One of Cortes Island’s longstanding traditions is the Christmas Bird Count; for almost 25 years, local residents have volunteered in a coordinated week-long audit of the island’s bird life. For many years this effort has been coordinated in the field by longtime islander George Sirk, host of CKTZ’s ‘Nature Boy‘ which kicks off a new season at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
Roy Hales interviewed George about this year’s bird count.
Editor’s note: The Orcas that visit Cortes, Quadra and the Redonda Islands are mostly members of the northern resident pod, but there also get visitors from the southern pod.
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Salish Sea is one ecosystem but Canada and the US are playing by different rules when it comes to protecting threatened whales, experts warn.
Continue reading Canadian and US regulations are at odds in the Salish Sea, and whales are caught in the middleWhat is the source of morality? This is a question that has bothered philosophers, theologians and others for centuries. Science, however, is now providing us with some significant insights. A few examples are cited in 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed & How We Return (see pp. 101-104) by Aldrich Chan, a neuropsychologist teaching and practicing in Florida.
We already know about capuchin monkeys and their sense of fairness. If two monkeys in adjoining cages are both conditioned to perform the same specific task with the reward of a peanut, they will happily comply. But if one of the monkeys receives a grape, which is a more valuable reward than a peanut, the other will rattle its cage in objection, throw a temper tantrum, and refuse to do its task. And in other experiments with capuchin monkeys, they prefer to share their reward with others rather than just keep it for themselves.
Continue reading An Inherent Morality – The Quadra ProjectA new study found that Northern Resident Killer Whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins have formed a cooperative hunting relationship to catch Chinook salmon in the Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. The dolphins utilize echolocation to locate fish at depth, but their small teeth are designed primarily to grip prey, and they cannot swallow large species like Chinook salmon whole. Instead, dolphins locate the fish, and then wait for the killer whales move in to tear them apart, scattering bits of tissue and flesh into the water.
Continue reading Where Killer Whales and Dolphins Hunt CooperativelyNeonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) are widely believed to be the most effective chemical insecticides and in one study their usage was linked to a 70% crop increase in the United States. Yet numerous scientists have pointed to their lethal impact on beneficial insects like the honeybee. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, “neonicotinoids can affect the reproduction, foraging, and flying ability of honeybee and other insects including pollinators.” Many believe they are a principle contributor colony collapse disorder. The EU banned three key neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxamin) 2013 and, starting in 2026, will prohibit imports of products containing even trace amounts. In North America, there are partial bans in Ontario, Quebec, Illinois, New York, Rhode Island and California. So far, the federal governments of Canada and the United States have not taken action.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May has brought this issue before the House of Commons many times since 2014, often requesting that Canada follow the lead of the European Union, exercise the precautionary principle, and remove the authorizations for neonicotinoid insecticide use within Canada. May raised this issue once again on the snowy evening of December 4, 2025.
Continue reading House of Commons Exchange: Ongoing Neonicotinoid Insecticide Controversy
