Category Archives: Animals

Animals

Friends of Cortes Island Society launches Western Screech Owl research project

By Greg Osoba, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

With funding from the BC government, the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) conservation and education society is taking part in a “threatened species” field research project aimed at determining the local status of the Western Screech Owl. The launch began with a public notice to Cortes Islanders on February 23rd and includes an evening presentation with a field biologist on March 7th.

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Animals

Did predatory bird lead to deaths of dozens of Bohemian waxwings in Kamloops?

Editor’s note: While the Bohemian waxwing is normally associated with colder climates, 8 were reported in Smelt Bay during Cortes Island’s ‘2021’ Christmas Bird count (possibly because of the severe weather.)

By Michael Potestio, Kamloops This Week, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Kamloops man came across a strange sight on Tuesday (March 1), finding numerous dead birds downtown as he headed home from work.

Continue reading Did predatory bird lead to deaths of dozens of Bohemian waxwings in Kamloops? →
Animals

Christmas Bird Count results a hoot with naturalist George Sirk

CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

The results are finally in from the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) held on Cortes Island on Jan. 5.

Despite the unseasonably cold weather, 29 people noted observations in the field or at their home bird feeder, collectively recording 2,963 individuals of 70 various species. Island resident George Sirk, whose naturalist-guide work has taken him Papua New Guinea to Greenland, said these numbers are right on the mark with the 21-year average.

Continue reading Christmas Bird Count results a hoot with naturalist George Sirk →
Animals

The 2021 Christmas Bird Count on Cortes Island

The final numbers for Cortes Island’s Christmas Bird Count, which took place on January 5th, 2022, are in.  

One of the key organizers, George Sirk, described his personal high point as watching the birds at Christian Gronau and Aileen Douglas’ bird feeder. 

Continue reading The 2021 Christmas Bird Count on Cortes Island →
Animals, Indigenous Nations History, Tourism

Environmentalists protect local history and seabirds on Galiano Island

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A new conservation area on B.C.’s Galiano Island with deep cultural significance for local First Nations will protect a pristine shore for a multitude of seabirds and help an increasingly rare ecosystem withstand global warming.

A kilometre of beach in Cable Bay and the adjoining 66 acres of land inside the threatened Coastal Douglas-Fir biogeoclimatic zone (CDF) have been acquired by the Galiano Conservancy Association (GCA) and the Nature Trust of British Columbia.

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