrutiny might have an unexpected effect. It is not too difficult to imag-ine that those who most enjoy looking at birds might just fight harder to protect them, leading to greater conservation awareness and advocacy even by the twitchers!

Anne Murray is a local naturalist and writer. Her books on Delta’s natural and ecological history—A Nature Guide to Boundary Bay and Tracing Our Past: A Heritage Guide to Boundary Bay—are available in local stores or from www.natureguidesbc.com.

Fox Sparrow – a “double kicker”

Hawking, gleaning and probing are three examples of bird feeding techniques. Double-kicking (leaf-tossing

is sometimes included here ) is another habit of a variety of birds including the Spotted Towhee, Ruffed Grouse, Varied Thrush and Fox Sparrow.

I have watched the Song Sparrow engage in similar behav-iour at times, but not with the “gusto” (it seems to me) of a Fox Sparrow. It’s engaging indeed to watch a "dancing" Fox Sparrow double-kick, sending a rooster tail of leaves and other debris behind it. This is done to expose tasty morsels like insects, millipedes, seeds and berries, and the Fox Spar-row does with such energy and skill.

Novice birders sometimes puzzle – is it a fox, or is it a song? Note: the “chevrons” on the Fox Sparrow’s breast, combined with a rusty tail and pale lower mandible. The song spar-row’s breast on the other hand is streaked with a distinct central spot. Reference: Martin, A.C., Zim, H.S. and A.L./ Nelson. 1961. American Wildlife and Plants. A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits. Dover, N.Y. 500pp.

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Coquerel's Sifaka in Madagascar

By Al Grass

The not-so-scary world of birdwatchingContinued

By Al Grass

Fox Sparrow

By Al Grass

Fox SparrowSong Sparrow

Photo: A. GrassPhoto: A. Grass


Elder’s Council for Parks in BC;A Recap of Seniors Outreach Programs – Summer 2014

This years Seniors Outreach Programs numbered thir-

teen, with programs covering a wide range of topics and locations around the North Shore in municipal, regional and provincial parks.

Some highlights this year were "Forest Fungi and Their Mushrooms” with Juliet Pen-dray, who has been acquiring and sharing knowledge about fungi and associated organ-isms for the past 10 years. In just a small area of the Old Buck Trail we found a wide variety of amazing species,

including a rare Tail-Dropper Slug. "It was absolutely fascinating to think that every step we took, we were surrounded by immeasurable numbers of tiny life forms" said one participant.

Cultural Days was hosted by the Tsleilwaututh Sacred Trust and Raincoast Conservation Foundation who presented awe-inspiring environmental-themed films to an audience of 18 people with new participants who learned about us through the local and national Culture Days web site. One of these films was Artists for an Oil Free Coast, which illustrated the risks of transporting oil in giant tankers along British Columbia's pristine and treacherous channels.

This year we celebrated Canada Parks Day with a nature- inspired literary and arts event, holding workshops in writing, visual arts and photography including a poetry walk through the forest lead by author Trevor Carolan and attended by MLA Jane Thornthwaite.

We collaborated with North Shore Wetland Partners and Friends of Cypress Provincial Park who have worked very hard to restore areas along the beautiful Yew Lake Trail on Cypress. We found amazing wild flowers including the Oval-leaved Sundew with prey.

New this year was a partnership with Parkgate Community Centre for an amazing Sea-to-Sky geology field trip on their bus with David Cook. We travelled back in time over 150 million years all the way to Brandywine Falls! Who knew that the geology of the Sea-to-Sky corri-dor was so ancient and amazing!

To celebrate the cul-tural heritage of Mount Seymour we offered two programs. "Song of Sey-mour." Patricia Mason's dramatic slide presenta-tion included images, music, poetry and prose celebrating the natural and cultural history of the Seymour area.

In collaboration with Alex Douglas, Mount Seymour History Project and retired skier Ross Regan, we had a showing of his multi-media presentation "Building Our Log Cabin on Mount Seymour in 1946." What was so touching about this program was that, with a bit of bush-whacking and help from Alex's old cabin map, we found the old cabin site. It really made Ross's day! We hope to support Ross again by hosting his presenta-tion at the Parkgate Library in the fall.

By Elise Roberts

Fungal walk with Juliet Pendray

Photo: E. Roberts

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Round-leaved Sundew with PreyPhoto: R. Alexander


By Terry TaylorMummy Berries

If you have picked wild Blueberries when out hik-ing, you have probably seen the Mummy Berry.

But do you know the story behind them? Those hard, whitish looking berries that are growing among the regular blue ones are Mummy Berries, and they are a fungus, Monilinia, not a berry. Their story is a fasci-nating relationship between parasite and host.

When the blueberries are ripe, there are usually a few hard, shriveled ones scattered among the others. If you inspect it more closely you will see that it is shaped like a berry, but it does not contain any blue-berry tissue. The whole thing is composed of fungus mycelium.

At the end of the summer the mummy berry will fall on the ground beneath its host shrub, and will

Leave Your Lasting Legacy to NatureDonate to The Nature Trust of British Columbia in your will to help conserve the natural diversity of wildlife, plants and their critical habitats for future generations.

For more information, contact Deb Kennedy at [email protected] or call 604-924-9771 or 1-866-288-7878.

www.naturetrust.bc.ca

Leave Your Lasting Legacy to NatureDonate to The Nature Trust of British Columbia in your will to help conserve the natural diversity of wildlife, plants and their critical habitats for future generations.

Leave a Lasting Legacy to NatureYour bequest to The Nature Trust of British Columbia will help conserve the natural diversity of wildlife, plants and their critical habitats for future generations.

For more information or to receive our free bequest brochure, contact Deb Kennedy at [email protected] or call 604-924-9771 or 1-866-288-7878.


For more information, contact Deb Kennedy at [email protected] or call 604-924-9771 or 1-866-288-7878.


TNT Planned Giving BC Nature Ad Oct 2013.indd 1 2013-10-16 6:06 AM

overwinter there. It is a resting stage, a sclerotium, of the fungus life cycle, composed of densely packed fungal threads (hyphae). It will remain dormant on the ground until the snow melts, and when the mountain shrubs begin to grow and leaf out, the sclerotium will also begin to grow. It goes into reproductive mode, taking the nutrients which it previously acquired from its summer host and using them to produce a fruiting body. This fruiting body is cup-shaped, like a little wine glass. On its inner surface it is lined with thousands of tiny sacs, each of which contains eight spores. When the leaves reappear on the berry bushes the spores mature and are shot out into the air. A very small percentage of them will land on the appropriate young leaves. To actually find the cups you need to crawl around under the bushes at just the right time, for unlike the Mummy berries themselves, the cup fungus lives for just a short period of time.

If one of the spores lands on new leaves or buds of the host it will grow into a mold. The mold stage, in turn, produces its own kind of spores, which re-infect the flowers as they begin to grow. The two types of spores are quite different. The ones from the cups are called ascospores, since the sacs which line the cup are called asci. They are sexual spores, since they are produced by two different individual fungi. The spores from the mold are condiospores. They are pro-duced asexually. They make up for the lack of genetic diversity by being produced in large numbers, guaranteeing that some spores infect the flowers. In the flower they germinate into fungal threads which develop along with the developing berry. As the blueberry grows it is slowly eaten by its fungus companion. Look carefully. You may see some berries that are partially blue and partially whitish. Eventually it totally devours the blueberry, and the resulting Mummy Berry starts the process over again.

One species of Mummy Berry infects commercial blueberries, and farmers do not share the fascination with it that fungus lovers do. In a blueberry farm this fungus is capable of infecting a large percent-age of the berry crop, so great care is taken to prevent its growth in blueberry farms.

