Coexisting with Cougars on Vancouver Island: Understanding Cougar behaviour and mitigating conflicts. 

This presentation by Molli Cameron, president of Wild Wise Society and Operations Manager for the Canadian Bear Viewing Association, will focus on Cougar natural behaviour and wildlife conflict. Please pre-register for the presentation. Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/WEe7kPq6QoGkcipTGV9TFQ 

Beak Deformities in Wild Birds: unraveling the mystery of avian keratin disorder 

Avian Keratin Disorder (AKD) is an outbreak of debilitating beak deformities affecting wild birds. First documented among Black-capped Chickadees in Alaska in the early 1990s, it now appears to affect a variety of species across a broad geographic area. Danielle Gerik, Biologist with the USGS Alaska Science Center, will share results of efforts to track AKD around the world. She will provide updates on a virus that’s strongly associated with the occurrence of AKD in Black-capped Chickadees in Alaska. If you’ve seen a bird with a strangely overgrown beak or just want to learn more about this mysterious disease, this is a great opportunity to learn more! She will also provide information on how to share photos and sightings of birds with beak deformities so that more can be learned about AKD. 

Please pre-register for the presentation. Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Flj4uJOcSg6P-7dAMbUDnA

FIELD TRIP (LEVEL 1) 

The Evening Chorus at Blenkinsop Lake 

Meet at 5:00 p.m. Blenkinsop Lake is a great place for evening birding. Commuting cyclists and group running clubs are done for the day and we should have the trail largely to ourselves. Late in the day, diurnal birds are starting to wind down but are still foraging for the day’s last meal for themselves and their young. A few songbirds sing until late in the day or even for awhile after sunset. Crepuscular birds such as owls will be active. DIRECTIONS: Parking is available between Don Mann Excavating (4098 Lochside Drive) and the Lochside Trail. 

Whale Sound: The Acoustic Tradition of Whales 

For over 20 years, Janie Wray has studied the acoustic dialects and social connections of orca, humpback and fin whales, cataloguing every humpback whale seen on the north coast of BC, and categorizing their diverse call types. This presentation explores the diverse communication between whales and shows how dialects and songs are passed on between orca families, and within the Pacific humpback population. Her research highlights the importance of sound and the need for a quieter ocean, as she explains the technologies used to record and understand how whales communicate and interact in their coastal waters. 

Please pre-register for the presentation. Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9qg6_EnWTAiEcmVI6j6ngQ