A couple of weeks ago I did a day trip out to the west coast between Port Renfrew and Victoria. This stretch of coast is the home to the Juan De Fuca Trail, a 47 km long trail that follows the coastline. Hikers have the option to do the whole trail as a multi-day hike or to pick and choose …
South Vancouver Island
Spectacular Sidney Pier
The pier near the end of Beacon Avenue in Sidney, British Columbia is a spectacular place to photograph the sunrise. If you happen to be visiting Victoria, British Columbia, consider a stop in Sidney. At sunset or sunrise the long pier at the end of Beacon Avenue is exceptional to photograph, and at low tide it’s possible to include some …
Cattle Point Sunrise
Long lines of logs at Cattle Point in Victoria, British Columbia. I’m trying to be a little more disciplined over the last month or two and am making an effort to get up earlier to catch the first morning light—such was a case late last month when I was down in Victoria to pick up a long awaited Fuji X-T1 and …
Phillips Beer + Nature = Vote for Swan Lake’s Rye Ale
Who doesn’t like beer? Who doesn’t like nature? Now’s your chance to enjoy both. Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary has been selected as a finalist to receive funding in the Phillips Beer Benefit Brew 2013 project. You can support this wonderful nature sanctuary located just minutes from downtown Victoria, British Columbia by voting daily at Benefit Brew 2013. Note …
Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites
The massive gates, battery gun emplacements, underground magazine rooms, towers to climb, windows to peek in and out of, and secret rooms to discover. All of these things and more make Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites of Canada very cool destinations for kids (and adults) of all ages. Last weekend I took Clara and Alden on a …
Book Review – Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island
Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island Adam Ungstad UNGSTAD Information Architects Paperback 150 pages 2012 Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island: Adam Ungstad Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island is a nice little guide book to some of the well known and lesser known lakes in the Saanich Penisula and Sooke. If you’re planning a trip to Victoria, British Columbia, …
A Morning in the Marsh
Guest post by Marcie Callewaert The Somenos Marsh is a renowned bird watching location just north of Duncan, British Columbia. It is home to hundreds of bird species who are year-round residents, and many that just stop by on their migration path. Besides birds; muskrats, beaver and river otter also reside here. The Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society has been working …
Metchosin’s BioBlitz
Organizers of a wildlife census in Metchosin, a district on the southern tip of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, are counting results from the reports of fifty taxonomic experts, participants in Metchosin’s April 30th BioBlitz. The Metchosin BioBlitz team on top of Sugarloaf Mountain. The local BioBlitz, like hundreds of others that have been conducted around the globe in the last …
Cattle Point Round-up
We made a short stop at Cattle Point during our weekend in Victoria, British Columbia – both kids were asleep in the car so I was able to nip out for a quick walkabout while Jocie supervised. Cattle Point is usually pretty good for unusual birds and earlier in March a number of Rock Sandpipers (Calidris ptilocnemis) had been reported …
Birding Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary
When I used to live in Victoria Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary was one of the places that I birded regularly. It’s got a wide range of habitat (lake, cattails, shrubs, older forest, open fields) which usually produces a variety of birds. A trail loops around the lake and it can be completed with a minimum of effort and time. Floating …