Island NatureExploring nature on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and beyond

A great day out birding for the Comox Valley Nature spring bird count. Like Christmas Bird Counts, the spring count is an attempt to tally as many species as possible while trying to document the number of individual birds in the count area. Unlike Christmas Bird Counts, the weather is generally a little better. I [...]

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been keeping an eye out for the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) that I’ve seen occasionally near an old barn just north of Courtenay, British Columbia. Yesterday afternoon it was at its usual spot on the telephone wire after being absent during several weeks of bad weather. Looks like [...]

The Tsolum River Restoration Society is celebrating a positive year of conservation and restoration work in the Tsolum River watershed, Comox Valley, British Columbia. Water quality continues to improve, our understanding fish is improving and we have  small improvements in pink and coho salmon and cutthroat trout numbers.  In addition we have been active with [...]

There are several species of songbirds that are notoriously hard to photograph. Most of them are fairly small and constantly on the move. The Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) is one of these. Often it will respond to pishing and perch for a quick look at you, before heading back into the thicket or branches where [...]

This week I put on my gumboots and headed into the heart of Merville, British Columbia to explore Tsolum Spirit Regional Park. It’s a nice place to take a leisurely stroll (the trail isn’t too long, so no need to rush) and enjoy the fall colours as well as a viewpoint overlooking the river. The [...]

I’ve been able to enjoy a few lunch-time walks this week and it’s been great seeing some bird activity in the hedgerows. I’m using an older Sigma 170-500mm zoom and hand-holding it – it’s not a perfect lens by any stretch of the imagination and light conditions pretty much have to be ideal to get [...]

Here on the West Coast, we tend to boast about big trees, forever going on about massive firs and cedars. Sometimes, we are so mesmerized by these giants that we fail to notice many of the small but attractive trees that are also a fine feature of our forests. Showy dogwoods, delicate Douglas-maples, and elegant [...]

This last weekend we took a family nature walk to Nymph Falls just outside of Courtenay. This park is a local destination for runners, mountain bikers and swimmers but is interesting from a botanical perspective as well. We had heard that both Indian Pipe and Gnome Plant were plentiful on the forest trails and we [...]

Guest post by Chris Carter If I had been asked for a list of photogenic wild flowers a few weeks ago, Salal (Gaultheria shallon) would not have been near the top. Salal is best known for its bright evergreen leaves, always in demand by the florist trade. Walking back from the beach last week, I [...]

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve noticed quite a few Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) in the playing fields at work. The grass is growing a little long and there are plenty of dandelions, many of which are going to seed. Flocks of Savannah Sparrows are working their way through the flowers, plucking out the [...]