The McArthur Island Great Horned Owls Are Growing
Here is a photo gallery of our owl friends at McArthur Island courtesy of Lynne Borle. Thank you Lynne! Wonder how she gets them to look at the camera every time.
Continue reading →Category Archives: Naturalist Posts
Making Bluebird Boxes
This article appeared in the May 2018 edition of Sage Whispers. You can read the complete newsletter here. In January 2018, the Kamloops Naturalist Club applied for funding available from BC Nature to build 50 bluebird boxes in order to replace damaged and/or missing nest boxes. The boxes are subject to deterioration from the sun and weather over time, as well as damage caused by animals and vandals.
Continue reading →The Birds of Gamble Pond On May 2, 2018
Here is a look at what was seen on the Naturalist Club trip to Gamble Pond. If you know the names of these birds, please add them in the comments. Hover your cursor over the images to see the caption, or click to enlarge them.
Continue reading →White-Crowned Sparrows are Back
One arrived on Tuesday and a few more today, feeding on the sunflower seeds under my feeder in Barnhartvale. A number of years ago hundreds arrived and ate everything. Freshly emerged peas in the garden were devoured. A week later the mob moved on and I replanted.
Continue reading →The Ink Caps: Mushrooms That Dissolve Into Black Ink
Welcome to Mushroom Monday for April 30, 2018 With the recent appearance of a few species of ink cap mushrooms, we can expect to see them through the summer and fall. The big majority of ink cap mushrooms (called the coprinoid fungi) share the unusual feature of having gills that digest themselves at maturity producing a liquid mass of black spores. Some of the liquid drips to the ground and infiltrates the soil and some dries on the mushroom cap and is wind dispersed. If insects land on the liquid … Continue reading →
Sandhill Cranes Flying Over: Letter to the Editor by Rick Howie
A Modified Letter to the Editor of Kamloops This Week published April 25, 2018 By Rick Howie, Registered Professional Biologist I read with interest the comments by Hugh Jordan in Kamloops This Week regarding the Sandhill Cranes passing over Aberdeen recently. Indeed, it is exciting to see and hear these magnificent birds passing overhead at this time of year as they have done annually for thousands of years. April is the peak month for spring migration. Most of the birds normally pass just a bit west of Aberdeen enroute north … Continue reading →