The Rocky Mountain Naturalists held their Annual General Meeting on January 18, 2017.  The new executive now included; Greg Ross, BC Nature Director, Linda Hastings, Treasurer, Helga Knote, Vice President, Virginia Rasch, President, Marianne Nahm, Secretary and George Rogers, Past President.

Cranbrook
Fifteen field observers in four teams and 10 feeder watchers participated on the Cranbrook Count on the 28th of December, 2016.  Temperatures were chilly that day, starting at -8 C, and snow depth was up to a couple of feet; but the roads were clear.  After a warm autumn and the late arrival of snow, the chill set in quickly the beginning of December.

​You can see more details regarding both the Cranbrook and Kimberley Christmas Bird Counts on our Bird & Nature Counts /Reports page. 

Kimberley
Fifteen field observers in 5 teams braved the clear bitter morning temperature of -32 C to go count birds from Wycliffe to Wasa, Kootenay Reserve to Kimberley.  A couple of us even cross-country skied the Rails to Trails.  Six feeder counters helped us out, too.  The warmest it got was -18 C.

Our annual spring club camp in June was well attended in Radium this year. Most stayed at the Dry Gulch Provincial Campground (don't be fooled by the name is was a beautiful spot) and others stayed in nearby hotels.   We enjoyed two evening meals together, early morning birding and various trips. Guided by RMN member Randy Hopkins we visited the Zehnder Ranch which included a walk around and lots of great birding.  We also visited the Wilmer area overlooking the Columbia Valley and a couple of small lakes.  A mixed hiking/biking trip to the Old Coach Trail with many beautiful overlooks again of the Columbia Valley, this time from the east side.

A beautiful, sunny, warm day for everyone.  This year our lowest temperature at 6AM was 3°, creeping up to 22° in the afternoon.
 
We enjoyed our meal and count-up at The Heid Out in Cranbrook as great bird stories fluttered about.
 
Four teams took part, raising $105.00 to be donated to an environmental cause in the Kootenays.
 
The total number of species seen by all of the teams was 144, compared to last year’s 140.
 
The winning team, Cooper’s Hawks, Dianne, Dean, and Joe found 119 species followed by the Craned-necked Out-of-timers with 92 species.  Special note to the Pedal and Paddle team for their environmental endeavor, getting 80 species and The Tea Party for their stories of their actual bush tea party, good china and all, and having 74 species 
Congratulations to everyone!
 
Cooper’s Hawks
Dianne, Dean and Joe
Spotted 119 species
 
Crane-necked Out-of-timers
Greg, Sue, Glenda and Helga
Spotted 92 species
 
Pedal and Paddle
Ruth, Kent, Karen, Tara, Jim and Laura
Spotted 80 species
 
The Tea Party
Cathy, Audrey and Andrea
Spotted 74 species

​   You can see more detail on our Bird & Nature Counts page HERE. 

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Yes, over 500 people attended the "Turtle Day" at Elizabeth Lake on April 25th!  The Rocky Mountain Naturalists and the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program did a GREAT job!  Thanks to the local schools (3) and classes (8) that attended, 220 of you, and the public, for coming out.  There were 4 stations displaying various aspects of the turtles live cycle.  
Here are a few pictures.
(Gerry Warner Pictures)

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.
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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)