Bird Outing Report: Point Holmes to Little River, Nov. 26, 2015

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Krista

This morning turned out to be a beautiful morning….clear, calm, sunny. Ten birders saw the following 43 species:

Mallard
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Common Goldeneye
Hooded 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
Pigeon Guillemot
Mew Gull
Thayer’s Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Herring/Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid
Eurasian-collared Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick’s Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Brewer’s Blackbird
House Finch

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Bird Outing Report: Courtenay Airpark, Nov. 19, 2015

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Krista

Thursday November 19th was a cold but sunny morning at the Air Park.
Twelve birders saw the following 36 species, the highlights being a flock of 40 Red Crossbills and an immature Cooper’s Hawk.

Trumpeter Swan
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Killdeer
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collard-dove
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Northwestern Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
American Pipit
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin

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Botany Outing Report: Miracle Beach Park, Nov. 9, 2015

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Krista

In glorious sunshine on Monday 9th a (baker’s) dozen of us walked around the trails in Miracle Beach examining mosses and liverworts under Jocie’s expert guidance. We saw all of the 10 mosses on page 1 of her handout on Mosses, plus a few of those of the second page. These included the palm tree moss (Leucolepis acanthoneuron) and the electrified cat’s tail (Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus) on the forest floor and thread moss (Isothecium myosuroides) on conifer trunks. We examined four liverworts (all with evocative common names): yellow ladle (Scapania bolanderi), cedar shake (Plagiochila porelloides), little hands (Lepidozia reptans) and tree ruffle (Porella navicularis).

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Guest Speaker: Kees Visser, BC Nature President: “Geology, Rocks and Times, an Education” Sun, Nov 15th, 2015.

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Botany

Comox Valley Nature would like to introduce Kees Visser, who has a Ph.D in Geology through the Universaity of Amsterdam, and amongst much experience in the field, has worked for Petro- Canada as a Development and Exploration Geologist in Alberta, Saskatchewan, BC and Yukon and a Exploration Manager for North Africa and the Middle East.

Before retiring, in his last few years he worked as an Advisor to the VP Exploration, where he made a report on the HC potential of the WestCoast (with a Shell colleague) and the potential of the Yukon and NW territories. Kees’s  talk he will mostly touch upon rocks, timescales, but also on LNG, drilling, fracking and other geological disciplines, such as paleontology, stratigraphy and tectonics. This lecture, entitled:  “Geology, Rocks and Times, An Education” will take place at the Florence Filberg Seniors Centre at 7pm (sharp) November 15, 2015.

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Bird Outing Report: Oyster Bay, Nov. 5, 2015

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Krista

This Thursday November 5th thirteen birders went to Oyster Bay and the mouth of the Oyster River where we found 38 species. The morning was cool and sunny but warmed up later. We enjoyed large numbers of the regular winter waterbirds. The highlights were a Rock Sandpiper feeding with a flock of Dunlin and a Peregrine Falcon – presumably waiting to feed on the Dunlin.

American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Harlequin
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Western Grebe
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Black Turnstone
Dunlin
Rock Sandpiper
Mew Gull
California Gull
Thayer’s Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Peregrine Falcon
Steller’s Jay
Northwestern Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Golden-crowned Sparrow
House Finch

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Christmas Bird Counts 2015

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Krista

This is the first notice of Christmas Bird Counts so mark your calendars!

The count dates and contact information are as follows:
Comox CBC –- Sunday Dec 20 –- Carol Muirhead : caroljmuirhead at shaw dot ca or call 250-331-0511.
Little River-Powell River Ferry CBC — Wednesday Dec. 30 –- Art Martell : amartell at shaw dot ca or call 250-334-2979. Meet at the Little River ferry terminal by 0945 for the 10 AM sailing. All are welcome.

Remember to sign up for 2 or 3 — the opportunity comes only once a year. Many of our members take part in all counts held in our area.

The Deep Bay CBC will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Please contact Bill Stewart at bmstewart at shaw dot ca or at (250) 338-1855 if you would like to help on this count. More details will be provided as the date gets closer.

The Campbell River CBC will be held on Sunday, Dec. 27. Each year in the past several Comox Valley birders have gone up to help on this count, so if you would like to do so please contact Luisa Richardson at (250) 923-9918. More details to follow at a later date.

