When we moved to Gabriola seven years ago, the first bird I saw in the overgrown, untended garden we inherited with our ‘new’ house was a junco. Although it seems amazing to me now, I’d never noticed this bird in the city. With its black hood and unusual metallic chipping …
For some reason, I associate autumn with woodpeckers. So, since the season is upon us, I thought I’d share photos of a few of the WPs that visit us on Gabriola Island. Right now, a family of flickers is keeping us entertained. Red-shafted Northern Flicker Red-breasted Sapsucker I love Red-breasted …
Dennis and I were sitting in the dining room, chatting, when the Steller’s Jays showed up for dinner, as they do every day about 4 pm. (They’re early diners.) The usual scenario is this: one jay squawks, I stop what I’m doing, get up, go outside, and dump a bunch …
Gabriola islanders have been known to complain (in private, of course) about the number of summer visitors they get. The complaints relate, mostly, to meal prep and washing of linens and such. But visitors are one of the perks of living on a beautiful gulf island in the Salish Sea …
When I lived in New Westminster my sister-in-law, Pat, fed peanuts to the Steller’s Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) in her urban back yard. At that point I had no interest in birds at all, but I was intrigued by the jays that came by for dinner at Pat’s. So when I …
A few weeks ago a fellow Gabriola birder confided that some days he wished he didn’t have a nest cam. At first I assumed he was referring to the amount of time he spends watching the screen. (I could relate to that.) But it turned out he wasn’t at all …
A few years ago my husband, Dennis, bought me a spiffy new nest box equipped with a nestcam for my spring birthday. Within two days several violet-green swallows (tachycineta thalassina) began checking it out. I’d expected an extended looky-loo period because that’s what happened the spring before when swallows nested under the eaves …
Some of Enbridge’s oil tanks are decorated with illustrations of lovely Canada Geese in flight. Let’s just hope they don’t land in the tar sands tailing ponds. Almost all the largest oil companies are currently mining and drilling in the Boreal forest and wetlands where more than half of the birds …
First, a big west coast thank you to Pat for this ‘super blog’ and for inviting me to contribute. In this first post, I’ll introduce you to possibly our most infamous local birds, the feral turkeys that made news across the country in 2010. Although tourists seem to find the turkeys entertaining, …