Earlier this week, while walking out at Goose Spit I came upon a single Sanderling (Calidris alba). Sanderlings are regularly seen throughout the winter at Goose Spit. Because beaches on Vancouver Island are popular places to walk, shorebirds have a challenging time of it. The strip of beach is quite narrow at high tide and walkers regularly flush birds on …
Vancouver Island
Searching for the Robust Lancetooth
We’ve been keeping an eye out for some of the bigger snails during our forest walks this week. They’re much easier to identify than some of the smaller ones that we’ve discovered underneath paving stones and wood. This week we found the shell of a Robust Lancetooth (Haplotrema vancouverense). The robust lancetooth is a fairly common large snail in deciduous …
Varnish Clams
Walking on the beach at Goose Spit in Comox this weekend got me thinking about clams. I always enjoy sorting through seaweed in the strand line. Often I take a closer look at shells that have washed up on the shore before returning them back to the beach where I found them. On this walk I found several “old-friends,” including …
Long-billed Dowitchers at Airpark Lagoon
Things are perking along at the Airpark Lagoon in Courtenay, British Columbia. Always a good spot for winter birding, at the large viewing stand on the eastern side of the lagoon I was watching a group of Barrow’s Goldeneye when I noticed a group of shorebirds foraging in the long grass directly below the platform. Identifying Features of Long-billed Dowitchers …
Spectacular Snow Geese
Airpark Lagoon, Courtenay, BC I took Clara and Alden out to the Airpark Lagoon yesterday afternoon before dinner. It’s a stroller friendly walk that circles around the Airpark Lagoon and offers fantastic views of the Courtenay estuary. While many use the loop to exercise or to socialize, local naturalists know that it is an excellent place to birdwatch. Many unusual …
Some Small Snails
A Very Small Snail on a Very Long Journey Back in September I discovered some very small snails underneath a paving stone in our garden when flipping rocks for International Rock Flipping Day. This past week I’ve found a couple more small snails that I’ve photographed but have been unable to identify. The snail pictured above and below was in …
Fragile Oaks
It’s that time of year when leaves are falling to the ground and trees are doing their best to set their progeny up for the spring. I was poking around some Garry Oaks (Quercus garryana) looking for invertebrates and discovered several acorns in the leaf litter. Garry Oak | Quercus garryana Garry oak are the only native oak trees west …
Lesser Central Creeper
Lesser Central Creeper Lesser Central Creeper Classification: B/4 In this latest edition of Vancouver Island Shopping Carts I discovered a lone Lesser Central Creeper in a back alley in Courtenay, BC. Note the distinctive yellow markings and small size that are characteristic of this species. This gentle omnivore is often domesticated by humans and put to purposeful use. With good …
Blog Action Day: At the Edge of the Sea
Today is Blog Action Day 2009 and this year’s theme is climate change. Blog Action Day is an annual event to raise awareness and create a global discussion on a single issue through blog posts. I thought that it would be fitting to share some images of things that I’ve noticed at the edge of the sea which make me …
Black Spots on Bigleaf Maple Leaves
Bigleaf Maple | Acer macrophyllum It’s that time of year when the Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) leaves are changing colour and falling to the ground. I’ve always noticed the small, circular imperfections on maple leaves at this time of year and have wondered what they were. On the weekend I took a walk in Miracle Beach Provincial Park with my …