The Wonderful World of Birds

We are so privileged to be able to enjoy nature and observe every balanced aspect of it as this video from the Cornell Lab of Orinthology indicates. ← Previous Next...
Western Grebe In Care

Western Grebe In Care

The Western Grebe is one of five grebes found in our coastal waters. We received this Western Grebe from a couple in Gold River. If was found on land and unable to take off. We’ve named this bird “Ruby” because a defining characteristic of the...
Student Volunteers Busy

Student Volunteers Busy

Student Volunteers Flock to MARS  Seeking opportunity, west coast experience BY RAY Every day is different for student volunteers at the MARS Wildlife Centre on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, many of them from faraway homelands.  “I wanted to help wildlife and...

Fawn Season Imminent

Fawn Alert  MARS marks record success rate  BY BRIAN   It’s spring when Black-Tailed Deer give birth to fawns on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and may appear to be alone and abandoned. But wait a minute. Maybe the mother doe is away foraging for food and...
Keep Bird Feeders Clean

Keep Bird Feeders Clean

During spring many small migratory songbirds are returning home from the south. Pine Siskins, Redpolls and Grosbeaks are commonly found in large flocks this time of year. This increased density of birds can lead to the spread of serious and even fatal diseases such as...

Into the Blue

Project Funded by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation Protecting Great Blue Heron Habitat and Nesting Colonies As more land is built up, altered and used by humans, Great Blue Herons are at risk of finding no place to live and forage for food. Herons require...

Big Brown Bat

Something out of a horror movie? Naw, just a cute Big brown bat with a voracious appetite for mealworms. 25 for breakfast today in fact! Bats are very important to us. Some species eat thousands of insects in an evening! Others pollinate many fruits and nuts.Vampire...

Caution… Fawns Crossing!

Please use extra care on the roads this time of year. The deer fawns are becoming more mobile and following after their mothers. If you see a doe crossing the road, expect a fawn to be close behind and slow down! They can be skittish and unpredictable. This fawn was...

It’s Fawn Season!

Our local black tail deer are giving birth now. A reminder that the doe leaves her fawn alone for long periods of time while she forages for food. She does this so as not to attract possible predators to her baby. Fawns are born without any scent and usually lay still...

Foraging Herons

Sandy Royer Photo The Pacific Great Blue Heron is a familiar sight along Vancouver Island’s coastal areas. Most residents have heard its distinctive, and croaky, “frawnk” call as the heron takes flight after being disturbed. But, did you know that herons will...

The Great Blue Heron Project

The Great Blue Heron Project  The shorelines along the east coast of Vancouver Island  are home to one of the most easily recognized shore birds: the Great Blue Heron. This elegant, graceful bird is also fiercely territorial and a stealthy, patient hunter. Great Blue...