But the beauty of it for casual birders, is that the data can be pooled as well. The site has been active for since 2012. And hundreds of thousands of observations are now in the data base from all over the world. This has enabled the data managers at the Cornel Lab of  Ornithology to create local bird checklists and display then in a very powerful way. It’s a way that allows the reader to immediately see not only what birds occur in the area, but how likely you are to see them. I created a pretty decent checklist for Botswana, Switzerland, and the “counties” of Nanaimo, and Alberni/Clayoquot. And this data comes from people who volunteer their data from all over the world. Even better in a way, is that you can download the compiled data into a spreadsheet listing, numerically how common a species is, as well as the sample size on a weekly basis. Wow!

For beginning birdwatchers, this checklist in invaluable to getting them on the right track in their particular area. Bird books are completely bewildering for people picking them up for the first time.  There are so many similar species and variations of plumages, that the task of identifying the bird they just saw seems daunting. By eliminating many of the possibilities you can usually narrow it down to one or two alternatives. Below is a screen capture of a checklist for Vancouver Island north of The Capital Regional District (the url is here http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?step=saveChoices&getLocations=counties&parentState=CA-BC&bMonth=01&bYear=1900&eMonth=12&eYear=2012&reportType=location&counties=CA-BC-AC&counties=CA-BC-CX&counties=CA-BC-CV&counties=CA-BC-NA&continue.x=51&continue.y=10&continue=Continue)

What is the Baillie Birdathon? Well, it’s the oldest sponsored bird count in North America, raising money for bird research and conservation. The challenge is to identify as many bird species as possible within a 24-hour period, during the month of May. This thing has been around since 1976 and it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for bird conservation.

And is it ever needed. Bird populations are declining world-wide. It is predicted that 10 percent of bird species will disappear within 90 years, and as many as a quarter of them will be functionally extinct. Over the last 500 years only 1.3% of them have gone extinct, but the world population of birds has declines 20 to 25 percent. Some birds are not very affected, but others are getting hammered. Insectivores and neotropical migrants are taking the brunt of it. But seabirds and particularly island bird populations are declining as well.

Why are these population declines taking place?  In a way, it boils down to the fact that there are an awful lot of us. But there are a number of more specific reasons. Habitat loss in the tropical areas where birds migrate to caused by human encroachment either by settlement or by agriculture, forestry or mining is a major one.  But it is the insectivores that have been more affected than any other group of birds. These are birds like swallows, nighthawks, swifts, and flycatchers. Even birds that are well-adapted to living with humans like the Barn Swallow and the Chimney Swift are in serious decline.

Anyway, I’m participating in the Baillie Birdathon. Although you can raise funds just for the James L. Baillie Memorial Fund, you can also specify other places for the money to go. In my case, it will go to the Breeding Bird Atlas of British Columbia. On May 12th (or 13th if it rains) 2012, I will spend up to 24 hours looking for as many different species of birds in the area around Port Alberni, Parksville and Qualicum Beach. If you are disposed to making a donation to this cause, you can follow this link:

Donation Page for the Baillie Birdathon

And here is a link to some of the birds I hope to see:

Further reading:

From Science Daily: Global Bird Populations Face Dramatic Debirdscline In Coming Decades, Study Predicts

From the Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States: Ecosystem consequences of bird declines

From Ontario Nature Magazine: Plight of the Bug Eaters

From Bird Life International: New review reveals worrying declines in the world’s seabirds

From the World Resources Institute: Still and Silent Ecosystems: Declining Grassland Biodiversity

The trailhead is at Headquarters Bay on the Alberni Inlet and it extends km to Francis Lake. This trail is seen as part of a long trail that will extend from Port Alberni through to Cowichan Lake. There is an even more ambitious plan to make it part of the Vancouver Island Spine Trail, a trail that will eventually go all the way from Victoria to Cape Scott at the north end of the island. That’s more than 700 km of trail!

It is at times an easy one with long gentle grades and at other times very steep. It generally parallels existing roads and, except for the occasional veteran the forest along it is second growth, that is, what has grown up since the original forest was logged. However there are several areas where the trail goes through young plantations. It is a long trail, 15 kms in length.

There are many bridges along the way. Some of them are very sturdy, and others are not. Some of the bridge “stringers”, the beams that support the decking, are made from hemlock and even alder. This means that they will rot very quickly. I would say that some of them could be giving way as early as in 2013. In other places the construction crew has made little ladders, steps and cookies made from rounds from logs. You can use them. But be careful, they can be very slippery.

