Comox Valley Nature

Comox Valley Nature would like to introduce Dan Strickland, the Chief Naturalist of Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park from 1970 to 2000. Dan grew up as a keen young naturalist at the west end of Lake Ontario, graduating in biochemistry from the University of Toronto, and earning an M.Sc. from the University of Montreal.

During Strickland’s career, he conceived and wrote the texts for Algonquin’s highly regarded system of interpretive trail guides, wrote or co-wrote five books on the Park’s flora, fauna and human history and developed two major museums (the spectacular Algonquin Visitor Centre and the Algonquin Logging Museum). Strickland personally wrote over 300 issues of Algonquin’s well-regarded newsletter, the Raven and organized the Park’s famous wolf-howling expeditions that have introduced over 100,000 people to the incomparable experience of hearing wolves howl back in response to imitation howls given by the naturalist staff. During his long career at Algonquin, he trained a generation of young Ontario naturalists, many of whom have gone onto distinguished careers as academic or government biologists.

As a sidelight in this long career, Strickland also pursued, using holidays and his own time, a long-term study of the Gray Jay, a bird that in the coming year may well be designated as Canada’s National Bird. Now in its 50th year, and still going strong, this study has been responsible for discovering most of what we now know of the ecology and social behaviour of this remarkable species.

It is a little-known fact, however, that the Gray Jays of the U.S. Pacific Northwest, including those living in a sliver of southwestern British Columbia and on Vancouver Island, were once considered distinct from the Gray Jays in the rest of North America. In addition to looking different, a recent U.S. study has shown they differ genetically and there are good reasons to suspect they have different social behaviour as well. To find out if this suspicion is correct, Strickland has come out to the Island to inaugurate a study that will settle the question. In this talk Strickland will explain how he has worked out the biology and ecology of Gray Jays in the east and how he intends to go about applying his proven techniques to the jays up on the Forbidden Plateau. It could well be that his findings could contribute to restoring west-coast Gray Jays to the status they once held as a distinct species, separate from the jays found in eastern and boreal Canada. This lecture, entitled: “Do West Coast Gray Jays Belong to a Different Species” will take place at the Florence Filberg Seniors Centre on Anderton Ave in downtown Courtenay at 7 pm October 16, 2016.

Meetings and lectures of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society are held on the third Sunday of most months at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Avenue, Courtenay. Meetings are open to the public, including children and youth. Lecture is free, though a $4 contribution from non-members is appreciated. New memberships are always welcomed.