International Travellers If being a human feels challenging these days, take a moment to consider the awe-inspiring purple martins who are now on their epic journey to southeastern Brazil – an extraordinary round trip migration of 22,000 km. These large swallows have spent their summers on the Pacific Northwest coast Read more…
Forty-six people collectively logged over 100 hours and 188 km to survey the forests, neighbourhoods, marine waters and the feeders of Mayne Island on December 20, 2020. Because of the weather predictions we needed to set a date around a better weather window, which proved to be a great decision. Read more…
This article is reproduced with permission from Wildlife Rescue. For more information and learn how you can help, join, or donate, please see wildliferescue.ca It is an irruptive year for Pine Siskins! Each Winter, these nomadic finches range widely and erratically across North America, their migrations heavily food driven. These past Read more…
Mayne Island Field Notes, December 2020 Blustery winds and pelting November rain meant the outdoors didn’t beckon as usual, but too much time curled up with books and staring at screens was starting to make us bug-eyed, so we bundled up and headed up Mt. Parke for a bracing hike. Read more…
by Michael Dunn and Nancy Gibson Despite its relatively small land area, Mayne Island is a mosaic of forests, clearings, and agricultural fields that offer diverse habitats and ecosystems for many bird species. Wetlands are not common on the island, but we do have a range of forests from the Read more…
Have you ever wondered about the difference between Northwestern Crows and Common Ravens, two of Mayne Island’s Corvid bird species? The Mayne Island Conservancy is eagerly anticipating a visit by Dr. Ben Freeman, postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia to teach us more about them. At this time, Read more…
Here at the Mayne Island Conservancy, we have put our guided bird walks on hold for now. Birdwatching can be such a fun social activity, and we have really enjoyed the opportunity to get together and learn from one another. We will resume as soon as it’s safe to do Read more…
Right now, at any time of day—but especially the morning—you can hear the sounds of birds: male birds on their territories; parents attending nests; and the first broods of young birds hungrily trilling to be fed. Out of all these sounds, a few species of birds’ songs stand out. The Read more…
Living on the coast, gulls are part of our viewscape and soundscape but few people know them beyond ‘seagulls’. They are conspicuous and gregarious and seem equally at home in urban, agricultural and marine areas. Most of the gull species are in one family and all are similar in colour Read more…
This is the latest instalment in our series of articles on the remarkable diversity of birds that visit Mayne Island’s shores in winter. Grebes Grebes are similar to loons, superficially, but are smaller, have lobed toes (as opposed to webbed) set far back on their bodies, and have longer, thinner Read more…