Vancouver Island Nature Tours

I have been working for two years to get a tour to see the Vancouver Island Marmot going. Primarily, there was resistance from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment (MoE) because these animals are so rare.However we have reached an agreement that they will address government concerns and the tours will go ahead starting in […]

I have been doing a monthly column for the Alberni Valley Times, the local newspaper. It focuses on generally on Tourism. This particular column is pretty relevant to this blog, so I thought I would post it here.

Five years ago Tourism Vancouver Island commissioned a study to be completed by Malaspina University College. It was […]

It’s Good Friday today. This morning I hiked up to the Alberni Lookout. From Coombs Country Candy on Highway 4, it’s only about a 40-50 minute hike, depending on how fast you go. I’ve been hiking up regularly because it is a good bit of exercise. The weather was cool and foggy. But the […]

The premier wildlife festival on Vancouver Island, the Brant Festival begins in the Parksville this Saturday. And Rainbird Excursions is in the thick of it. Rainbird is the only tour company invited to participate. This is because of its reputation for integrity when presenting ecological information to the public. Rainbird presents all the facts […]

Given my interest in birds, this is something I should have done a long time ago. But over the next few weeks, I am going to change this oversight.
For those who aren’t birders, a site guide is a way to guide a person around a park or public place from the point of view of […]

Perhaps you don’t know much about Port Alberni and the Alberni Valley. Perhaps you are curious. You know that it must have something to do with Vancouver Island. Past that, perhaps not much. So I’m going to enlighten you!
Port Alberni is a small city located about a third of the way up Vancouver Island, that […]

As I have said on the Rainbird web page, there are over a hundred hiking trails in the Alberni Valley of various lengths and difficulty. The trouble is that very few of them are mapped - until now that is.Just recently the Alberni Environmental Coalition published the second edition of a trail guide that gives […]

I thought I’d tap out a quick not to say that after the first two weeks of the season on Mount Washingtson Alpine Resort, the Snow Bus has been full on half its runs and close to full on the others. The weather this weekend could have been better but the enthusiasm of the boarders […]

Well, Rainbird is fully into winter mode now! It is -4ºC now and snowing! This is very unusual weather for this time of year. But that’s OK! Because it’s time for the Snow Bus. In addition to offering nature tours and excursions even in the winter, Rainbird operates the Snow Bus taking people up to […]

   
Hi. I just got off the phone with Don Doyle, the Provincial wildlife biologist on the board of the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Foundation. And I’m so excited I had to write an entry right away! Don Is a pretty key guy on the board. So his recommendation is very valuable. He says he will recommend […]