When you hike along your favorite trail as the berries ripen, look and see if you can find any Mummy Berries. Or, if you are a really keen mycologist, look beneath the blueberry bushes just after the snow has melted, and see if you can find any of the cups. Like so many common natural wonders you are probably quite unaware of Mummy Berries, but once you have found them you cannot help but notice them when you next encounter them.

When is a berry not a berry?

Photo: Rosemary Taylor


Dispatches From the Field - Triangle IslandBy Michael Arbeider and Catherine Jardine

The WildResearch weekly newsletter column “Dispatch-es from the Field” highlights the research or conser-

vation activities of it’s members; here we share an excit-ing installment of “Dispatches” on the adventures of two members working in B.C.’s largest seabird colony.Michael: It all started with a simple offer of one Independent Study Semester at Simon Fraser University to learn how to use the program MARK, which analyzes mark-recapture data. My experience at WildResearch really helped during my interview for the project and golly what a project it was!! It turned into an offer to do a whole Honors project and to have a chance to go to Triangle Island! I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped when I heard that. After getting some helicopter underwater egress training to boost my confidence when flying over the open ocean, I set off with three people I had just met for two and a half weeks on a remote island, Triangle.

My job on the 290 acre mini-mountain was to re-sight Glaucous-winged Gulls that had been banded between 2005 and 2009, and surveyed every subsequent year by the Canadian Wildlife Service. The gulls would venture from their breeding sites on Puffin Rock to the Seep (fresh water from the spring that pooled in the rocks and inter-tidal zone). It took 40 minutes to re-sight my first band, then, after I first sighted it, I watched the ghostly winged devil fly away before I could read its number; it circled over the breeding colony off in the distance, then returned only to sit down, hiding the band and trying my patience for another 20 minutes. There were many other highlights, from elephant seals to sea stars, but I’ll let Catherine tell you all about the rest of the Island!Catherine: This summer I was able to apply the West Coast passerine banding skills of Fox and Song Sparrows of Iona Island Bird Observatory to Triangle Island! Triangle offers even more then its uncooperative gulls. The island is a booming seabird metropolis and nursery. It is host to the world’s largest Cassin’s Auklet colony, 40,000 breeding pairs of Rhinoceros Auklets and the largest Tufted Puffin and Common Murre colonies in British Columbia. In addition, there are abundant Fork-tailed and Leach’s Storm-petrels and Canada’s largest Steller’s Sea lion rookery. Plus, this year, the island had a few more northerly surprises in store for me.

In the daylight hours, Puffin Rock is the highlight of Tri-angle Island. Tufted Puffins lounge outside their burrows and whiz through the air. The west cliff faces are carpeted with a yodeling colony of Common Murres, poised like dominos ready to topple into the sea at the first sign of an approaching Eagle. The Pelagic Cormorants coo to each other, offering a rare opportunity to hear their surprisingly beautiful voices. The ruby feet of Pigeon Guillemots inlay the black sea-battered rocks and Peregrine Falcons mani-cally chase off any Bald Eagles that have the audacity to wander too close.

On my first hike out to Puffin Rock to check on the Black Oystercatcher nests, I happened to look up at Puffin Rock and froze. Deaf to the lighthearted conversation passing between my field mates I raised my binoculars. Softly utter-ing “I don’t mean to alarm anyone but, "That's a Horned Puffin!” (ok…maybe not so softly). This arctic species is a rare visitor to BC waters and there one was, tottering at the edge of the cliff side above us!

It was hard to tear my eyes away to get back to work, but I had the opportunity to see him (and his mate?) again. Watching two Horned Puffins wheel above me was a highlight of my summer. To add to the arctic array this year, we spotted a Thick-billed Murre hanging out with his common cousins, and also a pair of Northern Fulmars!

The rest of the island can seem dull in comparison, until twilight begins to fall and an amazing natural history spectacle begins. Thou-sands of Rhinoceros Auklets, bobbing off shore, rise from the ocean as the sun sinks beneath it. The birds arc towards Triangle Island forming massive spinning wheels in the sky, skimming over the cliff faces in the misty evening light. As the sun sinks deeper the Cassin’s Auklets emerge from their burrows to begin their spirited singing and the petrels take flight, calling as they go. Soon the cool night air is filled with the crackling sounds of life. The cacophony of sea-birds surrounds us; they thump down on our hut roof and clamor and crash through the thick vegetation moving to and from their burrows. The sheer commotion of life is awe-inspiring.

Triangle Island is closed to the public to help ensure its pristine condition for years to come. It is an Important Bird Area and is part of the Scott Island marine area that is in the process of being des-ignated as a marine National Wildlife Area, recognizing it’s impor-tance as a global biodiversity hotspot. Its been wonderful to share our stories of this beautiful island with you. If you’re interested in receiving more installments of “Dispatches from the Field” contact us at [email protected].

19

Elephant Seal pup expressing his displeasure at our prescence

Photo: C. Jardine

Photo: C. Jardine

Tufted Puffin mid-flight


Whiskeyjack Nature ToursTOURS FOR NATURALISTS

Leader: Tony GreenfieldWHISKEYJACK NATURE TOURS

BOX 319, SECHELT, BC, V0N 3A0Tel: 604-885-5539, E-m: [email protected]

Details & itineraries at website: www.whiskeyjacknaturetours.comBC reg #34425

***THE SUNSHINE COAST FOR NATURALISTS***20-24 July 2015 (5 days) Cost $TBA (dbl occup) + GST from Vancouver

The Sunshine Coast exemplifies the best of coastal British Columbia as the temperate rainforest meets the blue of the Salish Sea in a confusion of magnificent fjords and green islands. We visit the Sunshine Coast’s scenic highlights, including a full day cruise to world famous Princess Louisa Inlet. We also visit Jedediah

Island and take a sunset cruise to Hotham Sound. Our base is the Rockwater Secret Cove Resort. The Sunshine Coast’s culinary offerings are an important part of

this tour and we will sample the best available. All meals are included, except for 4 dinners.

***YUKON & DEMPSTER HIGHWAY***Land of the Midnight Sun

Tour I, 18-29 June 2015 (12 days) Tour II, 1-12 July 2015 (12 days)Cost $3700 (dbl occup) + GST from Whitehorse

The Yukon is a fabled land whose very name evokes archetypal images of wilderness and a frontier populated by colourful characters. On this tour we will experience

both the natural and human landscapes of this fascinating and beautiful land,visiting the Klondike, the Dempster Highway, and the Mackenzie Delta. The

Dempster is renowned as a naturalist’s paradise with its varied and beautiful landscapes, sought-after bird species, large mammals and we visit at the peak of

the wildflower display. At latitude 66N we cross the Arctic Circle and enter the Land of the Midnight Sun. We also fly across the Mackenzie Delta to

Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean.

***SOUTHERN UTAH & DEATH VALLEY***15-26 April 2015 (12 days) Cost $2990 CAD (dbl occup) from Las Vegas

Planet Earth contains an infinite variety of landscapes, but in southern Utah random geologic events have conspired to create rare, unexpected and beautiful

consequences. The mighty Colorado River, aided by the arid erosion cycle, has waged battle across the eons with the sandstone strata and fashioned landscapes so unique

and bizarre that they are more redolent of an extra-terrestrial origin. We visit Bryce Canyon, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Monument Valley,

Zion Canyon and more plus Death Valley.

