Killer Whale - or Orca - breaching Joyce Howitt Photo Black Oystercatchers fishing Mike Hovden photo Purple Shore Crab Blue Mussel

Wildlife?

We're not talkin' about the bar scene, baby . . .

• Salmonid Enhancement Society
• British Columbia Wildlife Watch - Sunshine Coast

BIRDS:
Welcome to birdwatching heaven!

NEW!!
Comprehensive Section on Birding on the Sunshine Coast
by resident expert and tour guide Tony Greenfield.

Species include:

• Common Loon
• Horned, Red-necked and Western Grebe
• Great Blue Heron (popularly immortalized in local wildlife art)
• Canada Goose
• Surf Scoter
• Common and Hooded Merganser
• Bald Eagle
• Blue Grouse
• Killdeer
• Black Oystercatcher (with amazingly red beak and feet)
• Mew Gull
• Glaucous-winged Gull
• Marbled Murrelet (famed source of clashes between forestry & environmentalists)
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Red-breasted Sapsucker (sounds like a great epithet, doesn't it?)
• Northern Flicker
• Violet-green Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Common Raven
• Varied Thrush
• Warbling Vireo
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Song Sparrow
• Spotted Towhee
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Pine Siskin
• Belted Kingfishe

 

MAMMALS:

The Sunshine Coast is home to many species of mammal. Black bear, raccoon, white-tailed deer, Roosevelt elk, mountain cougar, beaver and river otters, just to name the most noticeable of the family. Most of the time humans and wildlife coexist quite peacefully (the animals oblige us with excellent photographic opportunity) but with urban cores expanding into the rural areas, conflict between humans and animals is increasing. This conflict can be easily managed by adopting the following guidelines:

• Do not feed wildlife. Once an animal has developed the habit of getting food from humans or urban areas, it usually becomes a "problem" animal that must be either moved or killed, so don't be a part of the problem.
• Do not leave pet food out where wildlife can get at it.
• Keep pets indoors at night. Raccoons and cougars are known for taking cats and even small dogs. Dogs are not effective at keeping raccoons away.
• When camping, cleanliness is paramount. Keep food in airtight containers, locked in vehicles or hung from trees. And don't wipe your hands on your pants after eating - that's enough to draw a bear from quite a distance. Wash up often and keep your site spotless.
• Do not panic when in the presence of wildlife. Raccoons, for instance, are rarely aggressive unless cornered or threatened. And don't be fooled by those cute robber faces and deft little paws - they are not pets and don't take to be being approached too closely. Bears are shy and will try to avoid you as much as you try to avoid them, but be alert in the woods and take care not to surprise one. Be especially careful in the late spring/early summer not to disturb a mother and cubs.
• If you see an apparently abandoned baby animal, DO NOT TOUCH IT OR REMOVE IT. Almost always the mother is nearby waiting for you to depart and the young animal has been taught to remain motionless as a form of defense. Much harm has been done with the best of intentions in this situation.

If it is a large or dangerous animal, contact the Animal Conservation Officer at 1-877-952-7277 or 604-740-5858. Do not approach the animal and give it a wide berth.

MARINE & AQUATIC:
Well now. We do live on the edge of the Pacific, so there's just so many species we couldn't hope to list even a tenth of them here. Suffice it to say that if you're looking to eyeball marine and aquatic life, this is a great place to do it. We've got harbour seals and killer whales, porpoises and river otters, a wide variety of food fish that are also great to simply observe while diving (salmon, rockfish, ling cod, dungeness crab, for example), and enough miniature life in the tidal pools along the rocky beaches to absorb you and your children for hours on end.

SUNSHINE COAST SALMONID ENHANCEMENT SOCIETY:
The Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society is a non-profit community organization incorporated in 1987. Each year about one million fish (six different salmonid species) from the Chapman Creek Hatchery are released as smolts into Chapman Creek and other streams.
Also on the hatchery site is the William G. Chinnick educational building, which hosts public tours and rents classrooms and conference rooms. Wheelchair accessible facilities and equipment include a main meeting room, washrooms, kitchenette and wet lab, colour TV, VCR, 35mm slide projector and overhead projector. Catering is available.

The Education Centre offers an extensive program for students from kindergarten to grade 12, increasing in scope and complexity each year. Elementary kids learn about such topics as the life cycle of salmonid, anatomy and physiology (yup, dissection!) and migration patterns. Secondary students focus on watershed management, salmonid ecology, history and development of the Chapman Creek area and rehabilitation and enhancement. Out of town school groups are welcome.

An incubation facility has been built by Howe Sound Pulp and Paper in conjunction with the Enhancement Society. The facility, on the mill site, utilizes heated water produced in the manufacturing process to shorten time required for fertilized eggs to hatch and develop. This cooperative effort between the mill and the hatchery allows fry to reach a larger size sooner and be released into the ocean as larger smolt, increasing the chances for survival.

Contact:
Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society
RR#1, Field Site, C23
Sechelt, BC V0N 3A0
604-885-4136
Fax: 604-885-4176
Email: salmon@dccnet.com
Website: http://www.user.dccnet.com/salmon/
Hatchery Manager: Bob Anstead
Executive Director: Don Petry

Hours: Monday to Friday 8am - 4pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am - 2pm
Closed from 12pm - 1pm

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