Sun, 28 Jul 2013
Tags: Wildlife

Bluebird Update

An adult female brings food to her 5-day old nestlings inside one of the installed nestboxes.

We received a great update on the HCTF-funded Western Bluebird Reintroduction Project. It seems July has seen a number of hatchings, including the second clutches of 2013 for two of the re-introduced pairs! The spring hatchlings are now fully-fledged juveniles and are doing great: they can now hunt for wild insects on their own, and will likely help their parents with the feeding of their newly-arrived siblings. GOERT’s Julia Daly and Species-at-Risk biologist Trudy Chatwin estimate that there are over 38 Western Bluebirds flying about the Cowichan Valley these days, which includes all the juveniles and nesting parents.

Thanks to GOERT for supplying the following photos to show us how the birds are doing.

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Sun, 28 Jul 2013
Tags: Wildlife

Bringing Back the Bluebirds

 

 

The Western Bluebird was once a common site on Vancouver Island. This brilliantly-coloured bird species thrived here and on the neighbouring Gulf Islands until the 1950’s, when their numbers began to steadily decline. By the 1990s, bluebirds were no longer breeding in southwestern BC, and were soon considered to be extirpated (locally extinct).

What caused this once prolific species to disappear? The primary factor is likely habitat loss. Bluebirds are secondary cavity nesters, meaning they rely on holes left by woodpeckers in standing deadwood to build their nests. If most of these dead trees are removed (either through logging practices or urban development), the birds are left with little in the way of natural nesting habitat. Bluebirds face steep competition for the few remaining cavities, as these are also sought after by introduced species such as starlings and house sparrows.

Human activity has undoubtedly impacted the bluebirds’ distribution, but there is good reason to believe that human intervention will help return the species to its former range. The Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team is working to restore self-sustaining Western Bluebird populations on Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands through the HCTF-funded Bring Back the Bluebirds project. The project team has been translocating breeding pairs to the Cowichan Valley and creating habitat for them by mounting nestboxes in prime foraging locations. The first year of the project (2012) resulted in the successful fledging of the first bluebirds known to have hatched on Vancouver Island since 1995. The project plans to translocate a total of 90 adult bluebirds over the course of 5 years.

The following video by Shaw TV provides an overview of the project, including footage of a pair of bluebirds being released from their aviary at Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve.

Want to be involved in this project? Visit GOERT’s website to learn how to identify Western Bluebirds, report bluebird sightings, or get information about nestbox hosting or monitoring programs.

Fri, 19 Apr 2013
Tags: Wildlife

HCTF Staff Visit Delta Farmland Project

A flock of snow geese land in Ladner.

HCTF staff may be coming to a project near you!

On April 12th, Lynne Bonner and Jane Algard visited Ladner to do a project site evaluation on the “Provision of Waterfowl and Raptor Habitat within Managed Grasslands on Lower Fraser River Farmland” project. Christine Terpsma of the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust took us on a tour of farmlands that are under stewardship agreements in the Ladner/Delta area near Vancouver. HCTF funding ensures local farmers plant winter cover crops (for waterfowl) and grassland set-asides (for raptors) to provide a diversity of habitats for wildlife.

We saw the evidence of success: some winter cover crops were eaten down to bare ground, we spotted a number of hunting northern harriers in the set-asides, and hundreds of snow geese landed in a field next to us. As an added bonus – we sighted three snowy owls! Thanks Christine, for your time and your enthusiasm for wildlife conservation.

 

Fri, 16 Nov 2012

Why did the frog (try to) cross the road?

Although roads are vital transportation corridors for humans, they often have the opposite effect on wildlife, cutting off their normal routes to and from food and water or blocking their seasonal migrations.But, efforts are underway to connect amphibian habitats across roads without the carnage.

With the help of funding from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Environment Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program, coastal ecologist Barbara Beasley of the Association of Wetland Stewards for Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds, has been spearheading a project to create tunnels for safe passage under roads.

She is hopeful that will reduce mortality among five species including the red-legged frog, which is listed as a species of concern.They have also identified northwestern salamanders, rough-skinned newts, western red-backed salamanders and Pacific chorus frogs.

The test project is underway on Highway 4 south of a four-hectare wetland called Swan Lake near the Tofino-Ucluelet-Port Alberni junction, but she’s optimistic the results can be applied elsewhere in B.C. where amphibians are being killed crossing roads that have been built through their habitat. Swan Lake is an important breeding ground for red-legged frogs.

It all started when she was doing amphibian inventories in the Clayoquot Sound area in her role as a biologist, and she discovered that a lot of animals were being killed on highways in the area. She began volunteering to find out where the worst carnage was happening, and found that hundreds were being killed annually, especially in the fall when they’re disbersing from the Swan Lake wetland, which is just 500 metres from the road.

In the spring, other adults also move across the road. A peak crossing area was identified and work began, with the cooperation of the highways ministry, to construct an underpass system and fence barriers to guide amphibians through it.

A mark and re-capture study has been part of the monitoring to judge how successful the tunnel has been, and Beasley says it show some frogs and salamanders move through the tunnel, but not as many as expected. That work is continuing to see if the numbers increase. The fences definitely reduce roadkill, she adds.

Since amphibians use a variety of methods to guide their migration, including sunset, electromagnetic fields, celestial cues and olfaction, she had some concerns that the underground passage may block some of them out. However, over time, she’s confident that scent marks will help guide them through the passageway.

The highways ministry is looking at two other potential sites on the east side of the island, which are hotspots for vehicle collisions. A population model is also being done to see what impact roadkill is having on the wetland’s population. “Traffic is bound to increase, so we need to plan for that future,” she commented.The project continues this year.

Beasley has been keeping up a blog about the project, called SPLAT project amphibian tunnel, at splatfrogtunnel.blogspot.ca

The HCTF exists because hunters, anglers, guides and trappers contribute money towards projects that maintain and enhance the health and biodiversity of this province’s fish and wildlife and their habitat—and toward education about those natural resources. Since 1981, they have contributed more than $130 million through surcharges on their annual licences, with this funding administered by an independent foundation board of volunteers from around B.C. However, anyone can contribute toward the HCTF and support projects like this one with their donations.