Vancouver Island Nature Tours

This is a classic example of a stilt-tree. What’s a stilt-tree? Well this tree germinated where the red dot in this photo is. When this tree germinated from a seed there was a stump here. and it germinated on the stump. As time passed the seedling grew as the stump rotted. The moist rainforest climate [...]

I recently ran across a couple at Victoria Quay in Port Alberni. They had the tell-tale sign of a birder and a visitor – binoculars hanging from their necks and hanging around the signs by the Somass River. I approached them and they started asking about how to get to the bird sanctuary on the [...]

One of my favourite places to go is Fossli Provincial Park. Despite it being a provincial park, few people are aware of it. It’s on the other side of Sproat Lake. That is, on the south side. But it’s not that hard to get to. And it is a wonderful place to spend a hot [...]

Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) Originally uploaded by TheRainbird This lobster-like creature is very common in the streams and lakes of the Pacific Northwest. Although its claws are much smaller than it’s saltwater cousin they can still give a nasty pinch! I took the first picture last summer on one of my nature tours. I had [...]

“King tide” is a phrase used in Australia and the South Pacific to describe the highest tides of the year. They occur once in the summer and once in the winter. In Australia, they are considered quite dangerous for surfing. They are also becoming recognized as useful indicators of any effect of rising sea levels. [...]

How many birds in the flock? Originally uploaded by TheRainbird With Christmas Bird Counts starting all across North America next week it is timely to begin thinking about how good you are at counting birds in a flock. In this case, it is a flock of Starlings congregating in the evening before settling on a [...]

WeinerFalls Originally uploaded by TheRainbird Last summer, Weiner Falls and Rainbird Excursions were featured in a local cable television production. This magnificent waterfall is completely unknown to most of the people in the the community. And I’ve been getting calls even now (It’s December) asking how to get to it. The waterfall is only about [...]

Winer Falls in the Rain Originally uploaded by TheRainbird One of the questions I often get asked by guests is, “How much does it rain on Vancouver Island? Good question. After all we live here in a temperate rainforest. And the answer, of course, is “It varies!” I pulled out some precipitation data from the [...]

Celebrating the first Matsutake Originally uploaded by TheRainbird Masaya is a very persistent fellow! He has been on a mushroom tour with me before, but he didn’t quite get what he was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they had a great time. But he was hoping to pick some Matsutake Mushrooms on [...]

Salmon at Stamp Falls Originally uploaded by TheRainbird I suppose it is time to get on my annual soap box and rave about how great the the spectacle is at Stamp Falls. It is truly the best place on Vancouver Island to see salmon migrating to the spawning grounds. Any time from early September to [...]