Today is all about being close to family. One family in nature that is definitely celebrating this holiday is Canada Geese. Canada geese have a family that is quite close and protective. Firstly, male and female geese will often mate for life, with only few records of "divorce". These parents are also quite protective of their young. Males will hang around the nest if they sense a threat and they will watch the nest if the female needs to leaves the eggs for a while. And whe

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

Did you know that there are 2 subspecies of Northern flickers in Canada. Here, in the west the common one is the Red-shafted variation and more eastern Canada will have the Yellow-shafted subspecies. Here are some clear distinctions between them that can help you tell them apart. First, male flickers will have a "mustache" on their cheeks that is not found on the females. The Red-shafted flicker will have a red mustache while the Yellow-shafted flicker will have a black must

You may of heard of the boom-bust cycle for Snowshoe hare and Canada Lynx, but did you know that other species are affected by this cycle too? When Lynx populations have risen and lowered the Snowshoe hare populations, Grouse can be a popular alternative for these cats. Grouse are one of the few bird species that can be seen tromping through the snow in the winter months. They can get through the winter easier than most birds because they are able to digest plants that many o

Female Western Screech-owl and her babies in a nesting box Western Screech-owl When you first think of owls, it is normal to picture the big ones, like Great Horned owls or Snowy owls, but in reality most owls in the Okanagan are small to medium sized. One such owl is our local Western Screech-owls, which is one of the smaller owls in the region, only being about the size of a medium to-go coffee cup. Their name is quite misleading since they don't actually screech. Instead t

#funfactfriday Did you know that Hummingbirds have some of the highest metabolic rates in the animal kingdom? They need to eat as much as...