Nicola Naturalist Society

Our evening programs are on the third Thursday of the month, at 7 PM in the lecture theatre at Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT), Belshaw Road, Merritt. Scroll down to see what is coming up from April through June 2015

Thursday 16 April 2015, 7 PM at NVIT: Bill Merilees – Wildflowers.

Few people are as well qualified to talk about BC’s wildflowers as Bill Merilees. Along with the legendary C. P. Lyons he is the co-author of the popular plant guide: Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in Washington and British Columbia (Lone Pine Press). Bill is a retired professional biologist with a long history of nature writing, hands-on interpretation and nature photography. A great speaker and just in time for the spring flowers.

Bill Merilees has updated and added many photos to the classic field guide created by Ches Lyons.

Sunday 19 April, 9 AM Outing to the Douglas Lake grasslands. A visit to the high grasslands and the Douglas Lake Plateau Important Bird Area (IBA). We hope to encounter migrating Sandhill Cranes and there will definitely be lots of waterfowl, raptors and other interesting birds. Meet at 09:00 at the Merritt Civic Centre for carpooling. We’re likely to be out 4-5 hours. Bring a lunch, warm clothes and of course your binoculars and field guides.

Sandhill Cranes (both Lesser and Greater forms of the species) at Douglas Lake Ranch, 21 April 2013. Photo: © Bob Scafe.

A Merritt Library Event: Thursday 23rd April 2015, 6-8 PM at the Merritt Public Library. Dr. Don McLeod: Mars and Black Holes .
Please pre-register at the Merritt Public Library for this event  (250-378-4737).

A Merritt Library Event: Thursday 7th May 2015, 6-7:30 PM at the Merritt Public Library. Darrel Finnegan, Superintendant of Merritt City Public Works Department: Go with the flow – Merritt’s wastewater. This will cover ” the full circle” — beginning with where the water supply comes from and ending with the treatment of biosolids and returning it to the ground.
Please pre-register at the Merritt Public Library for this event  (250-378-4737).

Thursday 21 May 2015, 7 PM – at NVIT: Bob Scafe – Travels in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Bob Scafe is a Naturalist Society director and one of our club’s keenest photographers. Bob and his wife Bev recently traveled through Vietnam and Cambodia and will share their experiences with the local people, wildlife and places that they visited. Something tropical and exotic – this will be fascinating.

A Black-crested Gibbon and baby. Photo: © Bob Scafe

Close-up of a working Asian Elephant. Photo: © Bob Scafe

Wednesday 17th June at 7 PM (venue to be announced). Kyle Blaney: North American Photo Stories.  [Note that this is on Wednesday not our usual Thursday]

Kyle Blaney is an avid nature photographer from Belleville, Ontario who has extensively travelled all over North America. He is visiting our area while on a photo/camping trip from Ontario to Vancouver via Northwest Territories. In this presentation, Kyle shares his favourite photos, discusses where they were taken, and talks about his photography techniques.

Grizzly Bear, Khutzeymateen, B.C. Photo © Kyle Blaney

Our evening programs are on the third Thursday of the month, at 7 PM in the lecture theatre at Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT), Belshaw Road, Merritt. Scroll down to see what is coming up from January through March 2015

Thursday 15 January 2015, 7 PM at NVIT: Norm Hansen: Ice Dams of the Nicola Valley.

Did you know that, a few thousand years ago as the last ice-age was coming to an end, the Nicola Valley was deep under a series of huge lakes. Massive chunks of ice blocked valleys to create these lakes, and as the ice melted the water rushing out of the lakes carved deep gorges. Today you can still see the lake shores of these ice dams, high in the hills around the Nicola Valley, and travel along the gorges that they carved out. Norm Hansen, a long-time forester from Merritt and NNS director, has for many years researched the history of these ice dams and their remnants and will share this amazing story with us.

Thousands of years ago as the ice-ages ended, ice (shown here in blue) blocked local valleys creating lakes – like Lake Hamilton which covered the Nicola Valley hundreds of metres deep. From Fulton (1975)

Near Douglas Lake one can still see the old shoreline of Lake Hamilton, now high and dry up the hillside. Photo: Alan Burger

Thursday 19 February 2015, 7 PM at NVIT: Murphy Shewchuk – Dempster Driving – to the Canadian Arctic.

Murphy Shewchuk is a well-known Merritt author of very popular hiking and travel guidebooks. Murphy and his wife Katharine recently travelled up the Dempster Highway to the Canadian arctic regions and will share their experiences. Their travels took them from Dawson City to Inuvik and north to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk. Not to be missed – Murphy is an excellent photographer and storyteller.

