Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project

In case you missed all the excitement a couple weeks ago, the Sunshine Coast was visited by a very rare bird: a red-backed shrike. We are lucky to have local photographer Liam Ragan's permission to share his photo and account of finding this treasure! Somehow this Shrike, after fledging earlier this year near central Russia and Kazakhstan, got lost on its way to Southern Africa. It found itself instead searching for insects in a backyard in Powell River where a local birde...r on their lunch break from the hospital stumbled upon it. This is only the second time the species has been recorded on the continent and the first in Canada, so birders from across the province have been making the pilgrimage here to see it, all under a strict code of mask-wearing and social distancing. All in all finding the bird took 8 hours of driving, 3 hours of ferries, and 5 hours of searching, so when it popped up out of a blackberry bush 15 minutes before we had to leave to return to Victoria I could’ve cried. A big thank you to Liam Ragan for sharing his photo and story with us. If you have wildlife photos or stories, please tag us in them - we would love to share!

Happy Halloween! It's the last day of BatWeek and we want to remind you to enter our bat celebration contest. We have 50 prizes to give away to Sunshine Coast residents, including the cute bat stuffies below. There is a VERY good chance you will win! More information here (deadline is Sunday Nov. 1 at 9 am) https://www.coastwildlife.ca///10/21/bat-week-2020-contest BatWeek is also the time to say ‘so long’ to bats in our neighbourhoods, until the return of insects with t...he warmer weather in spring. As insect-eaters, our BC bats must leave their summer roost sites and migrate or hibernate to survive the winter. This absence means that this is the time of year to do home renovations that you have delayed due to bat presence. You can clean out and repair a bat box, or do bat-friendly exclusion work, without disturbing or injuring bats. If you do see a bat in winter, please report it. Monitoring for White-nose Syndrome in BC will continue this winter, with Community Bat Programs requesting reports of dead bats or sightings of winter bat activity starting just after BatWeek, on November 1.

BatWeek Day 5 It's #wildlifewednesday and today we are sharing about the Townsends big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii). This is one of our bat species at risk on the Sunshine Coast. Townsends big-eared bats are often found in bat houses or buildings and are easily recognizable by their very big ears! These bats need your help! White-nose Syndrome has devastated bat populations since it was first discovered in 2007. Today, WNS is found in 35 US states and 7 Canadian pro...vinces. WNS can spread to Townsend's big-eared bats since they sometimes roost in caves during the winter. Head to whitenosesyndrome.org to learn what is being done to fight for bats and how you can get involved. US Bureau of Reclamation

BatWeek Day 4 Project EduBat - Creating Bat Champions has some great ideas of how to celebrate Bat Week! Check out their page for more ideas. Don't forget to enter our Bat Week contest, we have 50 great prizes to give away. More info here: https://www.coastwildlife.ca///10/21/bat-week-2020-contest

BatWeek Day 3 Did you know? Bats save farmers billions of dollars on pest control every year! Support our local farms by protecting bats year round. Take a moment to learn about the many ways bats contribute to our lives. Research bats online, host an educational event, help restore a wetland, learn about bat-friendly lighting, prepare your bat box for next spring there are many ways to participate and support bats. This week we are going to local elementary schools to sha...re about why bats are important and what we can do to help them! Don't forget to take a photo of how you are celebrating bats this week in order to enter our contest. We have 50 great prizes to give away to Sunshine Coast residents!! More details on how to enter on our website. #BatWeek #MondayMotivation

Here on the Sunshine Coast it is quite common during the hottest part of summer for bats, especially moms and their new babies, to roost in patio umbrellas. This is normally a temporary occurrence and they typically will only roost in the umbrella for a week or so. If you find bats in your patio umbrella please let us know and leave them undisturbed and they will move on to a new roost soon. These wonderful photos were submitted by landowners on the Sunshine Coast. #sunshinec...oast #sunshinecoastbc #wildlife #conservation #bats #batconservation #fieldwork #speciesatrisk @ Sunshine Coast BC Canada

As the first round of bat counts comes to an end we want to thank our volunteers who help us monitor roosts all over the Sunshine Coast. If you’re interested in volunteering for the next round of counts send us a message! We would also love to hear about any bats roosting on your property. [email protected] #sunshinecoast #sunshinecoastbc #bats #bat #conservation #batconservation #wildlife #wildlifeconservation #beautifulbritishcolumbia @ Sunshine Coast BC Canada

Keep an eye out for Bats. Our Sunshine Coast bats are starting to emerge from the winter hibernation sites and return to their spring/summer roosts. This is the perfect time of year to undertake surveillance for signs of White-Nose Syndrome in bats and we need the community's help. Please contact us at [email protected] or 604-989-1007 if you find a dead bat. If you have a known roost, please let us know when you notice that the bats have returned. If you live outside the Sunshine Coast, visit bcbats.ca to find your local Community Bat Program coordinator.