***ARIZONA IN FEBRUARY***18 February – 1 March 2015 (12 days)

Cost $2800 CAD (dbl occup) from PhoenixArizona is home to some of the most unique, famous and unforgettable landscapes in the world. The Grand Canyon, the mesas and buttes of Monument Valley and the silhouette of a saguaro against a golden sunset are images so famous that we have

grown up with them since childhood. The tour includes The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, Sedona, and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. Join us for a midwinter tour to the blue skies and

fascinating deserts of this famous state.


British Columbia Swallow Conservation ProjectBy Greg Ferguson

BC is rich in natural diversity, with birds being an important compo-

nent (Fenneman 2014). However, many bird species have declined, even disap-peared, from current and formerly suit-able habitats. Much of this change has been documented by naturalists, with the objective of helping to conserve the area’s biodiversity. Birds that feed on aerial insectivores are experiencing widespread population declines (Nebel et al. 2010). The populations of Barn and Bank Swallows in Canada have declined by 76% and 90% respective-ly over the last 40 years and they are now designated as Threatened species (COSEWIC 2011, 2013).

So you may wonder, what can I do to slow, stop, and reverse these dramatic declines? I’ll be the first to admit that it’s not an easy problem to solve. How-ever, I’m also an optimist and believe that each of us has the ability to take actions that can sustain and enhance our local biodiversity. This article out-lines one such positive action, which I hope you will appreciate and become involved with directly.

The goal of the BC Swallows Conser-vation Project is to obtain knowledge about the population and distribution of swallows and to encourage shared stewardship of their habitat. Currently the project is focused on Barn Swal-low, but there’s a keen interest to know more about Bank and Cliff Swallows, as all are colonial nesters that often return to that same breeding site.

The project started in the spring of 2014 and its objectives are to:• assess the status and distribution

of target swallow species and their important habitats;

• conduct research to better understand the use of nesting sites by swallows to inform future stewardship actions;

• construct, monitor, and maintain nesting structures and educational signs in suitable swallow habitats;

• collaborate with a diversity of partners to foster appreciation of swallow species and cooperation in conservation actions and long-term stewardship; and

• strengthen conservation and stewardship activities around swallow habitats for the benefit of associated species of concern.

Actions associated with this project have focused on the Lower Mainland region, however, the involvement of

others elsewhere in BC is strongly encour-aged. Achieving the project’s goal and objectives will be a voluntary and collab-orative effort.

To assess the status and distribution of target swallow species, surveys, monitor-ing, and research is completed between April 15 and September 15, with a pri-mary focus on June and July, the peak of the breeding season. Late August and September is also an important period for documenting communal roost/stopover sites used by swallows during migration, of which very few are documented in BC. Surveys focus on suitable habitats, in par-ticular nesting areas, and are performed by walking, cycling, or driving, and likely involve stand watches (point counts) to fully assess an area’s status. Submission of baseline data (e.g., known nesting sites, historical observations) and incidental sightings (e.g., while out bird watching) are very much appreciated and will be used to guide survey and conservation efforts. The number of areas surveyed and monitored will depend on available volunteer support.Volunteers are being sought to help with the following activities, coordinate and/or undertake field surveys; monitor active nesting sites (e.g., number and location of nests, reproductive success); assist with nest-site enhancement; conduct research (e.g., document the location, distance travelled, and habitat being used at active nest sites); and help with administrative tasks. Surveys, monitoring, and research will use standard methods and field forms. Training will be provided prior to field work either remotely or in person. Volunteers will be responsible for entering and submitting field data to the project coordinator at the end of the field season.

Ongoing inventory, monitoring, and research will greatly enhance our under-standing of the status of swallow species in BC. Data collected will contribute to recovery planning and implementation by government agencies and other stake-holders (e.g., under Canada’s Species at Risk Act) and provide a basis for future monitoring and management actions to conserve and enhance swallows and their habitats.

This project is being conducted in col-laboration with a diversity of partners, including the general public, natural-ist groups, government agencies, public institutions, and private businesses.

If you would like to find out more about this project, submit known nest and/or

roost sighting information, be a survey and/or research volunteer, or help in any other way (e.g., inform others about the project), please visit the following website or contact me by email.Greg Ferguson B.Sc. Project Coordinator, Registered Professional Biologist Website: http://bcswallowconservationproject.wordpress.com/ Email: [email protected]

ReferencesCOSEWIC. 2011. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 37 pp. (http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=24F7211B-1).COSEWIC. 2013. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Bank Swallow Riparia riparia in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 48 pp. (http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=24F7211B-1).Fenneman, J. 2014. Introduction to the Birds of British Columbia. In: Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2014. E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. (www.efauna.bc.ca).Nebel, S., A. Mills, J. D. McCracken, and P. D. Taylor. 2010. Declines of aerial insectivores in North America follow a geographic gradient. Avian Conservation and Ecology 5(2): 1. http://www.ace-eco.org/vol5/iss2/art1/).

Barn Swallow

Photo: B. Davison


The Squamish Environment Society held a very success-ful Gala on October 3 at the Executive Suites Hotel in

Squamish. This first-ever event was a fund-raiser for the Eagle Watch program now in its 20th year. The Eagle Watch Gala was attended by more than 100 guests and local artist Linda Bachman provided a wonderful eagles and environmental original artwork showing. The Tantalus Chamber Ensemble provided some very classy music for the reception and dinner and the silent auction yielded more than $5000 for this pro-gram. The host told some corny Eagle jokes!!

The Eagle Watch program offers first hand viewing and education about the eagles which visit the Squamish Estuary each November to late January. Brackendale Provincial Park was created to benefit this annual arrival and local art gal-lery operator, Thor Foslov, who is credited with much of the energy behind this BC Provincial Park.

Each eagle season, thousands of visitors arrive for the oppor-tunity of seeing eagles up close as they consume the salmon that have spawned up the rivers in the Squamish River net-work. The many Eagle Watch Volunteers offer much infor-mation and Olivon supplied telescope viewing to the guests, many of whom arrive from far distant countries. The many American guests are in awe of their national symbol in such numbers along the Squamish River.

The Nature Conservancy helped originate this program in the early 1990’s and the Squamish Environment Society has continued to operate the since then. The valuable pre-event eagle training for the volunteers is always an interesting occa-sion as new people enter the program and find much satisfac-tion in explaining eagle lore to the visitors. Donations to this program are always valued and welcomed. Visit our information sites on Facebook at Squamish Eagles and updates on the Tourism Squamish website and www.squamishenvironment.ca

Squamish EagleWatch GalaBy Larry Murray

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Mail to: BC Nature, c/o Heritage Centre, 1620 Mount Seymour Road, North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9Or phone in your renewal to (604) 985-3057

Income tax receipts will be issued for donations over the annual membership fee.* Donations can also be made at www.bcnature.ca through PayPal (look for the Support Us button).

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Share the Gift of Nature this Holiday Season - Enroll a Friend Enjoy birding, botany, geology and marine biology; join in camps, fi eld trips and more in communiti es throughout BC. The benefi ts of membership include our quarterly magazine, parti cipati on in fi eld camps, spring and fall conferences. Membership gives strength to the provincial naturalist voice that BC Nature provides.Getti ng involved with nature is as easy as joining any of the local clubs throughout BC (you also become a member of BC Nature). Or join BC Nature directly. Check www.bcnature.ca for the club nearest you or phone (604) 985-3057. For Gift Giving of Memberships - we will send a card to the new member on your behalf.

“Know Nature and Keep it Worth Knowing”Enjoy birding, botany, geology and marine biology; join in camps, fi eld trips and more in communiti es throughout BC.

The benefi ts of membership include our quarterly magazine, parti cipati on in fi eld camps, spring and fall conferences.