A Grizzly Bear in the Yukon Territory – just one of many wildlife experiences Murphy will share with us. Photo: © Murphy Shewchuk

Tombstone Mountains, Yukon Territory. Photo: © Murphy Shechuk

Thursday 19 March 2015, 7 PM at NVIT: Dr. Dan Durall (UBC Okanagan) – Identifying mushrooms of the BC Interior.

Ever wondered about local mushrooms – whether they are edible or poisonous, and what roles they play in the local ecosystems? Dr. Durall is a mycologist (fungus specialist) with many years of experience studying fungi in the BC interior. He is especially interested in fungi found in our forests, understanding their role in carbon and nutrient cycling as well as the effect of forest practices on fungal populations and communities.

The fruiting bodies of Armillaria sp. fungus emerge above the ground to release spores. Photo: © Murphy Shewchuk

A Merritt Library Event: Thursday 9th April 2015, 6 PM at the Merritt Public Library. Ted Kay – Bees and their place in the world (everything you wanted to know about bees).
Ted Kay is a former apiary inspector.  Please pre-register at the Merritt Public Library for this event  (250-378-4737).

Bird Identification Workshop – Saturday 6th December, 1 to 3 PM, at NVIT room L017 (downstairs).

Once again we are running a bird identification workshop covering species likely to be found in winter in the Nicola Valley area. This is a good way to tune up your skills before the Merritt Christmas Bird Count on 14 December. Or just get a better idea of what birds are visiting your feeder each winter. The 2-hour workshop will be an informal look at photos of local species and discussion of identification tips.

This event is free and open to members of the Nicola Naturalist Society. To register for the workshop or get more information send an e-mail to nicolanaturalists@gmail.com

Test your skills – here are some species likely to occur in the Nicola Valley in winter. Scroll down – way down – to see the species identities.

Mystery Species #1  Photo: © Bob Scafe

Mystery species #2  Photo: © Alan Burger

Mystery species #3  Photo: © Alan Burger

Mystery species #4  Photo: © Bob Scafe

Mystery species #5  Photo: © Bob Scafe

Mystery species #6 Photo: © Bob Scafe

Mystery species #7 Photo: © Alan Burger

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Mystery species #1: Notice the long tail (therefore not a falcon like a Merlin). This and the long thin legs tell you that it is an Accipiter species. But is this Cooper’s Hawk or the smaller Sharp-shinned Hawk? In winter the latter is much more common in the Merritt area. The tail is slightly squarish, and the bird is small and slim. It is a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Mystery species #2: We get two species of swans passing through the Nicola Valley on migration and over-wintering (while there is open water on the lakes): Trumpeter Swans (the most common here) and Tundra Swans. Tundra Swans are slightly smaller, have slightly shorter necks and, if you can pick it out, have a small patch of yellow just in front of the eye. The shape of the bill is also slightly different (check a field guide). This is a Tundra Swan.

Mystery species #3: Rounded body, relatively long tail and tiny size make this a Northern Pygmy Owl. The fact that it is active during daylight also separates it from other small owls. Often sit on the tops of trees scanning for prey – small birds.

Mystery species #4: The robust conical beak tells you that it is a seed-eating finch. We get three species of pink/purple finches in BC: Purple, House and Cassin’s. In the BC interior the Purple is very rare and Cassin’s is common but only in spring and summer. The House Finch is here year-round, often at feeders or in town. This is a male House Finch (the female is grey-brownish and very streaky). The brownish crown and strongly curved upper beak also distinguish this species from the other two.

Mystery species #5: Another seedeater but with a much smaller beak. About the same size as a Pine Siskin, the red forehead and pinkish breast tell you that this is a redpoll. There are two species of redpoll, but the Hoary Redpoll (which is much paler than this) is a very rare winter visitor to the southern interior. This is a Common Redpoll – a fairly common winter visitor which migrates south from the northern boreal forests.

Mystery species #6: Two species of doves are now common in Merritt: the native Mourning Dove and the introduced and rapidly increasing Eurasian Collared Dove. The doves in this photo lack the square tails with obvious bands and the dark collars of the latter species. The long pointed tails confirm that these are Mourning Doves.

Mystery species #7: Its a woodpecker, but Downy or Hairy? Both occur in our area year-round. The beak is small relative to the head which makes it a Downy Woodpecker (which is overall much smaller than the Hairy). If you look closely you can see tiny black marks on the white outer tail feathers. Downies have these but Hairies have pure white outer tail feathers.