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BC Nature eNews November 2015

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Botany
Upcoming Events
  • Harrison Camp – Nov 26 – Nov 29, 2015 – Last Chance – 2 spots available – Please email for more information or visit this link
  • Awards Deadline January 29,2016. Meet with your Club executive and nominate a worthy club member today! All details in this Link
  • Resolutions Submission – February 26, 2016 deadline – visit link
  • Club Support Grants 2016 – deadline February 28, 2016. Please go to 2016 form download
  • Mitlenatch Camp – May 8-11, 2016 Preliminary Information available at this link
  • AGM 2016 – hosted by Comox Valley Naturalists – May 12 – 15, 2016
  • Rene Savenye Scholarship deadline – June 3, 2016. Application Link
  • FGM 2016 – Prince George, September 2016
BC Nature 2015 Annual Appeal
Its that time of year again, in the middle section of the BCnature Fall magazine, there is a letter outlining our annual appeal for donations.
With a membership of just over 5,700, comprised of 53 clubs, we are a force to be reckoned with! With a host of volunteers and only one paid employee we are a pretty lean organization. We rely heavily on your generosity this time of year to continue our conservation efforts and financial support of our projects such as IBA. Every $ helps! Please donate today!
Issue 47
Date November 2015
When will Spring be back?
BCnature Fall Magazine is available
The BCnature Fall 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.
Last Chance for your say on South Okanagan Similkameen Protected Areas Framework
After over two years of no negotiations regarding a national park in the SOS, the Province in mid August released its Intentions Paper. This is a framework for long-term protection of these critical lands. National park status is proposed for two areas (White Lake Basin/VAseux and Chopaka/Kilpoola south of Highway 3), with a provincial conservancy in between. The release of the Paper is good news and the Province is asking for our views on their proposal, what else should be considered, and reasons for these. The deadline for public comment is Oct. 31.
The website for the proposal and comments Link For backgrounder information, please view the link on our website – http://www.bcnature.ca/
Interesting Sites and News Tidbits
Calling all Bat Afficiendos – Bananas to Bats: The Science Behind the First Bats Successfully Treated for White-Nose Syndrome Read the News Here
About Town
“The Real Thing” – The Natural History of Ian McTaggart Cowan – Various Locations and dates for the launch of this fantastic book :
Saltspring book launch November 3rd at 7 p.m. at the Bateman Gallery, Artspring, Ganges
Vancouver book launch November 7th from 1:15 to 4:30 p.m. at the UBC Beaty Biodiversity Museum
Victoria book launch November 18th at 7 p.m. at the Royal BC Museum
BirdLife International has released the 2015 Red List for Birds.
From Bird Studies Canada According to the latest assessment of birds, 40 species have been reclassified at a higher threat level. Link Here
Twenty-four of these species are now considered to be at a higher risk of extinction (either Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered). Among these are the Atlantic Puffin and Horned Grebe, which have both been uplisted to Vulnerable – a higher threat category than their 2014 classification as Least Concern.
The status of another 16 species has been upgraded from Least Concern (the lowest level of threat) to Near Threatened. Included in this group are North American species such as the Cassin’s Auklet, Razorbill, Common Eider, and Red Knot.
Visit the BirdLife International website to learn more about the new Red List assessments.
Call for Volunteers – BC Coastal Disturbance Project
We are looking for people interested in volunteering to participate in the BC Coastal Disturbance Project. This recently launched project has 2 main aims; 1) to determine the extent of disturbance to birds on BC’s South Coast caused by a wide range of recreational user groups, including kite surfers, boaters, hunters and dog walkers, and 2) intervention and education through targeted questionnaires, signage, and workshops. We then wish to follow up with another quantification of disturbance levels in 2017/2018 to determine the effectiveness of the intervention activities. To participate in this project we are asking volunteers to keep track of the numbers of each user group and the resulting disturbance experienced by birds, as well as the date/time/location of their walk/outing. The time commitment is not very large (10-15 minutes per outing), and the skill level requirement isn’t much more that telling apart a duck from a sandpiper! We can provide more information and the data collection protocol to those interested in helping. Together we can reduce, or even prevent entirely, the frequency and extent of disturbance to birds during migration or overwintering, and make our coastlines a more livable habitat for humans and wildlife alike! To participate, please contact me at , or call me on 604-350-1996.
Minister Thomson announces registration requirements for ORVs
Registration for Off Road Vehicles becomes compulsory on November 1. Please follow the link for more information as well as details of ORV safety measures which are also coming into effect. Link
It is interesting to note that, since voluntary registration of ORVs was introduced, 35,505 ORVs have voluntarily registered under the ORV Act between November 17, 2014 and Sept 30, 2015. ICBC has also confirmed the following participation rates by class of ORV: • 78% (27,550) all-terrain vehicles; • 12% (4, 357) snowmobiles; • 7% (2,392) off-road motorcycles; and • 3% (1,206) side-by-sides. This says a great deal for the leadership which has been shown by the ORV clubs and organizations which have been participating in the development of the ORV Management Framework.
Posted in BC Nature | Comments Off on BC Nature eNews November 2015