Getti ng involved with nature is as easy as joining any of the local clubs throughout BC (you also become a member of BC Nature).

“Know Nature and Keep it Worth Knowing”

Photo: Liz Barrett

Photo: Liz Barrett

Eagle count in 2014 - 1,617

Bald Eagle wing span can be 6 - 8 feet


Introducing Vanessa Lee- YNC’s New President,“I am passionately involved with anything green, watery

or mountainous!" confesses Vanessa during her nomination speech for the YNC Board. Her love affair with nature started about 11 years ago tracking snakes in Ontario Provincial Parks and has continued out west with professional roles including: classroom teacher in Richmond, an interpreter at the Vancouver Aquarium, and her current position as Interpretation Leader at Metro Vancouver Regional Parks. In the past, she has also dedicated her volunteer time to the David Suzuki Foundation and is currently on the executive committees of Interpretation Canada and EEPSA (Environmental Educators Provincial Specialist Association). “I am dedicated to connecting people to the awe and wonder of nature, and I hope to inspire care of places and wild things.” Vanessa recently completed a Masters of Ecological Education. Vanessa joined the board in 2011 and was appointed as President at this year’s AGM in May. She is also represents the YNC on the BC Nature Education Committee. Welcome to your new role as President Vanessa,

YNC Update: Connecting Children with Nature Across BC, with the help of many BC Nature MembersBy Kristine Webber

YNC’s new president, Vanessa Lee, thanks BC Nature members for stepping up for nature!

By Kristine Webber

we are lucky to have you!YNC Club Leader Updates - YNC Club Leaders are volunteers who share their passion for nature with a new generation of young naturalists. Their primary role is to organize outdoor nature adventures, called Explorer Days, for YNC club members. YNC is seeking volunteer nature club leaders for the Victoria Home Learners, Nanaimo and North Vancouver Island Clubs. For more information on being a club leader, contact Tammy Keetch.

YNC welcomes new leaders Justine McCulloch and Rob Wharf in Kamloops, Guy Scharf in Prince George, Paula Laita in Williams Lake, Wes Wong for Lower Mainland Home Learners, Krista Crowther for Cowichan Valley Saturday Club.Looking for a Christmas Gift for a special child? - A Family Membership makes a great gift; only $25 for a family

Rene Savenye Scholarship for 2015

In September 2015, BC Nature will award a $1,500 scholarship

To qualify, a candidate must be: • a member of BC Nature or the spouse,

son or daughter of a member • registered at an accredited institution

of higher learning in BC in a degree program in a discipline that contributes to an awareness, appreciation and understanding of our natural environment Information and Applications forScholarships may be obtained by: * visiting BC Nature website, refer tothe education tab - download and fill in the form and submit by using the electronicSubmit button.For queries; please email: [email protected]

Completed applications should reach the BC Nature office by Friday May 29, 2015.The successful candidate will be notifiedprior to the new school year.

BC Nature wishes to acknowledge the many generous donations made in memory of the late Rene Savenye, which made this scholarship possible. Future scholarships depend on future donations.

for an entire year includes a year’s subscription to NatureWILD magazine, Explorer Days with a local club and enrollment in both the Passport to Nature and Action Awards Quest Programs. Check it out at www.ync.ca or YNC on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youngnaturalistsclubbc Vanessa Lee, President & Office - [email protected] Kristine Webber, Executive Director [email protected] Tammy Keetch, Clubs Coordinator [email protected]

Kitimat Valley Naturalists remain active in a crazy growing com-munity. Over the past three years, with all the projects slated

for Kitimat, we have tripled our membership numbers. We continue our advocacy for the environment. We are cur-

rently monitoring development on three LNG valley proposals, three to four pipeline proposals, one possible refinery, and one SO2 emissions appeal regarding Rio Tinto Alcan. Our struggle s continue with monitoring and access to critical delta lands. We continue to maintain three BC Coastal Waterbird monthly survey sites and are continuing with various streamkeeper/DFO proj-ects, RAMP amphibian monitoring, Channel Cetacean surveys, and have just now initiated a community Bat Box installation program.

In June we participated in a birdathon in support of the publica-tion of BC’s Breeding Bird Atlas.

We know that 2015 will be yet another busy season! We are looking forward to Christmas Bird Count on December 14 and our AGM in January, which will feature another audio-visual extravaganza on nature.

Kitimat Valley Naturalists ClubBy Walter Thorne



Plight of the Eagles - An Urban TaleAs a Brit I’ve been lucky to work in Canada on a num-

ber of occasions, but to my disappointment never made it across the Canadian Rockies to the land of Totems that so vividly filled my childhood dreams. Then, about five years ago, the opportunity to live in British Columbia came up, and I jumped at it. One statistic, that only 4% of the original coastal temperate forests remains, really both-ered me, but I was at once enchanted by the dank beauty of the secondary forest in the Vancouver area and the rich diversity to be found there.

For an outsider who lacks the stoic nature of Canadians living through the harshest of winters in the interior, a home near the coast on the Lower Mainland seemed ideal, but clearly I wasn’t the first to think that; the region suffers many of the problems associated with rapid urban devel-opment. Planning is the solution, because the standard North American model of "there’s plenty of room - build where you like and we’ll just drive to it," doesn’t work in a location that is trapped between a rock, a wet place and another country. With increasing sprawl there is a price to pay for high density living as new properties are shoehorned into the remaining green spaces. With houses springing up quicker than most of us can think, the natu-ral world is getting a raw deal, and so are local residents.

I didn’t know about any of this when I arrived, because I was too busy visiting a local woodland reserve in Fleetwood where, during my first spring, I discovered an astonishing variety of birdlife. Then one day I walked a little further and found Surrey Lake Park, where a pair of Bald Eagles were rearing their offspring on a very viewable nest. A walk through suburbia to see eagles seemed to me an out-rageous privilege. The adults were clearly used to people but still they watched every move, although as a frequent visitor it wasn’t long before I registered as inconsequential in their minds. Ignored - I started photographing their behaviour.

During the 2012 season the adults raised two healthy youngsters with food coming in fairly regularly. Last year wasn’t so successful - only one eaglet was reared with feed-ing times more erratic than during the previous season. Finding food in an increasingly urban setting was caus-ing problems and the adults were having to travel further afield to hunt.

In early February 2014 I took my first outing of the year to the eagle’s nesting site and was shocked to discover a huge development underway on the park’s eastern side. A farm with a mixture of pasture and broad leaved woodland had disappeared, and rather shockingly no buffer zone had been left between the site and park border as diggers worked right along the fence line. A little short of 4.2 hectares of woodland had been cleared and topsoil was now being scraped off and carted away. Later base materi-als would begin to arrive, and the disturbances continue without a break through spring and summer.

Keep out signs were evident but there was nothing to relate the activity to any organization, although it didn’t take long to discover that this would soon be a new substa-tion for B.C. Hydro, which very few locals were aware of.

A survey by "AMEC Environment and Infrastructure" was undertaken during early 2013 which stated that it wasn’t possible to do a bird nest survey during the two site

visits, which is puzzling because one, on 29th May, was certainly late enough. Habitats suitable for species of concern were noted, these are included in the schedule-one-listed "Endangered" Pacific water shrew, the blue-listed "Special Concern" Western Toad and the similarly listed "Northern Red-legged Frog", with tadpoles, possibly of this species, found in a stream on site.

A local told me that Red-tailed Hawks had nested in the wood-lands in previous years and prior to 2014 I’d regularly seen them. Douglas Squirrel have vacated the surrounding area, but they may return. In an effort to stop birds nesting there had been an attempt at bird netting, although this ceased after a complaint, and according to a neighbour, bird wailers were then installed to put birds off. Certainly fewer birds were around in both Surrey Lake Park and nearby Fleetwood Park during spring and summer this year, which was disappointing.

