Bird Outing Report: Cumberland Marsh, May 7,2015

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Krista

It was a beautiful spring morning at Cumberland Marsh where 12 birders saw or heard 33 species.

The highlights for the morning were 6 species of warblers which included a pair of Black-throated Gray Warblers singing and giving us excellent views of them. We also had several Tree and Violet-green Swallows swooping low over us.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Pacific Wren
American Robin
Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin

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Botany Outing Report: Helliwell Park – Hornby Island, April 29, 2015

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Botany

We  enjoyed  a  cool  but  dry  trip  to  Helliwell  Park  –   the  following   plants  were  observed  –  Bluff  ecosystem  plants :  Dwarf  owl  clover, camus,  flax flower (rare), spring  gold,  sea blush, monkey  flower,   yerba  Buena,  poverty  clover,  tomcat clover, white  tipped  clover, hop clover, pussy  toes,  bi-colored  forget  me  not, geranium (erodium cecutarium) popcorn  flower, shooting  stars, chocolate  lilies, whooly  sunflower,  dove  foot  geranium, menzies  larkspur, blue  eyed  mary.  Other  plants  observed  on  the  bluffs  and  the  forest  included  miners lettuce,  pacific  sanicle,  little  and  western  buttercup, tall  and  dull  Oregon  grape,  shepherds cress, slough  sedge, veronica, field  chickweed, sorel, flowering  currant,  gumweed,  small  flowered  fringecup, slender  toothwort, evergreen  and  red  huckleberry. gooseberry, and  an  unidentified  green  fern.

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Upcoming Botany Walk: Harewood Plains in Nanaimo, May 11th 2015

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Botany
The  next  botany  walk  will  be  to  Harewood   Park  in  Nanaimo  on  May 11th.
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Bird Outing Report: One-Spot Trail, Apr.30, 2015

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Krista

This Thursday we went to the One Spot Trail where 15 birders heard or saw 22 species.

There were several flycatchers and warblers singing which gave us a great opportunity to familiarize ourselves with their song.

Turkey Vulture
Rufous Hummingbird
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Cassin’s Vireo
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Pacific Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Purple Finch

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Guest Speaker: instead CVN Field trip to Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve “In Bloom Wildflower Festival” May 9th

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Botany

CVN Field trip to Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve
for the
In Bloom Wildflower Festival

This replaces our monthly meeting, and you will get to hear expert speakers. (Very good value.)

Saturday, May 9, 2015
10:00am–2:00 pm

We will be meeting at The Old Church on Harmston Avenue at 8:00am.
It will help if you can let me know that you are coming so that we can organize carpooling.
Please, let me (Loys Maingon) know, and register with the conservancy:

http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/british-columbia/stories/in-bloom.html

Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve
1241 Maple Bay Road, Duncan

Camus painting, detail by Colin Elder  Detail of a camas painting by Colin Elder.

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YNC Outing: Mack Laing Nature Park, May 24th 2015 from 1pm – 2:30pm

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Botany

Hello YNC Families and CVN Members,
Here is the information about our next Explorer Day. We look forward to seeing you. If you can attend, please RVSP to this post…thanks!

Sunday, May 24th from 1pm – 2:30pm

Mack Laing Nature Park
Mack Laing (1883-1982) was a famous Canadian author, artist and ornithologist, and collector for the National Museum of Canada and the Smithsonian. He moved to Comox in June 1922 where he built his first home, Baybrook. He later built a second home known as Shakesides. Laing donated part of his estate and property to the town of Comox.

We will take a walk on a trail where Mack Laing once roamed… along Brooklyn Creek, which is an active salmon stream, and out to the waterfront at Comox Bay. This lush woodland is a hotspot for birds, and closer to the bay we will see black soil with bits of broken shell, evidence of an extensive First Nations’ midden. At the waterfront, an entirely different habitat exists with salt marsh plants such as the salty tasting pickleweed.

Meeting Place/Directions
Follow Comox Ave right to the very end (go past the Filberg Lodge property). Parking will be on the street, at the corner of Comox Ave. and Mack Laing Court, and we will meet at the Mack Laing Nature Park sign. The trail and salt marsh can be muddy, so wear sturdy shoes or boots…and don’t forget water, snacks and sunscreen if it’s sunny!

Mack Laing House

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Bird Outing Report: Tsolum River Flats, Apr. 23, 2015

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Krista

Thanks to the shelter of the trees along the trails behind the curling rink we managed to stay relatively dry this morning.
11 birders had 18 species. No particular highlights – just nice spring arrivals and singing despite the weather.

Bald Eagle
Anna’s Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Pacific Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin

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Botany Group Report: Mack Laing Park, April 13, 2015

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Botany

BOTANY GROUP REPORT

The Botany group met at Kate’s  house on Orchard Park Drive on Monday April 13th. Helen circulated the preliminary version of the Comox Valley Plant List with its illustrated cover pages.  Only a couple of additions remain before it goes to the print shop.  Terry encouraged everyone to send him lists of their “first bloom sightings” for his Phenology list.

We considered the possibilities of updating the two previous plants list, namely for the Baybrook area by Helen Robinson (2005) and for Mack Laing Park by Harry E. Jackson (1989), looking at copies of each.  We then walked around Baybrook and along the foreshore to Shakeside, noting native, introduced and invasive plants present – nothing unexpected.  The best strategy would be for various members to keep lists through the spring and summer, and then collate the results in the fall.

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Guest Speaker: Terry Thormin, ‘The Natural Beauty of the Southern Okanagan’, Sun, April 19, 2015

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Botany

Terry Thormin:  The Natural Beauty of the Southern Okanagan

Although Terry Tormin has worked both as an entomology technician for the Royal Alberta Museum and a field ornithologist for private environmental consulting companies, he is self-taught and describes himself as a general naturalist. This interest dates back to his early teens and his interest in nature photography dates back to his first field trip to the arctic in 1974. His photographs have appeared in numerous books and magazines and are found on signage in nature parks both here in the Comox Valley and in various other parks in North America. He is the organizer and chairperson for the nature photography group.

Terry will offer a presentation that is the result of two 10-day trips in the southern Okanagan, one in May of 2013 and the other in May of 2014. The purpose of the trips was to photograph all aspects of nature. Although he concentrated mostly on the birds, he did photograph everything else he encountered, including wildflowers, insects and mammals. Hopefully this presentation will bring back memories to those who have visited the Okanagan before and inspire those who have not to visit this richly diverse part of the province.

http://terrythormin.smugmug.com/

http://www.pbase.com/terrythormin

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Public Walk: Puntledge River from Comox Lake, April 18th

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Botany

Saturday, April 18th.  (Earth Day April 20th). (Public walk).
Puntledge River from Comox Lake.
Meet at Harmston at 9:30 am or at the Upper Dam at 10:00am (Follow Comox Lake Road and turn right at the Rod and Gun Club. Leader:  Loys Maingon

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