Comox Valley NatureKids Club: Meet your volunteer leaders!

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Botany

Comox Valley NatureKids Club

Volunteer Leaders: Jarrett Krentzel & Jocie Brooks
Email:

Meet your volunteer leaders!

My name is Jarrett Krentzel and I’m happy to be your NatureKids co-leader. Getting outside, walking and being with kids are a few of my favourite things, so I’m quite excited to start getting out there with you all, hitting the trails and exploring our beautiful Comox Valley together!
and…I’m Jocie Brooks, a local nature-enthusiast and parent, and I’ll be co-leading NatureKids with Jarrett. I look forward to exploring nature together with our children, in this rich and diverse area. Hope to see you out at our explorer days!

Upcoming 2016 Explorer Days
Woodhus Slough
Sunday, February 28
1pm

The next Explorer Day will be on Sunday, February 28th at 1:00pm at Woodhus Slough (meeting at Salmon Point). Our special guest for this walk is Luisa Richardson, a Campbell River naturalist who is very experienced at teaching children about nature. Luisa completed her Masters degree in environmental education at Simon Fraser University in 2015.

Directions from Courtenay/Comox: Go north on Hwy 19A. Continue north of Black Creek, going over the Oyster River Bridge. Continue on, pass Fosgate Road and take the very next right on Salmon Point Road and drive to the end. We will meet at the parking lot of the Salmon Point Pub. Allow about 35 minutes one way for the drive. You can also take the Inland Hwy, but be sure to take the Hamm Road connector and then continue as above. Please dress for winter weather with boots, toques, gloves or rain gear as needed.

Past Explorer Days

Millard Creek Trail
Sunday, January 24
1pm – 2:30pm 

A gravel path with some boardwalk follows alongside Millard Creek, an important salmon stream. We will also have views of the Comox Estuary, where large numbers of ducks congregate in the winter. Please dress for winter weather with toques, gloves or raingear as needed. You may wish to bring a small snack and water bottle.


 Annual Kids Bird Count and Potluck Lunch
Saturday, November 14th
Meet at 10:00 am at the Park Café at the Courtenay Airpark (102 20th Street)
Please RSVP

We will divide into three teams: 1) Courtenay Airpark 2) Lazo Marsh and 3) Mack Laing Park. The birding group from Comox Valley Nature will be assisting with this event and an expert birder will lead each team. We will be out counting birds for an hour to an hour and a half, after which we will all meet at the Tsolum Building at the Lewis Centre for a potluck lunch. You can bring your potluck items to the Tsolum Building after the bird count.

 Sunday, October 25th
Oyster River Hatchery, part of Bear Creek Regional Park
Nature Mentor Charlie Vaughn, a long time member of the Oyster River Restoration Society (ORES) has kindly offered to give us a tour. This will be a great opportunity for the children to learn about salmon and explore the rich and varied habitat of the area.

 Sunday, September 13th, 2015
1 – 2:00 PM
Miracle Beach Provincial Park
Nature Walk
We hope you are had a wonderful summer, and we are excited to start off a new season of Explorer Days. We will start with a trail walk through a second growth forest, keeping a look out for slugs and snails, and then explore the Black Creek estuary and beach before looping back to the Nature House.

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Bird Outing Report: Deep Bay, Feb. 25,2016

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Krista

It was a beautiful morning at Deep Bay despite a chilly start. The highlight was a couple of dozen Long-tailed Ducks looking very stunning in the sunshine. 9 birders saw the following 39 species:

American Wigeon
Greater Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Black Turnstone
Bald Eagle
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Northwestern Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Brewer’s Blackbird
House Finch
Purple Finch

Posted in Birds | Comments Off on Bird Outing Report: Deep Bay, Feb. 25,2016

BC Nature eNews February 2016

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Krista
Issue 48
Date February 2016
When will Spring be back?
BCnature Spring 2016 Magazine is now available
The BCnature Spring Magazine is now available for download in the “members only” area. If you do not have your password or access name, please email the office for your information (). For those that receive the magazine via Canada post mail, your name as it is written and your password (top left corner) are your access to the members only area.

