Whenever I make the crossing between Vancouver Island and the mainland on BC Ferries I always try to do a little pelagic birding, especially if the weather is good. Today I had a chance to look for alcids on the run between Nanaimo and Tsawwassen. This isn’t a particularly good route for budget birding (the Little River/Powell River route is …
Nanaimo
Plants of Pipers Lagoon Park
Last Friday I had a chance to take a walk around Pipers Lagoon Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia. This small park includes a mixed Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) and Arbutus (Arbutus menziesii) meadow with associated plants. It looks like it could be a fascinating place to spend some time botanizing a little later in the spring. The twisted branches of …
Pipers Lagoon Park
I was in Nanaimo this Friday and decided to take the “scenic route” through the suburbs along Hammond Bay Road when heading back up-Island. This area of Nanaimo is heavily developed, but fortunately there is a small city park that makes the drive worthwhile. Pipers Lagoon Park is about 8 hectares in size and includes some wonderful Garry Oak (Quercus …
Nanaimo Christmas Bird Count 2011
I was up at around 5:30 this morning and, after a quick breakfast, was on the road and heading south to Nanaimo for the city’s 2011 Christmas Bird Count. I have to admit that I wasn’t too optimistic about the weather but I was pleasantly surprised to see clear skies and stars when I loaded my gear into the car. …
A Shortage of Short-eared Owls on the Nanaimo Christmas Bird Count
I was up at around 6 am yesterday to make the drive down to meet a group of birders doing the 2010 Nanaimo Christmas Bird Count. As I scraped the frost of the windows of the car I was hopeful – the sky was clear and it actually felt fairly mild. Weather on Vancouver Island is know to be changeable …
Coastal Naturalists on BC Ferries this Summer
The Coastal Naturalist program begins on Friday, June 25th on BC Ferries sailings between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Photo by Sara Borck – © Parks Canada Have you ever wondered why Orcas are called ‘Killer Whales’ or what an eelgrass meadow is? Did you know that during the BC Ferries sailing between Victoria and Vancouver, you are actually in the …
Cattails
One of the things that impressed me at Buttertubs Marsh last week was the endless stretches of Cattail (Typha latifolia). At this time of year, the leaves of this plant are a pale brown – new green leaves will emerge in the spring. The flowers, which we generally see as a brown “hot-dog” shape on the end of a stalk …
Nature’s Ornaments
One of nature’s many winter ornaments – Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) berries. Earlier this week while at Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo I was captivated by festive colours of the berries of the Common Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna). It got me thinking about how in the dead of winter here on the West Coast, Nature does her own good job of dressing …
Birding at Buttertubs
Open water at Buttertubs Marsh from the vantage point of a viewing tower. No ducks here! Yesterday I headed down to Nanaimo to pick up my brother-in-law at the ferry and planned the day to include a little morning birding at Buttertubs Marsh. Buttertubs is accessible in a couple of places but I find that the easiest access point is …