Although there are a few signs, they are not very helpful for direction finding. However they hung yellow ribbons the entire length of the trail, so that if you are uncertain if you have taken the right fork, look for them. Sometimes, these ribbons will lead you down, or up to the road. Don’t follow them. These were hung for the construction crew.

In places the brush is growing back in very quickly. By the end of this year  and certainly by the end of the following year, the trail will be very difficult to follow, unless you have a GPS. And even then you will need to pay close attention to this device. Speaking of GPS, I have uploaded this track to Trailpeak.

All in all this is not a trail for an inexperienced hiker. The trail is not always obvious, and some of it has to be hiked carefully to avoid a fall.

Although it is March, it can still snow a low elevations. This eagle knows that well.

One of the biggest is the herring spawning season. Every March along beaches up and down the island the herring spawn. This attracts huge numbers of wildlife to the bounty of the most prolific fish in the ocean. Tens of thousands of gulls belonging to as many as ten species congregate, ready for a feeding frenzy that signals the start of the breeding season. Also thousands of ducks, also show up. Scoters, scaup, mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks, goldeneyes, Buffle head and more form huge rafts just off shore. And interspersed are a variety of grebes, and loons. And it’s not just birds, but seal and sea lions also patrol just off shore feeding on the herring. And with this mass of creatures, raptors like eagles, and falcons are attracted looking for ducks for dinner.

This is part of a huge flock of seabirds numbering in the tens of thousands off Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island. They are attracted by the herring spawn.

March is also the start of the growing season. This is when pussy-willows form and the first garden flowers push up through the soil. Actually the earliest of the plants to flower, the Hazelnuts have already been blooming for some time. You will notice the male catkins hanging on the large spreading bushes in the lowlands around Port Alberni, Parksville and Qualicum Beach. And the Fawn Lilies at Stamp Falls are slowly unfurling their variegated leaves for blooming in April.

And March is when the Grey Whales return to the outside coast of Vancouver Island. They are on their way from their calving grounds in the Gulf of California to Alaskan waters. But some actually stay around all summer in these waters. Ucluelet and Tofino celebrate this annual return with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival.  And at the end of the month, the Brant Festival, named after a small sea goose, begins.

March is when the birds begin to return and to sing, and nesting for some of them starts. Purple Finches start throwing their heads back in a burst of song that amazes me in its exuberance. And they seem to be everywhere. Other songsters like Spotted Towhees, Bewick’ s Wrens, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Song Sparrows, and others join the chorus. This also is the month the Rufous Hummingbirds return, and so it’s time to clean up the feeder for them. And it is time to clean out nest boxes and build new ones. Because many of the other early migrants are showing up.

Even though it can still be distinctly cool and damp at times. It is an exciting tome to visit Vancouver Island if you have an interest in the natural world.

Bigleaf maple, like other "soft" maples often grow in clumps. At one time this tree was cut. When a Bigleaf Maple three is cut, it regrows in what they call a coppice, that is, a bunch of stems come up where there was just one.

You may be familiar with Maple Syrup from a sugar bush in Southern Ontario, the Eastern Townships of Quebec, or the New England States, but did you know there is a budding maple syrup industry in coastal British Columbia? There are now a good number of producers on Vancouver Island including two commercial ones in the Alberni Valley, Louis Swan, and Anne and Bob Collins at Arrowvale Farm. Louie recently won the Judge’s Choice Award at the 5th Annual West Coast Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival in Duncan. And there are about eight other hobbyists in the valley as well.

You can have a number of taps in a maple tree, depending on it's diameter.

I went to see Bob Collins one day when he was  minding the evaporator. He says the pastime is in its infancy in western Canada. In contrast to the eastern industry, there are not generations of knowledge on techniques. The experience of the eastern producers allows them to anticipate changes in sap flow, character, and ways of producing maple syrup that the west cannot match.

There are other differences too. First, the tree species is different. And the climate is different. Unlike eastern maple syrup the sap starts flowing earlier, as early as November. This means that the sap flows over a longer period of time. And it does not seem to flow consistently. You can get quite a poor flow if there has been a prolonged mild spell. But when a cold snap comes along, followed by some daytime warming, the flow increases substantially. They say that the sugar content is a little lower, and the flavour is also a little different.

From experience, the eastern producers know when the sap will flow much more accurately, and the season is more concentrated. It lasts from 3 to 6 weeks while here it can be around 12 weeks or more. Still as a minor producer, Bob has been able to see revenue of  up to $4000 last year. It’s a great way to get a little cash flow when the bulk of your income is from a camp ground that is only busy in the warmest months.