Upcoming Events
  • Resolutions Submission – February 26, 2016 deadline – visit link
  • AGM 2016 – hosted by Comox Valley Naturalists – May 12 – 15, 2016 Please visit for Updates, Registration and Schedules
  • Rene Savenye Scholarship deadline – June 3, 2016. Application Link
  • FGM 2016 – Prince George, September 22-26, 2016
  • Bird Blitzs – Skagit – May 6-8, 2016 Robson – June 3, 2016 Manning, June 17-19, 2016
To Lower Mainland – Vancouver Members
Bird Studies Canada is seeking volunteers to monitor bird collisions with windows at their own residential homes in the Lower Mainland or at commercial buildings in downtown Vancouver. Bird collisions with windows are a leading cause of bird mortality, killing up to an estimated 42 million birds/year in Canada. Collisions often occur when windows reflect habitat or birds presume they can fly directly through the glass to habitat that is visible through the window.
Residential surveys involve searching for stunned/ injured birds or carcasses around your home. Monitoring commercial buildings involves looking for stunned/injured birds and carcasses at various buildings in downtown Vancouver. The time commitment for participants can be minimal (surveying once a week) to more involved (surveying multiple times a week or daily). The data collected will help assess collision rates, identify vulnerable species and contribute to our understanding of the impacts of collisions in western Canada. The data will also help scientists and managers make informed decisions about potential mitigation measures to help reduce bird mortality due to window collisions.
If you are interested in joining this Citizen Science monitoring program or would like to learn more, please contact Karen Devitt at  or visit http://www.birdscanada.org/education/urbanvan/window/.
Interested and knowledgeable in birding and wish to lend a hand?
A documentary series about ornithology produced in Quebec called « Fou des Oiseaux » will begin its second season of production ( http://unis.ca/fou-des-oiseaux). This time we shall focus on Western Canada. Our crew is in need of participants, enthusiastic birders, who live in British Columbia willing to share their knowledge and experience with those who wish to learn more about birding in Vancouver Island, Vancouver, Osoyoos, Revelstoke area and Colombia River Valley. Even if being able to speak french is not essential, we would like to find few good birders with some knowledge of French language. Maybe you know someone in your group ? Thanks for your help ! Valérie Lavoie Production Research co-ordinator
Interesting Sites and News Tidbits
Climate Antics – Youtube video Link

All About Birds – Migration Patterns Link

On the Antarctic Peninsula, Scientists Witness a Penguin Revolution Link

February Bird Song – John Neville Link

The Great Bear Rainforest Agreement: Unfiltered Link

Delta Bird & Biodiversity Strategy –
About Town
NatureKids (formerly YNC) – are hosting a Nature Blitz February 27, 2016 – Details can be found Here Event is free but requires pre-registration.

The Messenger – Showing March 5 – Salt Spring & Victoria – Link Here for Dates

Allan Brooks Nature Centre Society – The Allan Brooks Nature Trailer is now available for school bookings through March 2016! The trailer`s current educational theme is Grassland Habitat Connectivity, which looks at how grassland animals survive and find resources in grassland ecosystems. The hands-on activities provide an interactive way for all-ages to learn about wildlife corridors, and how everyday choices and chance both influence local biodiversity, and our own water supply. Learning about Keeping Nature in Our Future extends the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy of the South Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation Program and OCCP partners. For More Information

Students – Summer Job Opportunites
Summer Positions with Bird Studies Canada Bird Studies Canada will soon be hiring for a number of seasonal positions across the country. Position descriptions – including location, job requirements, and application dates – will be posted on the Job Opportunities page of our website. Be sure to check back frequently in the weeks to come so as not to miss an opportunity.