A housing development, out of keeping with the quiet end of 156th Street also progressed through 2014, paving the way for other green spaces to disappear. An application for another hous-ing development is currently in progress - a wooded area where owls presently roost and deer graze. The planning department say they won’t be replying to questions on the issue and locals will have to wait for a public meeting. The way in which green spaces are so easily rezoned for high-density living raises several ques-tions, not least, should agricultural land be so readily available to developers? Especially when it is buffering a park with consider-able bio-diversity.

Maybe I’m just an oversensitive interloper, but I sense a hint of hypocrisy, or at least bad timing, as Surrey launches its "Biodi-versity Conservation Strategy". On July 21, Coun. Bruce Hayne proclaimed, “It’s now time to focus our efforts on building an inventory of natural environment”, also “It’s not good enough to protect the eagles bedroom, i.e. their nest. You have to pro-tect their kitchen and dining room too!” And from Deb Jack, president of Surrey Environmental Partners, another sound bite, “What a legacy this is for the history books.” Well, maybe, but a legacy too late for Surrey Lake Park - all that it needed was space to breathe. So, why not just stop rezoning agricultural land and apply present laws where necessary? Perhaps that’s too boring a sound bite to win elections, but Lower Mainlanders need to push for more effective controls, because if they don’t, their spectacular natural heritage will all too quickly disappear.

For further details please visit stephenbollwell.com

By Stephen Bolwell

Bald eaglets at Surrey Lake Park in July 2012 shortly before moving off the nest.

By Stephen Bolwell


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A Feathered River Across the Sky - The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to ExtinctionAuthor: Joel Greenberg Publisher: Bloomsbury, New York 289 pp Hard Cover $17.24 Cdn. Reviewed by: Joan Snyder

Book ReviewA Feathered River Across the Sky - The Passenger

Author: Joel Greenberg

Book Review

This book is a serious, detailed and well doc-umented historical account of the demise

of the passenger pigeon. The author clearly states that his goal for this book and that of the Project Passenger Pigeon group (over 150 Institutions involved) is to inform people about the passenger pigeon story and from this to open the door to a consideration of “current issues related to extinction, sustain-ability and the relation between people and nature.” It is a tragic story of the ignorance and greed that accompanied the invasion of Europeans to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The passenger pigeon was entirely North American and its migra-tions were basically movements over the landscape searching for suitable habitat for the best nesting and food sources in spring and in winter. Imagine anywhere from three to five billion beautiful pigeons moving over the landscape of eastern and central North America twice each year. Audubon observed a passenger pigeon migration that darkened the sky for three days along the Ohio River. The largest nesting site covered about 850 square miles. The last passenger pigeon died in a Cincinnati zoo in 1914. So what happened to them?

Although Greenberg’s book documents the stories written by a large number of people (13 pages of bibliography), there is very little scientific evidence cited because biological sciences were still in their infancy and the public was not particularly interested in scientific data. The stories are vivid and often disturbing. The early destruction of the birds was comparatively mild but as the market for pigeons along with other game grew, the slaughter became enor-mous. They were shot, netted in huge numbers, beaten from trees. Trees were burned and cut down in the nesting areas. Millions were transported for trap shooting but died en route. The slaughter was relentless and when the birds started to disappear the killers did not see that their actions were the reason. Only a few naturalists and early scientists were aware and attempted to call for a change but it was too little, too late. Between 1860 and 1900 the wild pas-senger pigeons disappeared.

Why should we care about a silly bird species that is now extinct? To help answer this question Greenberg refers to Paul and Anne Ehrlich in their book The Causes and Consequences of the Disappear-ance of Species who developed four categories of reasons for species preservation;

1) Other species have a right to exist; 2) other species are aesthetically pleasing and add to human

enjoyment; 3) other species provide economic benefits and other direct

benefits; and4) extinctions have indirect and long term effects on ecosystems.The book contains a passenger pigeon range map and a num-

ber of old black and white photos of naturalists, ornithologists, hunters, and rail cars with killed game including passenger pigeons hanging from the cars. There is also an excellent centre section of coloured pictures of stuffed birds, paintings including Audubon’s famous painting of a pair of passenger pigeons from his The Birds of America, a tintype of two "pigeoners" with three live birds and a bill of sale for 523 birds from a Chicago game dealer in April 1824.

This is not an easy book to read but I believe it is a "must read" for everyone and especially those who care and are actively involved in

biodiversity, natural history and the preservation of spe-cies. I will keep a copy on my bookshelf as a reference and as a reminder of my role in the protection and support of living organisms and the ecosystems that we still have on our planet today. (Joel Greenberg is a research associate of the Chicago Academy of Sciences Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. He has authored several books, taught natural history courses for the Chicago Botanical Garden and help to spearhead Project Passenger Pigeon.)Joan Snyder - [email protected] Joan is a naturalist with a Ph.D. in biology. She taught at both colleges and universities in Canada and the United States. Joan has spent most of her research career studying lichens and Mountain Caribou (an endangered species in BC) and is a strong defender of threatened and endangered species across the planet.

Bubble feeding Humpback Whales - North Coast

Photo: Walter Thorne


Tiny Technology: Mapping Marten MovementBy Shannon West, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF)

In the frozen wilderness of North-central BC, a small, furry head pops out from under the snow. Its fox-like profile stands out against a creamy

orange bib of fur. In a flash, the animal’s long, lithe body and bushy tail spring from the powder. It is an American Marten (Martes americana), a medium-sized mustelid known for its tree-top acrobatics and cat-like curios-ity. She boldly lopes across the snow towards a tasty morsel, conspicuously placed to entice her into a cage trap disguised with branches and straw. Marten are commonly trapped for their pelts, but this cage won’t spell her demise. Instead, she will become part of a ground-breaking study ex-amining marten’s movements, and how they might be affected by forestry practices.

Shannon Crowley, a researcher with the John Prince Research Forest (co-managed by UNBC and T’laz’ten Nation), and his colleagues check the study traps daily: if they’re lucky enough to get a marten, they fit it with the latest in GPS collars before releasing it safely back into the forest.

“They’re tough little critters,” confides Crowley. “Based on our experi-ences capturing them, they’re not fearful at all. We’ve had marten in cage traps that we’ve released, only to have them come back moments later to steal a piece of bait sitting right next to us.”

Crowley and his colleagues are working on their second year of an HCTF-funded project to determine how marten populations are affected by sal-vage logging of Mountain Pine Beetle-ravaged stands. They are comparing the species’ use of logged and unlogged areas by remotely tracking the movements of their collared subjects.

“Only we’re working with very new technology,” explains Crowley. “Really, this study is pioneering the use of GPS collars light enough to go on an animal this size. To my knowledge, a group in Scotland and ourselves have tried them on marten.”

The general rule of thumb for tracking collars is that they shouldn’t exceed 5% of an animal’s body weight. The collars used by Crowley and his team are below that threshold, sitting at around 3%.

“The marten really don’t seem to be bothered by them,” says Crowley. “We happened to get a video of one of the collared animals at one of our remote camera sites, and he was heading up into the trees, behaving very much like a typical marten.”

Crowley says the location data from the new GPS collars is a significant improvement over what they could previously obtain using radio units.

“We’re pretty impressed: we’re getting the kind of movement data that we could have never obtained in the past,” says Crowley. “Getting a location used to be very labour intensive, especially in harsh winter conditions. We would typically get about three locations a week. Now, we’re averaging a quantity between six and twelve locations a day.”

