Our owl seems to have wandered over to microfishing, where skadhu has a couple of fine owly photos. Skadhu always has fine photos. Meanwhile, Gabriola Bird Blog‘s Owl comes home to Gabriola post tells the story of an injured barred owl who was rescued on Gabriola, bundled off for rehabilitation, and returned to the island. [...]
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How’s this for lovely? Elen took this photo. She posts comments on Gabriolan.ca from time to time, and sent in this for you to see:
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We have a compost pile out back; I suppose everybody on Gabriola does. We don’t put animal flesh or bones in that compost, because we heard that would attract rats and other undesirable vistors. But we do add things like veggie scraps, eggshells, fruit peels, and whatnot. I suspect this has attracted some mice, but [...]
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While wandering in the Gabriola woods at the beginning of June, I found a hummingbird nest with eggs inside. Somehow I wound up in the same area this evening, and here’s what’s in the nest now:
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Have you seen Sharon McInnes’ bird column in the Flying Shingle? (Sample here.) Sharon has now started a Gabriola Bird Blog, which sounds like the perfect thing for those of us who would like to learn more about the island’s birds. I’d like to know more about the birds on Gabriola, but I’m usually too [...]
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Do we have crows on Gabriola, or is it just ravens? I kind of think it’s just ravens, but what do I know? Anyway. Here is more annoyed wildlife news: Angry Velociraptor Crows Terrorize Everett Police: Collectively, a group of crows is known as a murder, and murder is apparently exactly what this particular flock [...]
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In the past when I’ve found hummingbird nests on Gabriola, they’ve been empty. But this one has eggs, and how cool is that?
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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve read about Gabriola’s feral tukeys. (See fowl invasion, Gabriola turkey invasion, Gabriola turkeys in the news, etc.) At the moment, the island’s turkeys are even more than usually interesting. Some of them are lurking near the bottom of the s-curve on North Road at Horseshoe, [...]
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This little thing flew into our window, and then spent time amongst the pansies while recovering. I’ve no idea what kind of bird it is. Pretty one, though! Gabriola birders – do you happen to know what he is? Here’s a larger, zoomed-in view of the bird’s head, just because:
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This is a garden-variety Gabriola bird. Specifically, it’s the sort of bird I see wandering about in my Gabriola garden, and he’d better not be pulling up the sweet pea seedlings. Is that not a fine pattern of plumage there? ‘Tis a distinguished backside. I bet your hind quarters aren’t as well patterned nor as [...]
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You sit on the rocks at Drumbeg or Berry Point, watching a flock of seabirds fly in formation near the Gabriola shore. How do they do that? American Scientist’s Flights of Fancy article explains:
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I see eagles in this tree every time I pass by. If you ever spot me heading into the 707 Acre Woods with a tripod and a serious camera, it’ll be to get a better shot of this eagle. As it is, I can’t even find my big tripod, so oh well. I see the [...]
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This little nest came down with a branch in the Gabriola forest. It’s still attached — see? That skinny little cedar branch supports the nest. The nesting cavity width at the top of the nest is only 4cm, so this thing is tiny. The outside seems to be moss and lichen, while the inner layer [...]
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It’s a black bird, hopping about in your Gabriola trees. It caws. It’s saucy. But is it a crow or a raven? The Raven’s Aviary explains how to tell the difference.
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Do you mutter only on Gabriola! when you stop to let a flock of turkeys cross the road? If so, you might be interested to know that it’s not just on Gabriola — this turkey thing happens elsewhere, too. (Though I bet Gabriola’s wild turkeys are prettier.) npr.org offers this story from La Connor, Washington: [...]
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