White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta Carolinensis

This is a new bird for me.  I'm more familiar with the Red-breasted Nuthatch, and I was greatly surprised when two White-breasted Nuthatches arrived at the bird feeders several days ago.  They were perched in the poplars nearby.  I've seen one or the other every day since then.

• larger than the Red-breasted Nuthatch (White-breasted Nuthatch - 15cm,  Red-breasted Nuthatch - 11cm)
• conservation - "Too much pruning or felling of dead wood can reduce the nesting opportunities for this species."  (source: All About Birds)
• White-breasted Nuthatches are very territorial and will drive out any other nuthatches.  (It would be most unfortunate should this occur as the Red-breasted Nuthatches have inhabited these woods for many years.  We will have to wait and see what happens.)

Update:

November 4, 2012 - The White-breasted Nuthatch is still coming to the feeders and usually makes his presence known by calling out before descending for a sunflower seed. I have seen nothing of the Red-breasted Nuthatch since the arrival of the bigger bird.

Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal

Yesterday was the start of the public hearings for the proposed building of the Northern Gateway pipeline extending from Alberta's oil sands to the west coast of British Columbia (Kitimat).  If it goes ahead it would have the capacity to transport 525,000 barrels of oil daily (200 oil tankers per year) destined for U.S. and Asian markets.  The oil tankers would have to navigate185 km of inner coastal waters and the Great Bear Rainforest. 

In Kitamaat Village, where the first hearings are being held, Haisla Hereditary Chief, Ken Hall expressed his opposition to this project saying that it "put his people in the crosshairs of possible disaster and they must put threats to their homes and their children's future ahead of job prospects that might come from the pipeline."  Samuel Robinson, a Hereditary Chief and fisherman from Kitamaat Village also opposed the project.  "I know every inch of our territory.  The area's rich with seafood, halibut, cod, fur-bearing animals," he said.  "It worries me that all this will be lost or destroyed when there is a spill.  Mark my words: when there is a spill.  Experience knows it will happen."

I have my own misgivings about this project and the impact it will have on the environment.  The proposed pipeline stretches for 1,177 km and crosses some 1000 streams and rivers. Five major salmon rivers will be affected: Stuart River, Morice River, Copper River, Kitimat River, Salmon River. The upheaval to the land and waterways will be enormous.  

  

The Flow of Water

Cottonwood Island Park, Prince George, B.C.
located at the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers
(photo taken October 19th)

The World Wildlife Fund-Canada organization recently released a report* on the state of ten Canadian rivers in terms of "environmental flows". It sites three factors that are threatening river flows:

• climate change
• growing water demands
• pursuit of low-carbon energy (i.e. new hydropower projects)
  

1. Skeena River, British Columbia - Mines, oil and gas pipelines, coal bed methane fields and hydropower projects all could "significantly affect the Skeena's natural flow and potentially compromise the watershed's incredible biodiversity and ecosystem functions".
2. Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan - "one of the world's longest free flowing rivers".
3. Fraser River, British Columbia - The Nechako River is one of its principal tributaries. "The Kemano Diversion moves two-thirds of the Nechako average flow from the Fraser watershed to the west coast for industrial hydropower generation."
   
4. Athabasca River, Alberta - "The Peace-Athabasca Delta supports over 30 species of fish and more than a million migratory birds each year."
5. South Saskatchewan River, Saskatchewan, Alberta - Canada's most threatened river.
   
6. Nipigon River, Ontario - ".... flows highly regulated." Efforts are being made to "restore flows to more natural conditions".
7. Grand River, Ontario - another regulated river with more than 100 dams.
8. St. Lawrence River, Quebec - natural flow "drastically altered". It is in a "declining state".
9. Saint John River, New Brunswick, Quebec - longest river in Atlantic Canada.
10. Ottawa River, Ontario, Quebec - "....one of the most regulated river systems in Canada."

* Canada's Rivers at Risk: Environmental Flows and Canada's Freshwater Future

More indepth information can be found at WWF-Canada

Red-sided Garter Snake

The other day I went rummaging through the odds and ends cupboard to retrieve my stack of National Geographic magazines that I had marked "Keep" when we decided to donate the bulk of them to the local hospital auxiliary several years ago. I was looking for the one that had the article on Manitoba's Red-Sided Garter Snakes Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, a subspecies of the common garter snake. The article: Manitoba's Fantastic Snake Pits by zoologist, Michael Aleksiuk, Ph.D., November 1975. The picture is of a monument in Inwood, Manitoba.

I grew up in Winnipeg. I didn't see these snake pits until I had children of my own and we visited my parents who had retired in the same region. However, we were never there at the right time, either in the spring or the fall. When I saw them, it was during our children's school holidays, and I remember looking down into a pit and seeing one or two.

