Vancouver Island Nature Tours

I don’t normally flagrantly self-promote on this site. But an incident a couple of weeks ago has prompted me to post something about what tour guides such as myself bring to the table for visitors. This article is aimed at some of the local people who may not appreciate this. And sadly, there seem to [...]

There are taller trees. There are trees with larger circumferences. And there are trees whose crowns spread further. But there are no other trees in Canada that combine all three to be the most massive tree than the Cheewhat Giant. It is a Western Redcedar, Thuja plicata, near the shore of Cheewhat Lake on the [...]

Click on the title to see the post without the Welcome box in the middle. A spring trip to Sandy Island Marine Provincial Park is a magnificent way to spend the day. This, rather convoluted name, was given to the park when it was established in 1966. But locals refer to it as Tree Island. [...]

Click on the title to see the page properly. Lots of people these days travel with bicycles on Vancouver Island. And why not? It’s a great way to get a little exercise and have a relaxing time peddling through the neighbourhoods and parks of the places you visit. You can even do it if you aren’t [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Thanks to a very strong web presence and new marketing strategies, Rainbird Excursions’ Magical Mushroom tour went off without a hitch this weekend. In fact I had to turn down some people. Next year promises to be bigger and better than ever. I plan on having more expertise on site and accommodating more people. Planning [...]

The more I go to Stamp Falls, the more I am convinced that this Provincial park is the best place to see salmon migrating on Vancouver Island.  And by way of a photo essay I will prove it to you. It is a little off the beaten track. Those of you who are fixated on [...]

Photographing a Cassin’s Auklet Originally uploaded by TheRainbird I just got back from a really successful pelagic birding trip to northern Vancouver Island.  The American Birding Association (ABA) had a regional conference in Vancouver, which moved to Victoria on Vancouver Island. ABA conferences usually have pre and post conference excursions which explore the region the [...]