A weekend dedicated...to the birds we love

Island Wild for February 5, 2010







Nature and birds. If you love them, mark next weekend on the calendar. The 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is just one week away. For four wonderful days (Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15), we can all sit back and admire the feathered objects of our affection.

Practice makes perfect, and the birds in backyards this week will likely still be there next weekend. Sharpening up those bird ID skills is a fun way to spend the week leading up to February’s birdcount, and there’s no better time to take a closer look, and write their names down.

Bird watchers of all ages and abilities may participate in this free four-day event by counting local birds in backyards and parks, or down by the shore. A good place to start is by checking out the GBBC website (www.birdsource.org/gbbc). This comprehensive and educational site features an online bird guide, a section on tricky IDs and bird-feeding tips.

A complete ‘British Columbia – coastal checklist’ of local birds may be printed from the website. Then learn how to distinguish one “little brown bird” from another by clicking on ‘Learn about birds.’

Avian populations are always shifting and changing due to habitat loss, climate change, disease, or other factors. So scientists count on birdwatchers for an overall “snapshot” of North America’s mid-winter birds.

Birdcount results help researchers at Cornell’s Ornithology Lab and National Audubon Society learn where the winter birds are, how they’re doing—and how to protect them.

Every participant’s submission will be entered into a draw for nature prizes, including bird feeders, binoculars, books, and CDs. Photo buffs can try their luck in the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count.

Even if you can only ID a few species, taking part is a fun way to get family, friends, students and nature groups involved, and help birds—all at the same time. And birdcounts present a wonderful opportunity to learn a few more.

Counting birds is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Simply observe for at least 15 minutes on one or more days during the event, keeping a separate list of birds for each day.

For each type of bird you see, count the most you see at any one time (to make sure you don’t accidentally count the same bird twice). Then enter your results online at www.birdcount.org/gbbc and check the provincial map to watch your community’s progress.

Last year, birders in 142 British Columbia communities participated, recording a whopping 193 different species. B.C. also earned a spot in the coveted North American Top Ten – the only Canadian province to do so. For more information, visit www.birdcount.org.

BACKYARD BIRD POSTER: Now at Courtenay’s Laughing Oyster, Campbell River Museum’s giftshop, and Coho Books. E-mail: wildernesswest@shaw.ca.

Community’s own all-nature calendar debuts

Island Wild for Mirror Dec. 4, 2009

Karalyn Hubbard poses with her local 2010 nature calendar, inspired by Mother Earth’s beauty.

Flipping the page to December reminds us of the New Year ahead, and many banks, garages or grocery stores hand out generic calendars with boring pictures.

Like most folks, we look at our calendar daily, and use it to keep track of absolutely everything, so it’s wonderful when the monthly photo twigs our interest and brightens our spirit.

Now, with just one month to go before we flip to January, 2010, a Campbell River photographer has produced the community’s first all-nature photo art calendar, chock-full of luscious images of grasshoppers, eagles, spawning salmon and deer.

Hot off the press, Karalyn Hubbard’s first calendar is sure to fill the New Year with nature’s loveliness. January shows crunchy frost on red maple leaves; February features an ice formation called “Winter lace.” Golden water drops on a silver leaf prove the simplest things on Earth are precious and beautiful.

Here’s a chance to flip to a new month and see butterflies and wildflowers…and a ladybug nestled in a dogwood bloom. Hubbard snapped most of the images locally, and added a black border around monthly selections so those wishing to frame their favourites won’t need to purchase matting.

Among the photos are some of Vancouver Island’s premier nature images, snapped by a talented artist with an eye for striking themes and creative angles. In one remarkable scene, Hubbard captured a bald eagle carrying moss to soften a nest, while an eagle nestling looks on.

In pursuing the great outdoors as a subject, Hubbard explains her goal is “to share God’s beauty with everyone so they can appreciate the beautiful everyday things that surround us but are often taken for granted.”

She adds: “You just have to slow down and take notice. With a photo, the image is captured forever. Precious wildflowers that so many walk by – or on –without noticing, mushrooms, lichen, pinecones…there is beauty in everything.”

After receiving a Kodak Instamatic in her mid-teens, a love of photography blossomed. Currently, her snapping fav is a trusted Sony.

Contact Karalyn Hubbard Photography by E-mail regarding her calendar ($17.50) or unique greeting cards: kbphotography@shaw.ca. Blogsite: http://karalynbranscombephotography.blogspot.com/. Her nature photos are also sold in Willow Point at Cipollines Bakery (across from Sybil Andrews Cottage by the shore).