Did you known that six locally-breeding species of ducks on the Sunshine Coast rely on tree cavities for nesting? They include the Wood Duck, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Barrows Goldeneye, and Bufflehead. Throughout the year wonderful community volunteers and local students have helped us to build duck nest boxes. And over the last few weeks, Dave and Leila have been out in the field putting up duck boxes to increase available habitat for cavity-nest...ing ducks. If you are interested in helping us to monitor the occupancy of installed duck boxes, please contact us at [email protected]. These habitat enhancement activities are generously supported by one of our funders, Wildlife Habitat Canada. Since 1985, Wildlife Habitat Canada, a national, non-profit, charitable conservation organization, has invested over $50 million supporting more than 1.500 conservation projects across Canada, through its granting program. Funds invested to support grants come from the purchase of the Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp. The Stamp is purchased primarily by waterfowl hunters to validate their Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permits. Wildlife Habitat Canada works through partnerships with communities, landowners, governments, non-government organizations, and industry to conserve, enhance, and restore wildlife habitat. To learn more about the projects that Wildlife Habitat Canada has funded, please visit www.whc.org Without habitat, there is no wildlife. It's that simple!

Please report any dead bats or known bat roosts to the Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project [email protected] or 604-989-1007.

Congratulations Richmond, BC! The newest bat-friendly community!

Community members are warmly invited to join us at the Pender Harbour Christmas Faire today, Saturday November 16, to build your own bat, duck, owl, swallow, or bee house, or to clean your mason bee cocoons to prepare them for winter storage. Drop by the Pender Harbour Community Hall any time from 11am to 3pm. Price per kit is $20 for swallow box, $40 for all other wildlife homes; fee can be waived if cost is a barrier.

REMINDER: Wildlife Project workshop at Coopers Green Hall. Sunday, November 3.

To celebrate the end of Bat Week, please enjoy this wonderful article about our BC bats and the role we all have to play in their conservation!

"I have no illusions about my looks. I think my face is funny." Funny Face Happy #sundayfunday! Share your favorite bat photo to celebrate #batweek! Here are some of our favorites! : Jordi Segers

Thanks to the wonderful kids from the NEST program for building homes for bats! Davis Bay Elementary is one of four schools that will be working with the Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project over the next few weeks, in honour of International Bat Week (October 24-31). Bat Week is all about appreciating these amazing animals and their benefits, from eating insects to pollinating the agave plant used to make tequila. Take a moment to learn about the many ways bats contribute to our lives, and what you can do locally for bats, at www.batweek.org or through the BC Community Bat Program at www.bcbats.ca. If you would like to build a bat house, please join us a one of our upcoming community workshops Oct 27 (Gibsons), Nov 3 (Halfmoon Bay), or Nov 16 (Pender Harbour).

Please join us at upcoming wildlife workshops: October 27 (Gibsons), November 3 (Halfmoon Bay), and November 16 (Pender Harbour).

Thanks to all the community members who came to build homes for swallows and bats at the One Straw Fall Faire this past weekend! If you missed this workshop, never fear, there are two more coming up: October 27 at Frank West Hall in Gibsons and November 3 at Coopers Green Hall in Halfmoon Bay! We gratefully acknowledge the BC Naturalists' Foundation, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Forest Enhancement Society of BC, and Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program for their support of bat and swallow stewardship efforts on the Sunshine Coast.

Thanks to all the wonderful community members who built homes for bats and swallows this past weekend at the Pender Harbour Fall Faire! This workshop was organized by the Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project in partnership with the Pender Harbour Wildlife Society. We gratefully acknowledge the BC Naturalists' Foundation, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Forest Enhancement Society of BC, and Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program for their support of bat and swallow stewardship efforts on the Sunshine Coast.

Somehow we missed seeing and sharing this newspaper article in July while we were away on the boat doing goshawk surveys. We are very grateful to Cody for raising funds for our project and caring about Sunshine Coast wildlife and their habitats!

Join us at the One Straw Fall Faire this Sunday to build homes for wildlife. Drop by any time from noon to 5pm to build your own bat house, swallow nest box, or duck box from one of our easy to assemble kits.

This weekend at the Fall Faire... Come build a bat house or swallow nest box from an easy-to-assemble kit. All ages welcome!

One of the highlights of our Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project field activities each year are our wetland surveys, during which we identify, assess, and map local wetlands, and conduct surveys of key wetland-dependent wildlife, including amphibians and waterfowl. We also evaluate the suitability of potential wetland restoration sites, and monitor flora, fauna, and water conditions in our recently constructed wetlands. In recent years, we have surveyed over 250 wetlands which ar...e part of our Sunshine Coast Wetland Database. Our current wetland survey and mapping activities are generously supported by one of our funders, Wildlife Habitat Canada. Since 1985, Wildlife Habitat Canada, a national, non-profit, charitable conservation organization, has invested over $50 million supporting more than 1,500 conservation projects across Canada, through its granting program. Funds invested to support grants come from the purchase of the Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp. The Stamp is purchased primarily by waterfowl hunters to validate their Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permits. Wildlife Habitat Canada works through partnerships with communities, landowners, governments, non-government organizations, and industry to conserve, enhance, and restore wildlife habitat. To learn more about the projects that Wildlife Habitat Canada has funded, please visit www.whc.org. Without habitat...there is no wildlife. It’s that simple!

Our migratory bats are in trouble. Hoary bats and silver-haired bats are the most common species killed at wind energy sites. As we continue to monitor the situ...ation, the numbers are telling us that there is a problem. Wind energy producers need to fix it. Consistent and more pervasive use of the existing mitigation measures would be helpful. Taking this situation seriously, especially during the six key weeks of migration in late summer would be extremely helpful. Do they need a push? #bats #westernbats #albertabats #windenergy #hoarybats #skylions #batsneedfriends See more