I just like this scene. On the left is a big ol' maple tree.

Here’s what you need:

1. A jug of water
2. A teaspoon of powdered mustard and a large spoon for stirring
3. A bowl of water to rinse the worms in
4. A tin can filled with moss to keep the worms in.
5. A spoon or trowel
6. And a tray to carry it all on.

A few simple things are needed to catch worms

Here’s what you do:

Find a likely spot on a lawn somewhere where you find worm castings. What are worm castings? They are little piles of dirt that look like they have squirted out of a tube of toothpaste. They are often mixed with tiny sticks or leaves.

Scrape off the pile with your trowel, and you will find a little hole in the ground, the worm’s burrow.

Pour the mustard solution into the hole and wait a few seconds. If a worm is in the area, it will come up within 30 or 40 seconds. And it’s skin will be stinging because of the mustard. So pick it up swirl it around in the bowl of water and drop it into the tin can.

Simple, eh? In 15 minutes you will have plenty of worms for fishing.

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 be many who don’t.  The incident involved a certain accommodation provider here in Port Alberni. But it could have been any other person such as a gas station attendant, a waiter or waitress, or someone else. In response wrote the email below.

“While I was talking to my guests yesterday, they mentioned that they were chatting to you about their trip with Rainbird Excursions. They mentioned that you had asked why they didn’t just run up there themselves and see the falls. I would like to let you know why people see value in what Rainbird Excursions offers.

First and foremost, I am a story-teller and nature interpreter. Most of my guests travel a long way to get here. Because of this, they have a sincere interest in in the area, its culture, social institutions, economy, government, and natural history. When people are travelling they usually never get an opportunity for lengthy contact with locals who have extensive knowledge in these areas. So it is a treat for them to spend some time with such a person and to be taken to spots where they get some in-depth information. Yes, perhaps they could get much of this by reading in a book or on the net. But you and I both know, it is easier and more interesting to have someone tell you about an area than to just read it.

What I do is called Experiential Tourism.  Here is one definition. “Experiential tourism is the opposite of mass tourism that traditionally focused on package tours and vacations with low levels of personal involvement. Experiential tourism shows rather than describes. It encourages visitors to actively participate in the experience andpromotes activities that draw people outdoors, and into cultures and communities. In this sense it is very personal and individual. Nature tourism, resource-based tourism, adventure tourism, eco-tourism, transformational travel, heritage tourism and other niche areas fit under the umbrella of experiential tourism. Essentially, experiential tourists seek memorable experience.”  The concept has been around quite a while. It has also gained a tremendous amount of popularity. Google “Experiential Tourism” and you will see what I mean.

People who visit from a long way away, don’t know their way around the area . Older visitors fear getting lost. This would take valuable time out of their expensive vacation. Often they rent cars or recreational vehicles. The rental agreement has a clause that prevents them from taking these vehicles on a gravel road. If they want to get off the beaten track to locations away from the rest of the crowd, and experience the true Canadian wilderness they have to find a tour operator who does this sort of thing. Another aspect of this is that people from big cities or from Europe are often afraid to be in the forest by themselves. They appreciate having someone who can tell them that there are no poisonous snakes, or plants on Vancouver island, how to behave should they encounter a bear or a cougar, and anything else that may raise their anxiety level.

Lastly, my guests often have a good deal of disposable income and are quite well educated. These guests worked for very large corporations. One was a marketer for a huge company that builds pumps, and the other works for the second largest accounting firm in the world. So I wouldn’t assume that being thrifty with their money is their first concern. These people are often well-travelled as well. They are looking to learn something from their visit, not just see the sites and have a party. Experiential tourism is a huge world-wide phenomenon. By embracing its concepts and principles, our little town’s tourism industry can only prosper. It is this demographic that we need to target to achieve more success.

I hope, through this note, that you can appreciate the perspective of visitors to Vancouver Island and the role of  tour operators in providing a valuable service to them.

Sincerely,

Sandy McRuer”

Here is a link to some other comments on a similar topic.

Private Tour Guides: Worth it?

]]> http://vancouverislandnaturetours.com/the-value-of-tour-operators-to-visitors.php/feed 0 http://vancouverislandnaturetours.com/the-largest-tree-in-canada.php http://vancouverislandnaturetours.com/the-largest-tree-in-canada.php#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:06:45 +0000 Sandy McRuer http://vancouverislandnaturetours.com/?p=917 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 west side of Vancouver Island between the villages of Bamfield and Port Renfrew.