Student at SFU? Look for Summer Student Opportunities with BC Nature March 2016
Nominate a BC River for the 2016 Endangered Rivers List
The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORC) will publish its 2016 Endangered Rivers List in March. The List will include rivers or streams on which public recreation is considered by our Endangered Rivers Committee to be the most endangered or threatened after the Committee has reviewed your nominations. Members and clubs of ORC’s member organizations and any other individuals active in outdoor recreation are invited to nominate rivers for the list. Persons or organizations making a nomination are requested to provide the information listed in the brief Endangered Rivers survey (see link below)
Public recreation may include fishing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, birdwatching or just walking by the river. This year’s survey will name the endangered rivers nominated for each of the Province’s regions
This link will take you to our survey form.The deadline for making nominations is Friday March 11, 2016.
From the Yinka Dene Alliance
An update that From the Yinka Dene Alliance: In February, the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) signed a Solidarity Accord affirming its support for the Save the Fraser Declaration, an Indigenous law signed by representatives of well over 100 First Nations banning tar sands transport through our territories.
The BCGEU joins other labour unions such as Unifor and the BC Teachers’ Federation, as well as business, environmental and community groups, and people like you, that have already given their support to the Declaration. This comes at a bad time for Enbridge Northern Gateway. If the ongoing legal challenges, failure to obtain supply contracts, and a promised Pacific north coast tanker ban were not enough, just last month, the BC Supreme Court ruled that the Province did not meet its duty to consult First Nations on Northern Gateway.
The addition of the 65,000 member BCGEU to a growing alliance of tar sands pipeline opponents sends an important message. Thank you BCGEU for standing in solidarity with the Yinka Dene Alliance and many others to finally put an end to the risky Enbridge Northern Gateway project.
To Unsubscribe , please contact the BC Nature Office. All email addresses are protected from misuse by BC Nature by way of off site storage on a secure server. Questions or comments? Contact us via Email to BC Nature
On July 1, 2014 Canada implemented new laws that regulate how we communicate electronically with our “followers”. Since our electronic communications are not commercial in nature, the new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation does not apply. However, we wanted to take the opportunity to remind you that you can unsubscribe from our distribution list at any time by clicking the link above.
Posted in BC Nature | Comments Off on BC Nature eNews February 2016

Bird Outing Report: Ships Point, Feb.18,2016

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Krista

Six birders went to Ship’s Point this morning where we saw 22 species. We were greeted with wind and rough sea at the Park which made it a challenge for finding birds bobbing in the waves to say the least. We headed over to the Fanny Bay Conservation Area where the bay was calm making for much easier seeing and identifying the water fowl.

Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Greater Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Horned Grebe
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Steller’s Jay
Common Raven
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird

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Guest Speaker: John Tayless “Plankton, Herring and Sea Lions; The Annual Herring Migration Explained” Sun, Feb 21st, 2016.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Botany
Comox Valley Nature is pleased to welcome Dr. John Tayless, who is well known in the valley as the founding president of North Island College. Dr. John Tayless is a marine biologist who specialized in coral reef ecosystems. His talk will outline why the herring appear with such regularity in the waters of Comox Bay, Lambert Channel and Baynes Sound around the second week in March. John will show how the herring, with the planktonic micro-crustaceans “copepods,” are so important in the conversion of vegetable protein to animal protein in sustaining the populations of salmon, sea lions, orcas, eagles, gulls and the other higher vertebrates that make up the ecosystem of the Salish Sea.

The annual herring migration brings with it a cornucopia that enriches the food web just when the spring reproductive cycle of many species is getting underway and begs the question: “Should there be a herring fishery at all”?

John spent a total of seven years around the South China Sea based in Indo-China and Borneo. He was Curator of the University of Hawaii’s Waikiki Aquarium, educated in the United Kingdom and immigrated to Canada in 1975. North Island College brought him to the Comox Valley where he was the college’s founding Dean. He retired from the college in 1990, as President, to join the Common Wealth, taking up a post once again in South East Asia. John was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1968 and Fellow of the Zoological Society in 1970. He is now retired and with his wife Fiona, is enjoying the beauty of the Comox Valley and the valley life style. John’s lecture, entitled: “Plankton, Herring and Sea Lions; The Annual Herring Migration Explained” will take place at the Florence Filberg Seniors Centre at 7 pm (sharp) February 21, 2016.

 

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Bird Outing Report: Gartley Point, Feb. 11,2016

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Krista

The fog lifted for us this morning, the ocean was calm, and the rain held off until we were ready to head home. 12 birders went to Gartley Point and Marine Drive in Royston where we saw 38 species of birds, highlights being a nice assortment of water fowl and a flock of Dunlin and Black-bellied Plovers.

Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Greater Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Black-bellied Plover
Dunlin
Marbled Murrelet
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Northwestern Crow
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird

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Too Many Choices at the 2016 BC Nature Conference?

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Jim Boulter

Trying to decide which of the over thirty activities you would like to take in during the 2016 BC Nature Conference and AGM? Some of the more popular Field Trips are almost fully booked, but there are lots of wonderful trips available. May we suggest the following.

MARS Friday, May 14th 1:30

Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society is one of the jewels of the Comox Valley’s. It is more than just a rehabilitation centre.  It is also an environmental community and a learning centMaj-Birch1re open to the public, and as such a gateway to the Comox Valley’s environmental heart.  MARS was the creation of inimitable. and much loved, Maj Birch who passed away unexpectedly in November 2015. Maj Birch will always be one of the Comox Valley’s 3 great environmentalists (Melda Buchanan and Ruth Masters are the other two). She was a giant worth remembering and learning about by seeing her work.

