Winter Ruminations in the Great Bear
by Doug Brown Raincoast Field Station Co-Coordinator Denny Island, March 2009 The sun is once again shining on the field station bunkhouse after three months of sitting low on the horizon.
In and out of Africa
By Chris Darimont Research Scientist, Rainforest Wolf Program Tanzania, December 2008 Guttural roars and the cracking of bone drown out any sound of the river, which by this time of year has slowed to a mere trickle. On its banks, blood-soaked muzzles plunge into fallen prey as if it were their final meal.
Tar (sands) and Feathers
By Caroline Fox, Ornithologist, Marine Conservation Program Nepean Sound, BC North Coast, October, 2008 In the fall, the skies, lands and waters of the Great Bear Rainforest teem with marine and coastal birds. While some will overwinter here, many millions are in the midst of a major migration south.
Cetacean sightings with Des Kawai
Cetacean sightings with Des Kawai – printable version
By Des Kawai
Marine Mammal Biologist
Grenville Channel, August 2008It was not a humpback whale. But if not, then what? We were in the middle of Grenville Channel, conducting our summer survey for marine mammals and birds. Usually, the large whales we see in…
Migrations
by Ian Jansma, Field Station Coordinator Denny Island, July 2008 A new season has begun at our field research station on remote Denny Island in the Great Bear Rainforest. This part of the world gets up late from its misty winter slumber and rolls slowly over through spring rain toward the summer sun. The days…
The Potlatch Journey
By Misty MacDuffee, Biologist, Wild Salmon Program Rivers Inlet, April 2008 The pilings and ruins of old canneries dot the shoreline as I make my way to the head of Rivers Inlet. Like glimpses to the past, they stand as testament to the famed abundance of sockeye salmon that I only know through stories and…
A Lousey Time in Clayoquot Sound
By Mike Price, Biologist, Raincoast Wild Salmon Project Clayoquot Sound; the name conjures up images of mist-shrouded emerald forests, islands of volcanic shapes, wave-pounded shorelines blessed with white-sand beaches, and the site of massive civil uprising against natural destruction; a World Heritage Biosphere Reserve.
Notes from the Lab
Biologist Rainforest Wolf ProjectParasitology labUniversity of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Peering down the eyepiece of my microscope, I scan a slide for larval stages of parasites. I find one that is familiar-a brown, translucent egg of the tapeworm Diphyllobothrium-and begin to count. One, two …. With the Wolf Project crew out of the field, our dedicated lab…
Fin Whale Frenzy
By Ian McLeod Marine Mammal Observer Journal Entry – October 2007 It was another early start for Raincoast’s marine mammal survey team as we needed every minute of light to complete the long transect from Haida Gwaii to the mainland in less than favourable conditions—cold winds and a slopping two-metre swell that seemed to come…
Marine Birds of Queen Charlotte Sound
By Caroline Fox Marine Bird Specialist, Marine Conservation Program Journal entry – November 2007: It’s our last night and tomorrow will be our final marine bird and mammal survey transect back to the mainland coast. I am helping keep watch aboard Achiever and it’s a night to remember: a starry sky above us, aurora borealis…
From the Field Station
by Alison Calestagne-Morelli, Field Station Co-ordinator and Chris Darimont, Research Scientist October 2007 We were startled by what sounded like raindrops too large for even the Great Bear Rainforest. Splish…. splosh!…. splash… followed by what sounded like a frantic churning of water. We ran to the beach to take a look.
A Silver Cycle
Michelle Nelson, PhD candidate, Simon Fraser University Bella Bella Field Station Spring 2007 The wolf hasn’t smelled us yet. Anxiously pacing the stream bank, he trots forward and back, nose to the ground, eyes on the water, intent on the movement beneath. He’s watching and waiting for the precise moment when he’ll leap, suddenly and…
By Des Kawai