If you are in the areas surrounding Quamichan and Somenos Lakes, please look out for the Western Bluebird. They are small birds with the males having an orange breast and bright blue back and wings, and the females having lighter colouring. These colourful flying jewels disappeared from the Valley over twenty years ago due to the loss of tree cavities due to urbanization, pesticide use and other issues.
The Cowichan Valley Naturalists are now the lead of the Bring Back the Bluebird Project. The project is in its seventh year of re-introducing this iconic bird back to the Valley. There are several hundred boxes dotted around in North Cowichan in suitable habitat — large meadows with lots of perching places and areas to forage for insects. Last year our Bluebird numbers dropped, perhaps due to the hard winter of 2016. We hope very much for success this year and would appreciate hearing from you if you have a sighting.
Please email cowichanbluebird@gmail.com or call 250-710-5618.
A Walk to a Rotting Log
Sometimes the scale of problems facing our world seems just too large. This is the time to set some time aside for a walk on the wild side, and it doesn’t need to be a faraway walk to take your mind off things and find your soul. Recently friends and I visited a rotting log and within a few minutes we were entranced to meet a variety of small creatures, often not noticed in the regular rush of life.
On this special day we found an Ensatina, an intriguing lungless salamander with googly eyes; a Red-backed salamander (Hwukw’netsum is the hul’q’umi’num’ word for salamander); and a Lancetooth Snail, with purple head and feelers and a beautifully patinaed shell. Did you know that snails and slugs have four feelers and the top two have simple eyes? If you look carefully you can see small black spots on the tips of the antenna, which are the eyes.
Remember, if you are going to roll back a log do so very carefully and put it back gently, so as not to crush any creatures. Same rules apply if you are exploring beaches and looking under stones.
May Nature Signs
- Qw’uqw’sutsun’ (Swallows) and Purple Martins are back. Look for the condo housing for Martins on Cowichan Bay pilings.
- Speenhw (Camas flowers) will be in bloom in our Garry Oak meadows and rocky outcrops, along with many other lovely flowers. Please leave them be, for others to see!
By Genevieve Singleton, mother and enthusiastic nature interpreter. twinflower4@gmail.com