Under Maj’s guidance MARS has been home to a number of citizen science projects that are ungoing to this day, such as the heron and eagle mapping project as well as the pymy owl monitoring and restoration project.  Take a moment to celebrate Maj’s extraordinary dream. The friendly and knowledgeable staff at Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society will explain the MARS project and also take you on a guided tour of their bird care and rehabilitation facility. With a bit a luck, you may even get to see the fledging Class of 2016. The MARS Ambassadors include a number of individuals who, for various reasons, cannot be returned to the wild. Two of them are Shakespeare a Barred Owl, and Scarlet, a Red-tailed hawk. For more, visit    http://wingtips.org/

Child Nature Education, Thursday May 12th, 8:30 am

Join Jarrett, the Director of Cumberland’s Hand-In-Hand Early Years Nature Education Program, for an educational and inspiring workshop at Coal Creek Historic Park, Cumberland. Jarrett brings 16 years of environmental education to the Valley, with experience in teaching and learning with children from preschoolers to grade 12 in an outdoor setting and exposing youth to our wonderful world of nature.

For more on Jarrett’s work with Hand-in-Hand, visit the “In Focus Magazine” clipping:

http://www.infocusmagazine.ca/2015/connected-to-nature-2/

Allan Brooks and Mac Laing Tour, Friday May 13th, 1:30 pm

Allan Brooks (1869 to 1946) was a internationally known bird artist and ornithologist who moved to Comox after 1918. He organized the first Comox Valley Christmas Bird Count in 1921.  His work was featured in numerous publications including National Geographic Magazine in the early 1920’s and 1930’s, and Birds of Canada (Taverner, 1934). For more on Allan brooks visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Brooks

Ornithologist and naturalist writer Hamilton Mack Laing (1883 to 1982) moved to the Comox Valley in 1922. A visionary, in 1929 Laing wrote an article “Oil – Black Death of Waterbirds – The Bird World Faces a New Menace – Oil – Polluted Waters – A Tragedy on the West Coast”, sadly still a concern to us  86 years later.  For more information visit http://macklaingsociety.ca/about-mack-laing/

The tour will include walking the Laing property and viewing the magnificent Comox harbour he loved so much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bird Outing Report: Kye Bay, Feb. 4, 2016

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Krista

After a few days of wind and rain, 9 birders enjoyed a break at Kye Bay and Little River Ferry where we found 38 species. Highlights were the large numbers of waterbirds and eagles – perhaps anticipating the herring spawn.

American Wigeon
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Black-bellied Plover
Dunlin
Mew Gull
Thayer’s Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
Anna’s Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Pacific Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco

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Bird Outing Report: Union Bay, Jan. 28,2016

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Krista

After a night of heavy rain, 13 birders enjoyed a sunny morning at the Union Bay coal hills where we found 32 species. Highlights included a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye in nice light, several Red-throated Loons, and nine Killdeer on the shore.

Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Marbled Murrelet
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Anna’s Hummingbird
Steller’s Jay
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Dark-eyed Junco
Spotted Towhee
Pine Siskin

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Botany Outing Report: Trip Planing, Jan. 11th, 2016

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Botany

Botany Group Report January 2016
A small group gathered at Karin’s to talk about potential trips for the Spring, and to view a video entitled The Red Deserts (Kyzyl Kum in Central Asia), one part of the series “In the Realms of the Russian Bear”. The main focus was how members of the animal kingdom survive in such a harsh environment, but of botanical interest were the stunning spring flowers that flourish briefly in the wake of the melting snow – brilliant red tulips (among the 16 species of tulipa endemic to Central Asia) and poppies (they looked very like Papaver rhoeas?) and the stately giant fennel (Ferula sp.).
Potential trips mentioned: Tree Island in late March or early April, Yellow Point or Gabriola in April or May? The 9k bog and the Puntledge bog ( on the south side of the river downstream from the dam) should also be visited. Jocie offered to host a study of edible weeds in her yard, probably in June.
Further suggestions can be considered at the February meeting.
For February 9th we decided on a beach walk, focussing on seaweed, at Kye Bay (starting from Airforce Beach) and for March 8th Morrison Creek.

Posted in Field Trips, Plants and fungi | Comments Off on Botany Outing Report: Trip Planing, Jan. 11th, 2016