From the scuttle of shore crabs to the spray of clams, the intertidal zone is always teeming with new and exciting life! We visited Piggott Bay with the Mayne Island School at low tide to see what we could discover, and the beach did not disappoint. After navigating rocky crevices Read more…
2022 is shaping up to be a big year for western tent caterpillar. You may recognize this native critter, best known for its fondness for the leaves of many of our fruit trees including apples and plums. Tent caterpillars are the larval form of the western tent caterpillar moth. Life Read more…
Looking out across sunny, cold Bennett Bay earlier this month reminded me of an unusual encounter I had two summers ago. Kayaking past numerous pairs of mother and baby seals lining the rocky edges of the islands, I saw a dark grey bird bobbing along, feeding on creatures hidden under Read more…
By Amy Reiswig, Mayne Island Conservancy Bat Ambassador It started with a party; specifically, a bat party. On the pre-Halloween weekend, I festooned my place with dollar store bat decorations, and people came riffing on “bat” – in their “bat”hrobe, as “bat”teries, or coyly “bat”ting their false eyelashes. People loved Read more…
Intrepid Birders Brave the Elements to Census Winter Birds on Mayne A rather dramatic headline for this article, but honestly the count day—December 18, 2021—dawned with heavy rains and wind: conditions that are not ideal for birds to be out and about or for birders either. Nonetheless, many of the Read more…
If you’ve been out exploring the coastal bays of Mayne this winter, did you happen to notice a black and white bird the size and shape of a bathtub rubber ducky buoyantly bobbing up after a dive? These little sea ducks, Buffleheads, are beautifully patterned: males have iridescent purple heads, Read more…
Pacific herring are a small silver forage fish near the base of the food chain that eat plankton, and in turn are eaten by everything from Chinook and Coho salmon to larger fish, birds, whales, and bears. An essential link in the marine food web, they are a critically important Read more…
Tiny Wonders It can feel a little unnerving when, while quietly weeding your garden, you notice hovering a few inches in front of your face a beady-eyed, four-gram bundle of energy staring you down over a very sharp beak. Feisty and pugnacious, these irrepressible little jewels measure just 8-12 cm Read more…
It’s the middle of winter holidays, and every family has their rituals. Whether you’re roasting chestnuts on an open fire or bundling up and heading out into the rain or snow, everyone has their own way of enjoying (or at least making the most of) the colder weather. With the Read more…
Mayne Islanders interested in watching, monitoring, and protecting whales are invited to participate in a citizen-science project. If you are interested, this would involve joining an online training session Saturday January 22nd at 1pm on how to use a whale sighting reporting app. Members of the network will have access Read more…