The increased amounts of data allow Crowley and his team to examine, how marten are moving across the landscape at a much finer scale. “Previ-ously, we could see where they were, but we couldn’t see how they got there. Now, we have a clearer picture of how they’re using different habitat types.”

Crowley’s team has been working closely with local forest company Conifex to compare martens’ response to different logging practices. Even-tually, their results could be used to inform forest management decisions so as to reduce the impact on marten, as well as other species.

“Marten have proven to be really good indicators of ecosystem health,” emphasizes Crowley. “They’re generally associated with mature forests with lots of structural complexity, which are also important for animals such as Woodpeckers and Mule Deer.”

Though Crowley’s marten study is a short-term project, the data col-lected will become an important component of a long-term monitoring program focused on mesocarnivores, a group that also includes Fishers, River Otters, Fox and Canada Lynx.

“The mesocarnivores encompass a diversity of species that require differ-ent habitat types,” explains Crowley. “Studying one species alone can tell you something, but when you look at a bunch of them together, by inven-

torying and surveying in different habitats, they can give you a much better idea of what’s hap-pening on the landscape.”

This level of understanding is particularly important when considering the rapid rate of environmental change associated with salvage logging. Though marten populations as a whole are thought to be stable in BC, they have become endangered or even extirpated from other juris-dictions through habitat loss.

“Research like this is really about taking pre-ventative action, so that marten don’t become endangered in BC as a result of land use prac-tices.” Crowley states.

Despite the economic pressures to maximize timber harvest, Crowley remains optimistic about the potential for this research to make a positive difference for habitat conservation. “Within the forestry industry, I think there’s definitely an appetite for finding ways to reduce impacts. Wildlife and habitat have definitely become part of the conversation, though we still have a long way to go before wildlife values are incorporated as a standard practice.”

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is a non-profit, charitable foundation that provides grants to conservation projects across BC. To find out more about the Foundation, and view some great video of marten and other mesocarnivores captured as part of this project, visit www.hctf.ca

Tiny Technology: Mapping Marten Movement

American Marten (Martes americana)


Looking back now, I think my dream of a butterfly park for the Gulf Islands

started in 2007 when I was doing a sur-vey on Pender and Saturna Islands. The study involved counting , by square metre patches, the number of stinging nettle plants on the two islands.

Then I came across the nettles growing at the Burgoyne Bay Heritage Farm on Salt Spring Island. I realized that some-thing in the environment was missing – butterflies! And I saw a valuable resource not being used to its full potential.

Those nettles are ideal for Brushfoots; they only eat nettles as caterpillars. Brushfoots enjoy unique longevity, living up to 18 months and laying eggs twice in their lifetime. They are strong flyers, easy to rear, they stick to a plant unless they sense that they are weakening it, then move on. That is why these butter-flies are a sustainable resource, they don’t wipe out their own food supply.

The question is, with so many vitamin-rich nettles, once grown intentionally to create rich soil, why aren’t there, except-ing Satyr Angelwings, any Brushfoots on the Gulf Islands?

Establishing permanent colonies of Brushfoots, our most colourful mid-sized flyers is possible on the Gulf Islands. Not only are the islands a confined habitat, with lots of nettles, but also, Salt Spring in particular is an island of gardeners from one end to another. With the right plants, their gardens would benefit too from the presence of butterflies.

There are Brushfoots on Vancouver Island but that population is declining. There hasn’t been the need for “envoys” to look for better pastures on the Islands. That is not a problem, we can import Brushfoots from the United Kingdom. I have been in touch with a supplier, World Wide Butterflies. I have been told by them that we could start with two dozen larvae rear them, protect them in

A Butterfl y Park for the Gulf IslandsBy Robin Fitzgerald an outdoor building, we could expect

300 butterflies in the first year. By set-ting aside fifty larvae, and rearing them, the number of adults will grow exponen-tially.

If we start with a garden at Burgoyne Bay, there are enough nettles for a vari-ety of species—the brilliant Red Admiral, Milbert’s Tortoiseshell and two Painted Ladies. They will become specially-designed butterflies that have been reared for generations on nettles. We can make this happen!

So again, why are Brushfoots missing on the Islands? On some of the Islands, the deer population has grown to the point that it rules over precious wild-flowers, eating up those that adult but-terflies use for their energy source. Fortu-nately, Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) offers a “whole food” nectar, and is sufficiently widespread on Salt Spring Island to last from spring until fall. That is why Asters and other flowering plants need to be included in a butterfly garden, to bloom long enough for the Brushfoots.

Needless to say, I have been talking to many people, trying to get support for a butterfly garden. I have been using the beautiful Island Savings mural in Gan-ges, an accurate depiction of the fauna one present here, as my “soapbox.” So far, the support is sparse, with people say-ing that the project “won’t fly” because there is no way that I will ever get fund-ing. But I am asking only for a permit from Parks Canada. Once the initial set-up is finished, the project will maintain itself.

Funding support from eastern Canada could be used to create a viewing area, flower beds, and a building for the “milk-ing parlour” that would become a rear-ing station.

Now, please join me on a virtual tour of this still imaginary, family-oriented facility.

You drive into a parking area, a place where a dilapidated barn now stands. However, if salvaged properly, there might be enough material for the facil-ity’s main building.

You proceed up the steps to the cov-ered porch. The sign directs you to the right, where there is a row of 10 large, screened windows. Through them you see our local Brushfoots, along with the Peacock and Map butterflies, and others introduced more recently from abroad.

Walk around the corner to the start of the gardens. In front are Calendula, Heathers and Blanket Flower, suitable for the early-arriving butterflies. Next are the Lupines and Asters that do double-duty as host-plants for future projects.

Move on to the Buddleia trees, where a volunteer is releasing Painted Ladies on some Malvas. Your visit becomes an inter-pretive tour of the last little circle of flow-ers. There you learn that world-renowned experts come to see “species of concern” that have joined this conservation com-munity.

Meanwhile, inside the 60-foot-long “nursery” building, staff are teaching larval husbandry to young naturalist s, pointing out the importance of pupation boxes, how a flight chamber works, and much more. These programs are vital for existing groups to offer guidance to future Stewards. This hands-on experience can’t be bought with any amount of funding. It has to be offered for free.

Yes, this scenario is still at the dream-stage, but it can be done. Making this dream a reality will take some faith and a true belief that we can create a butterfly garden. If we put in the right plants for them first, the butterflies will do the rest on their own. They will choose to live here if we provide the right conditions for them. Robin Fitzgerald is an enthusiast who wants to take a place of virtually no butterflies and make it a place known for its butterflies, to show that any community with nettles can do this. Rearing the Brushfoots is included in his global publication; The Art of Butterflying, along with a colourful Club Calendar at printing cost. visit: www.lulu.com/BC_butterflies for a preview.

