September 20, 2025  9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Victoria Region

FIELD TRIP (LEVEL 3)

Hawkwatch

Meet at 9:30 a.m. The Saturday birding group will join the combined Nature Victoria/Capital Regional District Hawk Watch event at East Sooke Regional Park. From the parking lot at Aylard Farm, we will take the Beechey Head Trail to the lookout. Several Nature Victoria members will be available there to help you find the raptors among the vultures until approximately 2:00 p.m. The final ascent to the viewpoint is a trek up a steep and rocky trail. Bring binoculars, water, and perhaps a lunch. If you do not want to make the trek up to the hill, there are good opportunities to look for raptors in the field next to the parking lot. There will also be live raptor demonstrations and other activities and displays near the parking, and a barbecue (please see information in the newsletter regarding the barbecue).

DIRECTIONS: Meet at the Aylard Farm parking lot at the end of Becher Bay Road.

Birders' Night (In person and on Zoom)

Changing times: How bird migration is adapting to climate change, with an example from Vancouver Island Turkey Vultures

Join Don Kramer and Daniel Dönnecke for a dive into the data. The first part of the talk will provide an overview of how different bird species are or are not responding to climate change by changing the timing of their migrations. We will discuss what is known about how birds that change their timing do so, why some may not change, and the magnitude of the change. The final section of the talk will focus on a single species on Vancouver Island, presenting evidence for a change in the timing of fall migration gathered by counting the number of Turkey Vultures in aggregations (kettles) near Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

Zoom participants, please register in advance by clicking this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85874275686?pwd=ttDcJIarT3bHfcvRpFHQKAJ7OsbVVy.1 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Marine Night

Below the Surface: Secrets Bubbled Up from the Deep

The Deep-Sea Ecology Program at Fisheries and Oceans Canada is part of a collaborative project - called the NorthEast Pacific Deep-sea Exploration Project (NEPDEP) - that has a mission to discover, explore, and monitor deep place for future management and conservation. In recent years, the team has use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs; robots directed from the surface) to study deep-sea ecosystems along the Pacific coast. Our discoveries from the depths of British Columbia's ocean floor aren't just reshaping local marine knowledge—they're rewriting the global story of the deep sea. Come along to join Heidi Gartner in the joy of discovery and see incredible imagery of the deep sea. NOTE: Heidi is the VNHS marine night coordinator. Come hear about her passion for field work, changing people's relationship with the deep, and protecting animals in the deep.

Zoom participants, please register in advance by clicking this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82655782679?pwd=PR7MdDvQWCG9lRJwAdSPgF7vh6gmPN.1

 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.