The trip to the trailhead involves a two-hour drive along some rough logging roads, an adventure in itself!  You could take your car. It’s two-wheel drive all the way. But it’s rough ant there are lots of potholes. You might meet a couple of these behemoths on the way in. These off-highway logging trucks, like the old growth logs they carry, are a vanishing breed.

The trail in to the Cheewat Cedar is not marked. Just a pile of rocks beside the road and a couple of ribbons hanging on the brush. I used my GPS and a waymark I found on the net to find it. It takes about 30 minutes to get there.

The first part of the trail in is fairly well marked. After that you have to pay attention. The first time I went in on my own and followed it easily. But there are some blind side trails. I found one of them the second time when I led a bunch of hikers that had been camping in the Carmanah Valley in. We got turned around for a little while, until I figured it out.  You’ll go by a whole bunch of large cedar trees. But keep going until you see one of these signs. There are two of them.

It was kind of wet the first day I went in!

This is an enormous tree.

If you want to take a trip in to see it and don’t want to use your car, contact Rainbird Excursions.

I know, the first thing you’ll probably be thinking is what the heck is this? Really, it’s a mapping exercise, because that is the major finished product; a book of maps. When it’s complete, British Columbia will have a very good geographic understanding of where each bird species nests in British Columbia complete with a map showing relative abundance. Because of all the bird identification guides you can buy, you may think that the breeding range of each species is well known. Well, yes, in general, they do know. But there are two issues. First, tiny maps of North America with range maps marked on them don’t have good enough resolution for managing a species, if it is of concern. Second, the breeding ranges and abundance keep changing over time, so most of these maps are out of date.

This is not a new concept. It originated in Great Britain in 1976. The state of Vermont was the first area in North America to create one, followed by Ontario. Ontario and the Maritimes have been through this twice. And they have produced maps for each atlas. The data for the first one was collected between 1981 and 1985. The second edition was twenty years later. Both sets of maps are on line for each Atlas. What an astonishing between the two! Some species, like the Bald Eagle have increased in range and abundance. While others, like the Pintail, Killdeer, and the Eastern Towhee have declined. Other provinces are creating them too.

British Columbia is entering its fourth year of atlassing. After this year there will be just one more breeding season to finish the project. And there is still a ton of work to be done.

So why are you needed? Because it is almost all done with volunteers who have some skill in identifying birds both by sight and by sound. There are, however, many places around the province that are just too remote for volunteers to get to. Enter professionals. This year, for a change, there is money from the federal government and the province to pay highly skilled people to go to these remote areas and record how it’s done.

Of course there are protocols, methods and a manual. You can’t have volunteers just heading off willy-nilly.

The manual can be downloaded. But here is a quick overview of the system. The entire province has been divided into 41 Regions each with a coordinator. I’m the coordinator for Alberni/ Bamfield, Region 20. And each region is subdivided into 10×10 km squares. As it would be too difficult to survey all the squares, each coordinator is responsible for completing just a sample of squares in his/her region. To complete a square, atlassers have to spend at least 20 hours looking around throughout as many parts of the square as possible, covering many diferent habitats. There are three categories of breeding evidence: possible, probable and confirmed. Each category has more specific sub categories like, singing males, courtship displays, or adult carrying food for young.

This Region has a goal of 7 squares. Currently 3 are done, and two more are about half done. The square around Port Alberni, and to the east including the Hump and south behind town is done. And a square encompassing the area around Bamfield is done as well.  If you are able to record anything out Beaver Creek past Malabar Road out to Oshinow Lake, or in the Sproat Lake area out to Taylor Arm, Nahmint, China Creek, Mactush or anywhere around those places, please give me a call as soon as you can. I’ll be asking you exactly where you saw the bird, what day it was, and what it was doing. Anything you can pass along would help. But remember the area around the city and east has been done, so don’t waste your time there.

Want to learn more about natural history on Vancouver Island? Take a tour with Rainbird Excursions.

The status Oregon Ash in British Columbia is a matter of some debate among botanists. It is the rarest tree on Vancouver Island. But the debate is whether it is introduced or natural to BC. Some botanists think it’s presence on Vancouver Island is from seeds disseminated from planted ornamentals. However one recent authority says that “the pollen record indicates that it has been a native species fornine and half millennia, though it has never been abundant”.  To read more about its status, follow this link: http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben321.html

It can be found in poorly drained rich bottomland, near the mouth of the Somass River in Port Alberni and in scattered spots in the Duncan and Victoria areas.

For more information about the natural History of Vancouver Island contact Rainbird Excursions.