Red Admiral

Milberts Tortoiseshell Peacock Butterfly



Peacock Butterfly



BC NATURE CONFERENCE AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MAY 7 -10, 2015

Hosted by the Salt Spring Trail and Nature Club “Living by the Salish Sea: Protecting our Ecoregion”

PROGRAM (More details available at http://saltspringtnc.ca)

Thursday May 7 Registration desk and display areas open from 2 pm to 7:30 pm 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Nature Photography workshop in the “galleries” and on location 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Stewards in Training workshop at Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Geology Workshop, Program Room in the Library and on location 8:45 am - 4:15 pm ($) - Pender or Mayne or Galiano preconference excursions

Free time and dinner on your own

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Social with wine and cheese 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm Dr. Briony Penn: The Salish Sea and special performance: The Only Planet Cabaret 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Executive meeting, Program Room in the Library 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm Director’s Dinner Meeting, Program Room in the Library Friday May 8 Registration desk and display areas open from 8 am to 8 pm 6:00 am - 8:00 am Early morning birding (Burgoyne Bay) 8:30 am - 9:00 am Welcome and announcements 9:00 am -12:10 pm Presentations: Two concurrent sessions: 1a. Mr. David Denning: Voices from the Salish Sea 1b. Dr. Linda Gilkeson: The Amazing Insects of Salt Spring Island 2a. Mr. John Neville: Diversity of Salt Spring Birds 2b. Ms. Genevieve Singleton: Wild about Plants: Traditional and Current Uses of Coastal BC Plants 3a. Dr. David Hancock: Bald Eagle, the Urban Invader 3b. Dr. Tara Martin: Browsing down our natural heritage: Deer impacts on plant and songbird populations across an island archipelago 12:10 – 2:00 pm Lunch on your own 2:00 -5:00 pm: Field trips NOTE: some field trips are offered only once (F=Friday; S=Saturday)

Field trips:

Maximum 15 people per excursion. Alvin Indridson N.R: habitat restoration (F only) Intertidal exploration (F+S) Burgoyne Bay – botany (F)/Gary Oak (S) Andreas Vogt N.R.– Gary Oak habitat (F+S) Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve– wetlands (F only) Foxglove Farm – sustainable agriculture (F only) Dan Jason’s Salt Spring Seeds Farm (S only) Ruckle Park South (F), North (S) Mt Erskine and Manzanita Ridge (F only) Mt Maxwell Rim trail (S only) Ford Lake – Birding (S only) ($) 4-hr Marine wildlife zodiac tour (1-5 pm) (F+S)

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm ($) BBQ and local beer and wine tasting in the Galleries and the patio 7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Address by Ms. Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich and the Southern Gulf Islands 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm Mr. Ian McAllister: Great Bear Wild: Dispatches from a Northern Rainforest Saturday May 9 Registration desk and display areas open from 8 am to 6 pm 6:00 am - 8:00 am Early morning birding (Burgoyne Bay) 9:00 am – noon BC Nature Annual General Meeting

Address by Mr. Gary Holman, MLA for Saanich North and the Southern Gulf Islands Presentation: Mr. Christopher di Corrado: BC Breeding Bird Atlas

Noon - 1:30 pm Lunch on your own 1:30 - 4:30 pm Field Trips 5:30 - 6:00 pm Pre-banquet Social – cash bar 6:00 - 9:30 pm Banquet: MC: Mr. Arthur Black; Speaker: Ms. Ramona de Graaf:

More Than just a Pretty Beach: Marine Shorelines as Critical Fish Habitats for the Salish Sea Sunday May 10 8:45 am Farewell Field trips: ($) Prevost Island by zodiac ($) Ocean Discovery Centre (Fulford-Swartz Bay Ferry) Mt Tzouhalem Nature Reserve and Somenos Marsh (Vesuvius- Crofton Ferry) Koksilah River/Kinsol Trestle (Vesuvius- Crofton Ferry) Note: ($) means extra costs; for prices see registration form.


BC NATURE CONFERENCE AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, MAY 7 -10, 2015 Hosted by the Salt Spring Trail and Nature Club

“ Living by the Salish Sea: Protecting our Ecoregion”

REGISTRATION FORM

Name:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Club:________________________________________________________________________________________________ Director Executive Address:______________________________________________________City________________________________________________________ Postal Code:_________________________Tel:__________________email___________________________________________________________ Non-members must join BC Nature ($20 annual membership) or one of the member clubs to attend these events*.

Options (GST included where applicable) By Mar 15 After Mar 15 Total Full registration: includes all presentations, all field trips, and workshops on May 7-10 except those requiring additional charges

$110.00

$125.00

or Thursday May 7 only (workshops, wine and cheese, presentations) $30.00 $35.00 or Friday May 8 only (presentations and field trips) $70.00 $75.00 or Saturday May 9 only (field trips and annual general meeting) $50.00 $55.00 Thursday May 7 boat trips to Pender, or Mayne, or Galiano (bagged lunch included) $65.00 $70.00

Thursday May 7 lunch for workshop participants (optional) (no time to go for lunch) $12.00 $12.00 Friday May 8 barbecue (no host bar) $25.00 $30.00 Friday/Saturday, May 8/9, Marine Wildlife Zodiac Tour $85.00 $95.00 Saturday May 9 Banquet (no host bar) (maximum seating for 120 guests) $40.00 $45.00

45.00

Sunday May 10 boat trip to Prevost Island (bagged lunch included) $10.00 $12.00

Sunday May 10 Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney $15.00 $20.00

*New club membership (required for non-members) BC Nature individual membership $20.00 Salt Spring Trail & Nature Club (individual memberships only) $25.00 TOTAL

Will you attend the Directors/Executive meeting? Please circle:

Executive Director

Please checkmark (√) your choice of workshops and/or field trips in the table below.

$ means extra costs; for prices see table above. Field trips: maximum 15 people. For more information, please see our website: http://saltspringtnc.ca.

THURSDAY MAY 7 FRIDAY MAY 8 SATURDAY MAY 9 SUNDAY MAY 10

All day workshops Afternoon Field trips Afternoon Field trips Farewell Excursions

$ - Nature Photography Alvin Indridson Nature Res. Ford Lake - Birding $ - Prevost Island $ - Stewards in Training Intertidal exploration Intertidal exploration $ - Ocean Discovery Centre.

$ - Geology of SS Island Burgoyne Bay Prov. Park Burgoyne Bay Prov. Park Mt Tzouhalem Nature Reserve and Somenos Marsh

Ruckle Park Prov. Park - South Ruckle Park Prov. Park - North

Gulf Islands Tours Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve Salt Spring Seeds - Dan Jason

Kinsol Trestle and Koksilah River Trail

$ - Mayne Island Foxglove Farm $ - Galiano Island Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve $ - Pender Island Mt Erskine Mt Maxwell Prov. Park $ - Zodiac Tour $ - Zodiac Tour

How to register:

1. Complete the above registration form (one form per person). 2. A signed waiver form is required. Print waiver form from our website for each person, read carefully and sign. 3. Make cheques payable to Taylor-Munro BCN-AGM. Mail waiver, registration and payment to: SSTNC, PO Box 816, Ganges, Salt Spring

Island, BC, V8K 2W3. No refunds after April 1. We will send most confirmations by email. For more information, contact Nieke Visser at 250-537-5443, or [email protected]. Accommodation: A list of accommodations with preferred rates is posted on our website http://saltspringtnc.ca. When making a reservation at one of the recommended accommodations, please mention the BC Nature Conference & AGM to receive your discount. For additional accommodation suggestions, please call the visitors center at 250-537-5252 or visit their website: http://saltspringtourism.com.


The Last Word; By Daphne Solecki

The Passenger Pigeon Ectopistes migratorius

"Men still live who, in their youth, remember pigeons; trees still live who, in their youth, were shaken by a living wind. But a few decades hence only the oldest oaks will remember, and at long last only the hills will know." Aldo Leopold. (On a monument to the Pigeon, 1947)

The last Passenger Pigeon on earth died one hundred years

ago, yet there may once have been more Passenger Pigeons than any other species of bird in the world – as many as 3 - 5 billion. Flocks of Passenger Pigeons were so huge that when they flew they darkened the sky for hours or days at a time. The beats of their wings created drafts that chilled people when they flew over.

