A handful of semi-experienced snowshoers didn't mind the huffing and puffing as we trekked the 5 or 6 km loop through the Salesbury Deep Wood trail up past Lumberton. Our mission was to find and identify any animal tracks we might come across and we did, Lynx, Moose, Snowshoe Hare and Squirrel. Tell us your birding goals or results in the comment section. Did you keep track? How many species did you see?
January Our club is wonderfully varied in interests and skills. For those of us who are more 'avid' birders, or for those wishing to practice their birding, winter is a good time to view our resident species. On average, 51 species of birds have been recorded on eBird for the East Kootenay over the past six years. This year, 56 species have been recorded in the regional district. EBird EK There are higher than usual numbers of Pine Grosbeak and White-winged Crossbill. Numbers of Bohemian Waxing are lower than usual. Of all the species that have ever been recorded, there are still a couple of dozen we could get in January. Since our club is not doing a 'Winter Challenge' this year, perhaps you would like to focus on getting these for the monthly list and adding them to eBird (for eBird beginners, I recommend starting with the 'Incidental' or 'Stationary' types of checklists - correct species, date, time, location, and duration are all you really need). Here are the possible species we could add to the January list: TRUS NOPI GWTE RNDU HOME RBME DUGR PBGR RNGR TUVU GOEA NOHA NOGO AMCO KILL MODO BDOW NSWO NHOW ATTW AMKE HOLA BOCH PYNU MOBL BRTH CEWA WCSP WTSP BRBL GCRF CAFI HORE AMGO For those not familiar with these abbreviations, take a guess! Consider this a quiz! Browse a bird guide or the eBird Web page linked above for clues! Happy birding! February 31-Jan-2016 Way to go team of 30 eBirders! You have recorded above average species for January with 68 species - 17 species above the average of 51! And the muffin prize goes to the contributors to Wardner--Ha Ha Creek Rd hotspot with DOUBLE the number of species compared to the closest hotspot (number-wise) of Marysville. To collect your muffin ..... P-) FEBRUARY eBIRD GOAL: 52. And it's a leap year! Go! Dianne C. Kimberley, BC By Gerry Warner It was an enjoyable time, but tinged with sadness as the Rocky Mountain Naturalists Club hosted a hike through Moe’s Canyon Nov. 4 in memory of long-time member Peter Davidson, who passed away suddenly on a club hike only a week before. Some 24 people participated in the two and-a-half hour hike including several non-club members that were friends of Peter’s. It was a cool and cloudy day with about half an inch of new snow on the ground for the hike which was quickly organized after Peter’s funeral. Participants met at the Kimberley Nordic Trails parking lot and started up hill on the new “Magic Line” mountain bike trail to the Boundary ski trail run, which leads to the west entrance of Moe’s. We then followed the trail underneath an old mine portal and a mixed forest of aspen, fir and larch which still bore some golden needles but were well past their peak. As the trail followed the canyon bottom we climbed slightly and passed some damp, mossy areas then crossed an area of rock slides and large windfalls that were fortunately cleared from the trail. After passing the crest of the canyon floor, we descended into a narrow valley where we started to encounter old growth timber culminating in a small flat at the eastern end of the canyon where there was a magnificent stand of Golden Western Larch including one with a huge burl about 40 feet up its trunk and measured more than 13 feet in circumference at breast height. Unfortunately, the giant larch named “Big Bill” started to lean about five years ago and may not stand erect much longer. It began leaning at the same time as some lodgepole pine salvage logging took place within a hundred yards or so and may have been a factor in the tree’s possible demise. Time will tell. On the way back, we joined up with the Magic Line Trail again and climbed to the canyon’s rim and followed it back to the beginning of the trail which formed about a seven km. loop. Back at the parking lot the group broke up for home with about a dozen retiring to Montana’s Restaurant in the hotel where a toast was raised to Peter and a late autumn day well spent. Cooper Lake, at the headwaters of the Moyie River is one of the easier subalpine lakes to reach in the Cranbrook area. Fourteen Rocky Mountain Naturalists and guests went up in October. Driving up the Lumberton Road about 25 kilometers to the trail head then a short walk in of about 2 kilometers. There had been rumours of wolves and waterfowl. However the most abundant species we saw though were the Spruce Grouse, Rough Grouse and Canada Geese. We stayed in small groups and all did different things as we explored the area. Pleased with the beauty of the sun reflecting on the water as the mountains stood tall around us. We explored the sluiceway that fed the log flume that delivered logs to Lumberton, walked up both sides as some went completely around. On Tuesday, September 24, twelve hardy hikers, guarded by five intrepid dogs, braved the 1000 foot climb to Bear Lake on the SE side of the Wild Horse Valley. After a 22 km drive along the river we turned up the badly weathered access road to the parking area at the trail head, arriving at 11:15 instead of the expected 10:30. Armed with RMN's walkie-talkies, Fearless Leader and George kept the hikers progressing slowly, slowly up the trail in 3 or 4 clusters, with frequent rest breaks. Every one was at Bear Lake by 1:45, eating lunch, admiring the view and watching Rocke trying to entice Greg's dog in, to retrieve a stick in the icy water. It did not happen. The Western Larch were golden yellow all around us, the fish jumped after insects, the vertically bedded limestone, siltstone and shale attested to the power of nature. Those believing that they were going to take longer to get down started back first, with walking poles and a radio. Others visited the tarn above and/or circled the lake then started down. Fearless Leader caught up with the first group at the junction between the old and new trails, then stayed with them for the rest of the way to the trail head. Everybody was back at the parking lot (trail head) by 3:30 and we all returned to town by 5:00 or so. - Frank (Fearless Leader) September is great for biking. Ruth led a group of RM Nats beginning at the south end of Pighin Road for a leisurely bike ride along the fairly flat paved Pighin Road to the end. Once there, a gate led them into a conservation area for a short hike followed by a return bike ride to the vehicles.
Photos by Paula R. Bob Livsey (Nature Bob) led an enthusiastic group of RMNs up the Fernie ski hill to look for butterflies, plants and fossils. It was a cool morning, but turned warm and then hot pretty quickly. Everyone managed to get to the top of the Great Bear Express, where we had our lunch. The hike up was one great view after another and so was the hike down! We learned a little about the geology of the mountains in this area, looked at fossils and did some plant identification along the way. A great way to spend a day! We even got to go up and down on the chair lift, which was a first-time experience for some. Many thanks to everyone involved in planning this and to Bob for an entertaining and informative hike. All photos where taken by Helga Knote. Rocky Mountain Naturalists enjoyed an evening paddle at Munroe Lake at the end of July using a nice assortment of water craft, a canoe, kayaks and a standing board. Nice to see Gray Jays, Swainson's Thrush, Osprey as well as a moose. Informative discussion regarding the Munroe Lake Fire and the changes and growth of the new forest. Photos - George Rogers We had a great outing to the Silver Springs Overlook on Friday July 17th. Got lots of birds on the way as well as many wildflowers still in bloom. At the top it was a little too perilous for some so they took the cautious route. The views were fantastic from up there and we are hoping for another visit to those beautiful lakes perhaps in the fall.Idlewild dam was built in the 1930s and is an earth-fill dam with a concrete core. The city has said that the dam is classified as a very high consequence dam by the Ministry of Forests Lands and Natural Resource Operations. The Dam Breach Inundation Study noted if the dam failed, the uncontrolled release of water from Idlewild Lake would follow Joseph Creek through town and potentially flood up to 21 per cent of the city. City council needs to lower the lake as a temporary measure to protect the public, but would revisit the matter in the future. Now the dam is being removed and the lake drained.
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