Ducks Who's Who?
During the winter, its common to see more than mallards in the lakes. Many other waterfowl species can be seen, the problem is that a lot of them have black/white or brown/white colourations. Here are some similar species that can be found and how to ID them: Common Goldeneye: As the name suggests, look for the bright golden eye. The males of this species will also have a white pact between its eye and its beak. The females will have no patches on its face, and instead will h
Happy Rose Day!
When people think of roses, it's normal to imagine a dozen of red roses you give to loved ones, but did you know there are a couple different kinds of wild roses in the Okanagan and Similkameen? One of the common species you'll see is called the Nootka rose. These roses will have big pink flowers that will bloom in late spring or early summer. They will also produce rose hips in the fall that will last into the winter. This is super important for many species of ungulates and
Muskrat Lodges
Did you know that beavers aren't the only mammal that will build lodges in the water? Muskrats will also build lodges in marshes, but they will use different material than beaver. Instead of using sticks and branches, they will use cattails and bullrushes for a majority of their lodge. But location and resources is everything when building a house. If the marsh they live in doesn't have the necessary material, they will just dig burrows in the side of banks instead of making
World Wetland Day!
Cattails are an iconic part of many wetlands, and like anything, they are good in moderation. Cattails provide great habitat for many species, like red-wing blackbirds, Chorus frogs and Yellow-headed blackbirds. However, in certain ponds, cattails have taken over to the point that they are causing problems. They are prolific spreaders, reproducing via seeds and self-cloning. Because of this they can limit the diversity in the area and the amount of open water. The reason that
Tomorrow is World Marmot Day!
With World Marmot Day tomorrow, we want to celebrate our local star, the Yellow-bellied marmot! Yellow-bellied marmots have a tough go at life, with everyone wanting to eat them and their young. Predators like coyotes, raptors, bobcats, bears, cougars, badgers and more are all after them. And because of this, they have to be on constant alert. Marmots will go on the defense against their many predators by going on the look-out and calling out to the colony if they sense dange