These limestone sinks, located 97km (60 miles) north of Winnipeg, near Narcisse, Manitoba are quite big, some measuring 4.5 metres (15 feet) across and 3 metres (10 feet) deep. In the winter they provide shelter for tens of thousands of garter snakes which have moved "underground beneath the rubble" by late October. In the spring, after mating, these harmless snakes "disperse for the summer to outlying marshes (where there are plenty of frogs) as far as 16km (10 miles) away." In the fall they return to their dens.

There's one wonderful picture in the article that I really like. It's of a smiling woman in Inwood, Manitoba (the snakes migrate through this small town twice yearly) who is preparing the evening meal with "George" the garter snake beside her checking out the food. It doesn't say how he got into the house, but there he is, "a regular visitor".

I also like what she said at the time, "They were here many years before us, and we have to respect them." Those words are as true today as they were thirty-three years ago.

Update - After severe winter weather in 1999 killed thousands of garter snakes before they were able to get back to the limestone pits, efforts were made to save these snakes from being further decimated. During migration they cross a highway, and in the past, many have been killed annually by passing vehicles. Now, thanks in part, to Manitoba Hydro and volunteers, there are foot high fences installed along the highway to try and encourage the snakes to use 13 cm (5 inch) tunnels under the road. This has resulted in far less fatalities. The Snakes of Narcisse Wildlife Management Area

<<<<>>>>

The photo below is one I took last Saturday when I discovered this lone Red-sided Garter Snake on my front lawn. Usually they keep to the back of the house near a birch tree and in the long grass there just at the edge of the hill.

I think I will call this garter snake
"Beauty"

Riverside Park

A strong arctic wind was blowing today, and the cold was numbing as I stood near the river taking pictures. It was hard to hold the camera steady in the windy gusts.

I wanted to see how the river was doing in the spring thaw. It was very swift, and the few ducks I saw simply moved with the fast flow. It was funny to see them zipping past. The islands and the river bank are still encrusted with snow and ice. There were flocks of geese flying overhead, but none of them landed on the river or the islands. There was also one lonely sandpiper at the water's edge and several gulls.

Nechako River

290 km (180 miles) in length,
drains into the Fraser River at Prince George.
Supports 20 fish species, including sockeye, chinook, coho,
rainbow trout, bull trout, lake trout, burbot,
mountain white fish and white sturgeon.


Two very brave ducks

Another view of the river

A feather in the withered grass

(please click to enlarge)

Came across this sign as we walked on one of the trails along the river bank. It reads:

The white sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in North America.

The Nechako white sturgeon is unique from all other sturgeon in British Columbia.

A large Nechako sturgeon can reach 3 metres in length and live to almost 100 years old!

There are now less than 600 white sturgeon remaining in the Nechako watershed.
White sturgeon do not begin spawning until they are 15 to 30 years old. The lack of young sturgeon in the Nechako means that an entire generation is already missing.

There is more about the Nechako White Sturgeon recovery initiative at their website.

Clear Vision of an Eagle

March 29, 2008

"The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle. But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing he will curse me. Have I done all to keep the air fresh? Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?"

~Chief Dan George (1899-1981)

Acclaimed actor, author and Chief of Tsleil-Waututh First Nation (Burrard Band, North Vancouver, B.C.) 1951 - 1963.

Bald Eagles

The Bald Eagle is such a magnificent bird. The largest bird of prey in Canada, it dominates the sky. All little creatures must surely scurry and hide when they feel the Bald Eagle's shadow passing overhead. They have a wingspan of approximately 2 m (6 1/2 ft.), but this can vary, and when perched they are about 76 cm (30 in.) tall. The Bald Eagle weighs between 4.5 kg (10 lbs.) and 6.4 kg (14 lbs.), and I've read that they can lift half of their own weight.

These two mature adults that I was fortunate to see were sitting close to each other, but in different trees, almost in my front yard. They could have been a Mr. and Mrs. Bald Eagle, as both the female and male have similar plumage, although the female is larger. I couldn't tell which was which. One flew away immediately after I took a picture. The other one stayed and followed my every move. They have fantastic eyesight and can see three or four times farther than us humans.

Bald Eagles have few natural enemies. Humans, directly or indirectly, cause the greatest harm to them. The one relentless threat to this species is human development resulting in habitat loss (loss of foraging, nesting, perching and roosting sites). The Bald Eagle's very existence is in peril every time a tall old growth tree is cut down in the forest near a lake, river, stream or ocean. They do have friends however, and many people are raising awareness for adopting better conservation practices so that their numbers are not further diminished.

I stood in the shadow of the house to take this photo but the eagle was very suspicious of my presence and left quickly.

This eagle tolerated me while he scanned his domain.

In these photos the eagle is facing the field across the road.