If you’re enjoying the mild fall, you are not alone. Some native plants have evolved to take advantage of the remaining warmth and sun during this normally wetter end to the growing season. There are several annual wildflowers that germinate in the fall and establish leaves before hunkering down for Read more…
The intertidal zone is the area of shore between the lowest and highest tides. From sea stars to tidepool sculpin, an amazing array of different creatures call this harsh environment home.
Do you recall the phrase “If you build it, he will come” from the 1989 film Field of Dreams? Well, in the case of the elusive Wilson’s Snipe, we might rephrase it to “If you build it, s/he will stay.” This past spring, the owners of Hedgerow Farm on Mayne Read more…
Spring is here, with rain, flowers, insects, and – bats! Our B.C. bats are now returning to summer roost sites. One of our more familiar species in buildings and bat boxes is the Little Brown Myotis. Like all B.C. bats, the Little Brown Myotis is an essential part of our Read more…
The Global Big Day is an annual celebration of the birds living around us. This event was first held in 2015 by Cornell University, a leader in wild bird science. Cornell manages the website eBird.org and tracks the data to better study and conserve bird populations, and is also the Read more…
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…