Bird Outing Report: Ships Point, Oct. 29,2015

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Krista

This Thursday October 29th ten birders went to Fanny Bay and Ship’s Point where we found 44 species. The fog cleared early for a pleasant morning with little wind. We enjoyed large numbers of the regular winter waterbirds. The highlights were an immature Northern Shrike, large flocks of Pine Siskin and two Trumpeter Swans – winter is almost here!

Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
American Wigeon
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Black Oystercatcher
Killdeer
Dunlin
Pigeon Guillemot
Marbled Murrelet
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared Dove
Northern Flicker
Northern Shrike
Steller’s Jay
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
American Robin
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin

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Bird Outing Report: Deep Bay, Oct. 22 , 2015

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Krista

This Thursday October 22nd ten birders went to Deep Bay where we found 40 species. The fog cleared early for a pleasant morning with no wind. We enjoyed large numbers of the regular winter waterbirds – the highlight was close flocks of ‘singing’ Black Scoters.

Canada Goose
Mute x Trumpeter Swan (hybrid)
American Wigeon
Mallard
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Brandt’s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Black Oystercatcher
Dunlin
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Northwestern Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Pacific Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Varied Thrush
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
House Finch

Posted in Birds | Comments Off on Bird Outing Report: Deep Bay, Oct. 22 , 2015

Botany Report: Mushrooms, Oct. 12, 2015

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Krista

Below is a list of the mushrooms we identified in the woodlands at 6069 Tsolum River Road on October 12th. Thanks, Jocie, for keeping track of them.

CVN Botany Group : List of Fungi 6069 Tsolum River Road, October 12th 2015
Agaricus moelleri
Aleuria aurantia
Amanita muscaria (white form)
Auriscalpium vulgare                                                tooth-pick/earpick fungus
Boletus zelleri                                                             Seller’s bolete
Cantharellus formosus                                              golden chanterelle
Clitocybe nebularis
Cortinarius anomlaus
Flammulina velutipes
Fomitopsis cajanderi                                                 rosy conk
_________ pinicola                                                red-belt conk
Gomphidius glutinosus
Gomphus floccosus                                                   wooly chanterelle
Gymnopilus ventricosus                                           big laughing Jim
Helvella lacunosa                                                       elphin saddle
Hypholoma fasciculare                                              sulphur tuft
Hypomyces cervingenus on Helvella lacunosa
Hypomyces lactifluorum on Russula brevipes     lobster mushroom
Inocybe geophylla
_________pudica
_________rimosa
Laccaria amethysto-occidentalis
Lactarius subflammeus
Mycena stipata
_______ sp.
Nidulus candidus
Pleurotus pulmonarius
Psathyrella sp.
Pseudohydnum gelatinosum
Ramaria sp
Russula brevipes
Russula occidentalis
Russula rosacea
Stropharia ambigua
Suillus lakei                                                                  Lake’s bolete
Xylaria hypoloxus                                                       carbon antlers

Aursicalpium vulgare (earpick fungus)

Aursicalpium vulgare (earpick fungus)

Photos of two of the highlights – Aursicalpium vulgare (earpick fungus) and Gymnopilus ventricosus ( big laughing Jim) , which were also among the examples on the display table at the CVN meeting last Sunday.

Gymnopilus ventricosus ( big laughing Jim)

Gymnopilus ventricosus ( big laughing Jim)

Posted in Field Trips, Plants and fungi | Comments Off on Botany Report: Mushrooms, Oct. 12, 2015