GOERT: Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

Photo journal by Elyse Parchoma
Photos by Elyse except where noted

Western bluebirds have not nested in our region since 1994 (photo by William F. Walker)

Once a common species within Garry oak ecosystems on Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands, western bluebirds thrived until the 1950s, when their numbers began to decline. Since 1994, they have not nested on this region, and are considered extirpated.

Some of the reasons for their absence include the reduction of insect prey due to pesticide use, loss of Garry oak meadows, removal of standing dead trees, and competition for nest holes with exotic bird species such as the European starling and house sparrow. Probably the greatest factor for their decline is urban development.

Western bluebirds are secondary cavity nesters, meaning that they cannot build their own nest cavities, and depend on old woodpecker cavities, deadwood or nestboxes.

Elyse Parchoma peeks inside a nestbox on San Juan Island (photo by Carolyn Masson)

GOERT’s Bring Back the Bluebirds project, led by our Vertebrates at Risk RIG,  is focused on building nestboxes, finding appropriate habitat to host the boxes, and working with volunteers to monitor them during bluebird season (February through September). Once enough nestboxes have been distributed to willing monitors, GOERT, in association with partner organizations, will be transporting bluebirds from Washington State to southern Vancouver Island and possibly Salt Spring Island, hoping to re-establish a population in this region.

A mated pair of western bluebirds (male left, female right) at their home

On July 12th, 2010 Carolyn Masson and I set out for San Juan Island with our bicycles for two days of learning about San Juan Preservation Trust’s western bluebird reintroduction project, in place since 2007. We went to discuss logistics, gain inspiration from their outreach program, and observe bluebird nesting behaviour.

Technician Anna Sample with an aviary that housed translocated bluebirds for a period of time before their release

Once settled into our camp, we went to visit Kathleen Foley at the San Juan Preservation Trust in Friday Harbour. Kathleen, with great enthusiasm, fielded our questions about the project’s vision, development, youth involvement, education and outreach. We learned that the project, before the birds were translocated from nearby Fort Lewis, Washington, had already developed into an island-wide effort. And soon after the first translocations, residents from all of the San Juan Islands (including Orcas and Lopez Islands) were becoming active participants. Today, more than 500 nestboxes have been placed on the San Juan Islands, and bluebirds are returning at exponential rates, with 24 known returns in 2010.

A quick peek at some nestlings (see two yellow bills facing right)

We woke at the crack of dawn the next day to meet with the bluebird field technician Anna Sample, to get a sense of her day-to-day role and observe the bluebirds in their choice habitat. That morning we visited nine nesting sites, all unique in some way, yet all similar in terms of their connection to being in or around fragmented Garry oak ecosystems. Probably the most interesting sightings included seeing a single adult male feed the fledglings of another mated pair, and watching the first clutch of fledged juveniles feeding their parents’ second clutch of nestlings (mimicking their parents’ behaviour). I guess in the bluebird world, the more help the merrier!

Father (centre) flanked by two of his juveniles at their mealworm feeding station

Overall, the trip affirmed for us the success of the San Juan reintroduction program, and helped us to envision GOERT’s planned 2012 reintroduction, with hope for establishing a self-sustaining breeding population in this area.

Read San Juan Preservation Trust’s Summer 2010 newsletter.

Squamanita paradoxa, a rare parasitic fungus living on relatively common Cystoderma amianthinum. This is the first collection in Canada and only the third in North America

Illustration showing Squamanita paradoxa living on Cystoderma amianthinum

Victoria mycologist Oldriska (Oluna) Ceska has been surveying the fungi of Observatory Hill since March 2004. Her full reports, including photos, can be downloaded here:  2009-2010 (NEW PDF 6.5MB) and 2008-2009 (PDF 10MB). Oluna can be contacted at aceska@telus.net.

The Macrofungi of Observatory Hill: Long-term Survey and Inventory
November 2004 – March 2010
-A study by Oldriska Ceska (photos by Adolf Ceska)

Observatory Hill (also known as Little Saanich Mountain) is a hill on the outskirts of Victoria, BC, Canada, elevation 224 m. In 1913, Canadian astronomer J.S. Plaskett selected this hill as the site for a large, 1.83 m telescope. Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and the telescope were completed in April 1918. For about two years the telescope was the largest in the world. Later, the top of the hill was developed into an astronomical research and educational facility. Since 1975, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory has been one of the sections of the National Research Council’s Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC/HIA). (read more…)

-by Aimée Pelletier, Ecosystem Scientist, Parks Canada Agency

Biologist James Miskelly surveys plants at the translocation site (photo © Nicole Kroeker)

Parks Canada is the lead agency responsible for the protection and recovery of more than 40 species listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) that inhabit Garry oak and associated ecosystems. One of the goals of the Garry Oak Ecosystem and Species at Risk Recovery (GOESARR) Project is to assist in the recovery of Garry oak species at risk by introducing some of these species to suitable sites in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve and Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site. Although there is no substitute for ecosystem protection when it comes to conserving rare species, there are instances where translocation (introduction or re-introduction) of a rare species is the best option for endangered species recovery. (read more…)

The fungus Tubaria punicea growing at the base of an arbutus tree on Observatory Hill

Victoria botanist Oldriska (Oluna) Ceska has been surveying the fungi of Observatory Hill since March 2004. Here is a brief account of her work, adapted from a BEN article, June 2009 (Botanical Electronic News). Her full report for 2008-2009, including many photos, can be found here (PDF 10MB). Oluna can be contacted at aceska@telus.net.

The Macrofungi of Observatory Hill: Long-term Survey and Inventory
November 2004 – March 2009
-A study by Oldriska Ceska (photos by Adolf Ceska)

Observatory Hill (also known as Little Saanich Mountain) is a hill on the outskirts of Victoria, BC, Canada, elevation 224 m. In 1913, Canadian astronomer J.S. Plaskett selected this hill as a site for a large, 1.83 m telescope. The observatory and the telescope were finished in April 1918. Later the top of the hill was developed into an astronomical research and educational facility. Since 1995, Observatory Hill has been the site of the NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics. (read more…)

Kirsten Prior and Vince Hellmann setting up study cage for propertius duskywing caterpillars at the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve (photos courtesy of the Hellmann Lab)

The Hellmann lab at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Indiana focuses on the impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, and climate change on the distribution and abundance of insects and their host plants.

Jessica Hellmann and four graduate students are pursuing studies on the geographic range boundaries of several Garry oak species, their genetic structure through British Columbia and North America, and their potential for spread in a future climate.

Anise swallowtail caterpillar on parsley (read more…)