I’ve been feeding the birds in my backyard ever since that morning eight years ago when I noticed several black-hooded birds hopping around the overgrown garden of our new home on Gabriola Island. They made an odd, metallic chip, chip, chip noise that forced me to sit up and pay …
Due to a combination of vacation, multiple family commitments and unfavourable weather, I haven’t got out birding that much the past month. That said, the few forays I have made have been reasonably productive so I can’t complain. A real highlight was getting to see a second Northern Pygmy Owl …
Great Backyard Bird Count Sets New Species Record Nearly half the world’s species identified in four days New York, NY, Ithaca, NY, and Port Rowan, ON–Participants from more than 100 countries submitted a record 147,265 bird checklists for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count and broke the previous count record …
By Sharon McInnes Earlier this month I went to San Miguel de Allende (SMA), in the mountains of central Mexico, to attend the 10th anniversary SMA Writers Conference, where keynote speakers included Gloria Steinem, Jane Urquhart, and Alice Walker. It was, in a word, fabulous. On my first day in …
(My blog is a little late this month as I was off enjoying the warmth of the Mexican sun…and chasing all sorts of wondrous tropical birds too!) This winter Calgarian birders, and local wildlife appreciators in general, have been treated to the presence of a pair of Northern Pygmy Owls …
Last month 28 Gabriolans participated in the 115th Audobon Christmas Bird Count. Here’s a sampling of the bird species that were counted on the island. Many thanks to the Gabriola Island photographers – Doug Green, Garry Davey, Eileen Kaarsmaker, and Iain Lawrence – who so generously shared their photos with …
Well winter is well and truly upon us, but thankfully in Calgary it has been fairly mild (at least compared to the record snowfalls last year) and the we’ve had some great winter bird visitors within the city limits already. Firstly, it was fantastic to see the return of some …
As I mentioned in last month’s post, in 2014 I made a concerted effort to see and photograph shorebirds on their fall migration as the birds headed south and stopped over at Weed Lake, just east of Calgary. While last month’s post focused on the sandpiper family, Part 2 of …
Nov. 26 2014: On Gabriola Island a lot of us have been paying close attention to what’s happening on Burnaby Mountain, just across the Strait of Georgia. Maybe you’ve heard? Kinder Morgan, a Texas-based multinational oil company is drilling in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area, a 576 hectare park created, in perpetuity, …
I started birding and bird photography in earnest in early 2012, and each subsequent year I’ve made mental notes to check out certain places at certain times to try and see certain migrants that might be passing through southern Alberta. Up until this year, one glaring omission from my photo …