Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship

#funfactfriday Everyone knows that conifer trees like pine, fir, spruce are evergreens, meaning they keep their needle-like leaves all through the winter. And then there are broad-leaved trees like maple, aspen, willow etc, which are deciduous, meaning their leaves change colour in the fall and drop off for the winter. But did you know that one of our local tree species is actually a deciduous conifer? The Western Larch (and all of its other cousins in the Larch family)

#funfactfriday We love Great Basin Spadefoots! These unique amphibians have adapted to desert life by using the spades on their feet to burrow underground and wait for periods of rain during the hot dry summer. They can burrow anywhere from 24 cm (9 in) to an astonishing 91 cm (35) inches below the surface!! But... if they are about a foot or so underground, how can they tell that rain is falling and it is safe to emerge?? If they were to wait until they could sense water i

#funfactfriday #lunarnewyear Happy Lunar New Year! Today is the first new moon of the lunar calendar. Did you know that the phase of the moon really does have an effect on some wildlife behaviours? It doesn't have anything to do with the moon making things crazy, it's all related to the amount of ambient light during different moon phases! During a new moon, some nocturnal insect-eating birds like Nightjars and Nighthawks decrease their hunting activity because the lack of

#funfactfriday Did you know that most rodents don't actually have cheek pouches for food storage? Some (like hamsters) have separate pouches inside their mouths to store seeds, but most rodent species (like rats and house mice) just have very elastic skin and muscles in their regular cheeks that allow the cheeks to bulge outwards for increased food capacity. In rodents that do possess cheek pouches there are two kinds: internal pouches and... external pouches!?!? There a

#funfactfriday Though this winter has been quite mild, there have definitely been some chilly days! Many animals hibernate through cold weather, and larger mammals have a thick fur coat to keep them warm... but what about birds? How do they stay warm when the temperature drops? In the photos at the right, you can see that the swallows have huddled together very tightly to share body heat and one of the finches has tucked it's heads into its shoulder feathers to keep it's fa

#funfactfriday Did you know that snakes can actually be social? Many snakes in the Okanagan participate in communal denning during hibernation. Communal denning is a type of social living that occurs when many snakes of either different or same species live in the same den. As snakes are such solitary creatures all other times of the year this is quite a change from typical behaviours. Why would they be okay with hibernating together if they ignore each other normally? In m

#funfactfriday Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! We hope at some point this holiday season you were able to see seven swans a-swimming around the Okanagan and Similkameen! Most lakes and large rivers around here have both Trumpeter and Tundra Swans over the winter, especially Vaseux Lake Bird Sanctuary, which was originally crested to protect Trumpeter Swans and their winter habitat. They are the largest living waterfowl species in the world, and also have the longest wings

#funfactfriday Did you know that the delicately beautiful mistletoe, with its small green leaves and white berries, is actually a parasitic tree killer? Plants in the Mistletoe family have little to no ability to use photosynthesis, and so they instead push their roots into the branches and trunks of coniferous trees in order to steal water and nutrients from them! Most of the time, mistletoe will just weaken a tree, but a large enough infestation can sometimes be enough to

#funfactfriday Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah Sameach! The traditional colours of Hanukkah are blue and white, which makes the Mountain Bluebird particularly festive! But did you know that bluebirds aren't actually blue?? In comparison to red or yellow birds, who get their colour from pigment molecules in their feathers, all blue-coloured birds get their colour from prism-like light reflection in their feathers. The physical structure of a bluebirds feather has stringy bits of k

#funfactfriday Despite badgers having a short stature, they are actually are quite fast, reaching speeds of up to 30km/h! Their speed, along with strong forearms, long claws, and sharp teeth can make them tough competitors and they can definitely hold their own with larger animals they feel threatened by. Despite all this though, badgers are not dangerous and almost always try to run away from a threat first. As winter settles in, badgers will slow down, but they don’t actual

#funfactfriday Hibernation, torpor, aestivation... there are so many words in nature to describe a deep sleep! Are they all different things? Torpor is basically any period of highly reduced physical activity by an animal. It is almost always accompanied by a lowered body temperature and slower metabolism. Torpor is usually an involuntary response to temperature change, lack of food, or amount of daylight, and many animals do it every day! Hummingbirds and some mice go into

#funfactfriday Though they look cute and cuddly, Bobcats are fierce hunters. Mostly eating small mammals like hares and mice, bobcats will also hunt porcupines, snakes, and even deer. One study documented a bobcat taking down a deer eight times its size! This opportunistic hunting style is completely different from the Canada Lynx, whose diet consists almost entirely of snowshoe hares. Although they occasionally take other prey like squirrels or grouse, Lynx are so rel

#funfactfriday Have you ever seen me before? I might look like a small beaver from far away, but I am another wetland dwelling member of the rodent family. I am a muskrat! My tail is long and narrow instead of wide and flat. I build lodges like beavers, but instead of using sticks and branches I use softer vegetation like grasses and rushes. I spend a lot of time underwater - I can hold my breath up to 15 minutes at a time! Because of this I have a set of lips behind my l

#funfactfriday It's National Pollinator Week! Did you know we have fourteen species of Hairstreak butterfly in the Okanagan valley? Hairstreaks are small, fast flying butterflies that camouflage well into the background. Because their camouflage colours, they are often overlooked and can be difficult to identify. Two of these hairstreak species are endangered: the Half-moon Hairstreak and the Behr's Hairstreak. Both these species depend on endangered grasslands and antel

#funfactfriday It's Canada Rivers Day this week! Did you know that in the Okanagan and Similkameen, the waterbirch-dogwood plant community that once surrounded our creeks and rivers has been lost by almost 90% of its historical ranges? These habitats help keep our water clean and healthy, so it's critical to conserve and restore them. Okay, so that wasn't the most "fun" fact... but what can you do about it? Learn about various water challenges around the world by watchi

#funfactfriday Everyone's favorite sign of spring, the Arrowleaf Balsamroot (aka Okanagan Sunflower) is blooming now! Did you know that this amazing plant has roots that are up to 8 feet long? That's as tall as your front doorframe! Why would a relatively small flower need such a large root system? Huge roots help anchor Balsamroot plants firmly into our loose, sandy soil and also help them reach deep underground to gather as much water as possible in our dry climate. These

#funfactfriday Nuttall's Cottontails can sleep with their eyes open! This makes them look awake and less vulnerable to predators, and they can more readily detect danger when resting. To make sure their eyes don't dry out while they sleep, they will routinely blink their "nictitating membrane", or clear third eyelid. This third eyelid is present in most other animals, including birds, fish, reptiles, and most other mammal species. Humans and other primates are oddities in tha