What were Passenger Pigeons like? And how did it happen that

once upon a time there were such huge num-bers of them and now they are extinct? Pas-senger Pigeons existed for about 100,000 years and lived only in eastern North America, mak-ing their home in the deciduous forests. They were beautiful birds, about twice the size of the Mourning Dove, with long tails and pinkish breasts; they had red eyes and their feet and legs were also red. They were fast flyers, going about 100 km/hr on average.

They lived and travelled in huge flocks, mov-ing around from season to season looking for the best places to feed and make their nests. One day the famous naturalist, John James Audu-bon, noted: " I observed the pigeons flying from north-east to south-west, in greater numbers than I thought I had ever seen them before, and feeling an inclination to count the flocks that might pass within the reach of my eye in one hour, I dismounted, seated myself on an emi-nence, and began to mark with my pencil, mak-ing a dot for every flock that passed. In a short time finding the task which I had undertaken impracticable, as the birds poured in countless multitudes, I rose, and counting the dots then put down, found that 163 had been made in twenty-one minutes. I travelled on, and still met more the farther I proceeded. The air was lit-erally filled with Pigeons; the light of noon-day was obscured as by an eclipse; the dung fell in spots, not unlike melting flakes of snow; and the continued buzz of wings had a tendency to lull my senses to repose... (having travelled 55 miles I reached Louisville before sunset)..The Pigeons were still passing in undiminished numbers, and continued to do so for three more days.”

Passenger Pigeons lived in colonies with up to a hundred nests in a single tree. For most of the year they fed on beechnuts, acorns and

chestnuts that grew in the eastern forests. Because they lived in such huge flocks, they needed large forests for their exist-ence. When early settlers cleared these forests for farmland, the birds were forced to move and, as forest areas grew smaller and smaller, the birds began to feed on the grain fields of the farmers. The large flocks of Passenger Pigeons often caused serious damage to the crops and farmers started shooting the birds.

In the 1800s, coincidentally with the clearing of forests, railways were being built. When it was found that these pigeons made good eating, professional hunters began netting and shooting the birds to sell in the city markets, destroy-ing nesting grounds as they went. Hunters filled whole refrigerated cars with pigeons to send to the cities.

For 50 years the destruction of pigeons continued. Finally the voice of conserva-tion was heard and in 1900 Congressman John Lacey introduced the first wildlife-protection law with the words, "We have given an awful exhibition of slaughter and destruction, which may serve as a warning to all mankind. Let us now give an exam-ple of wise conservation of what remains of the gifts of nature."

Environmentalism arrived too late to save the passenger pigeon - it turned out that Passenger Pigeons could only be suc-cessful if they lived in large flocks where their huge numbers protected them from native predators like hawks and weasels. In smaller flocks the pigeons did not breed.

Bison almost suffered the same fate as the passenger pigeon – they too had existed in millions and for the same causes had dwindled to a few hundred but the law now protects them.

"Men still live who, in their youth,

Photo - Wikipedia Commons

Citizen Science at its Best! - Christmas Bird CountIn 1900, American ornithologist Frank Chapman asked birders across North America to head out on Christmas Day to count

the birds in their home towns and submit the results as the first "Christmas Bird Census." The Christmas Bird Count, as it is now called, is conducted in more than 2000 localities across Canada, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These bird observations have been amassed into a huge database that reflects the distribution and numbers of winter birds over time.

Christmas Bird Counts are conducted on any one day between December 14 and January 5 inclusive. They are carried out within a 24-km diameter circle that stays the same from year to year. Christmas counts are generally group efforts, though single-observer counts can and do happen. They are organized at the local level, usually by a birding club or naturalists organization.

Below are the list of some of the BC Nature Club dates for their Christmas Bird counts. If you do not see your club date listed for the Christmas Bird Count, please consult with your newsletters or website.

Vancouver - December 14 Pender Island - Decc 14Ladner - December 21 Victoria Nat. Hist. Society - Dec 20Abbotsford Mission - December 27 Duncan Bird Count - Jan 1White Rock and Surrey - December 28 Fernie Bird Count - Dec 14Pitt Meadows - January 3 Cranbrook - Dec 21Howe Sound - January 4 Kimberly - Jan 4Salt Spring Island - Dec 14 Langley/White Rock/Surrey - Dec 28Arrowsmith Naturalists - Dec 14 Comox Valley - Dec 21Cowichan - Jan 1, 2015 Nanoose Nats. - Dec 14

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BCnature is published four times a year by the FBCN,1620 Mount Seymour Road, North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9

Northern Amphibians Naturalists SocietyBy Dr. Norma Kerby

The Northern Amphibians Naturalists Society (NANS) is the newest society to join BC Nature. Located in north-

western British Columbia, NANS has members located from Dease Lake to Fort Fraser, along Highway 16, including the Nass Valley, and out to the coast at Kitimat and Prince Ru-pert. Although having such a dispersed membership offers some rather interesting problems, we are all naturalists en-thusiastically recording biodiversity and ecological informa-tion about Northwest BC, and assisting in the preservation of important habitat for amphibian and reptile species.

The Society is involved in a number of monitoring and sampling programs, including the Northwest British Colum-bia (NWBC) Reptile and Amphibian Monitoring Program (RAMP). Started in 2011 in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, NWBC RAMP monitors for occurrence of amphibian and reptile species through the use of cover boards, visual surveys, and incidental sightings. We have had many

adventures with this program, due to the remote and rugged locations of most of our monitoring sites. Losses of boards and sites due to flooding, moose damage, bears, snow creep, rampaging horses, and firewood seekers are among some of the challenges of maintaining stable monitoring locations in a northern landscape. Currently, we have 86 primary moni-toring locations, the majority of which have combinations of board replicas and visual surveys. Hot spots for high amphib-ian biodiversity include Pine Creek in Kitimat, Lakelse Lake south of Terrace, and Smith Creek Ranch in Fort Fraser.

As our network of volunteers has gained experience, we have also become involved in a number of other biodiver-sity projects. A group of very keen members collects inver-tebrates for the Royal BC Museum, including using Berlese funnels to process deep duff samples. One member of NANS based out of Dease Lake found a spider species new to Brit-ish Columbia. Each year, the Museum provides a collection emphasis for our members, ranging from grasshoppers to snails, although each year we also collect any unusual species or species that are undergoing population explosions. Under permits, NANS members also collect naturally-killed verte-brates for the Museum.

As a network of experienced volunteers, our members have been acting as local contacts for other research programs and participate in collecting data for them. For example, we are assisting the summer and winter bat projects conducted by Dr. Cori Lausen. A number of members are also participat-ing in wetlands projects and have provided information and comments for the multitude of LNG pipeline and plant devel-opment projects proposed in Northwest BC. Most members have become their community's contact for amphibians and Garter Snake questions and offer school talks and assistance to teachers. Over the next three years, we are hoping to develop field trips to some of our more interesting monitoring sites.For membership or more information - please contact:Norma Kerby - [email protected]

or species that are undergoing population explosions. Under permits, NANS members also collect naturally-killed verte-brates for the Museum.

been acting as local contacts for other research programs and participate in collecting data for them. For example, we are assisting the summer and winter bat projects conducted by Dr. Cori Lausen. A number of members are also participat-ing in wetlands projects and have provided information and comments for the multitude of LNG pipeline and plant devel-opment projects proposed in Northwest BC. Most members have become their community's contact for amphibians and Garter Snake questions and offer school talks and assistance to teachers. Over the next three years, we are hoping to develop field trips to some of our more interesting monitoring sites.For membership or more information - please contact:

Wendy and Ken at Digby Island

Kelly & Ken measuring a Roughskin Newt

Natasha and Ken collecting insects in Prince Rupert

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