Island Parent Magazine April-May 2022

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Healthy Families, Happy Families Child, Youth & Family Public Health South Island Health Units Esquimalt 250-519-5311 Gulf Islands 250-539-3099 (toll-free number for office in Saanichton) Peninsula 250-544-2400 Saanich 250-519-5100 Saltspring Island 250-538-4880 Sooke 250-519-3487 Victoria 250-388-2200 West Shore 250-519-3490 Central Island Health Units Duncan 250-709-3050 Ladysmith 250-755-3342 Lake Cowichan 250-749-6878 Nanaimo 250-755-3342 Nanaimo 250-739-5845 Princess Royal Parksville/Qualicum 250-947-8242 Port Alberni 250-731-1315 Tofino 250-725-4020 North Island Health Units Campbell River 250-850-2110 Courtenay 250-331-8520 Kyuquot Health Ctr 250-332-5289 ‘Namgis Health Ctr 250-974-5522 Port Hardy 250-902-6071 islandhealth.ca/our-locations/ health-unit-locations Changes with BC Medical Services Plan premiums mean that families eligible for partial payment of some medical services and access to some income-based programs now must apply for Supplementary Benefits through the Government of BC. Applications can be done online and take approximately 15 minutes. Families who previously qualified for MSP Premium Assistance should not need to re-apply if taxes are completed yearly. It is advised to confirm coverage before proceeding with treatment to avoid paying out of pocket. For more information, visit gov.bc.ca/gov/ content/health/health-drug-coverage/msp/ bc-residents/benefits/services-covered-bymsp/supplementary-benefits Befriend the Birds Your family can be a good neighbour hang it in a tree or shrub (sheltered from to local backyard birds. rain) where you can watch the action! This spring put out nesting material. Continue to restock and offer nesting See who prefers the fluff to the moss. materials March to July. It’s common Then learn to identify birds by song with for pairs to have a failed nest and they’ll fun mnemonics, as they settle in to nest need to rebuild after a storm or if a predator comes thru. and raise a family of their own. Show passion for some part of our living world. It’s experiences in nature that with cotton, hemp and wool fibers at Note: Shop for bird-nesting material shape who we are and how we live. To wild bird stores or anywhere that sells help our non-human kin brings us a little bird seed and houses. more magic and helps make friends with mystery. Nature is potent! A mnemonic is a pattern of letters, ideas or associations to help you remember something. It aids the memory. (You use them all the time.) How to provide nesting material To “rewild” your yard, plant native trees, shrubs, and forbs. Trees species with the best downy-like fluff have catkins (a flowering spike) like cottonwood, maple, willow, and poplar. (Allergy sufferers will know exactly where these wind-pollinated trees are in the neighbourhood.) All types of bird nests need a combination of twigs, dried grasses, moss, hair, mud and even spider webs. It’s easy and fun to attract birds and enjoy observing them by putting out nesting material. My local hummingbirds chose the moss, while pine siskins preferred the cattail fluff! Other natural, biodegradable, pesticide-free materials: Dog fur (free from chemical flea and tick treatments), horsehair (clean their body brushes) or wool. DON’T use human hair. Moss Dry grass Cattail fluff Twigs and strips of bark Dried leaves Don’t use dryer lint (it’s a chemical soup), yarn or string and synthetic fibres. Human hair is also too thin and can cut or tangle birds. Take a handful of nesting materials and stuff a repurposed metal whisk or use a winter cage-like suet feeder. Then Keep a patch of bare ground with exposed soil to help swallows and robins. They need mud for their nests (you’ll help native mason bees and butterflies, too). Sounds silly but chances are you already have a place they use. It could be the corner of the yard that gets trampled or a low spot that puddles. Beginner bird mnemonics for common species Now that you’ve observed which birds are nesting in or near your yard, get to know them by song. You’ll learn which species love living near you and get to know the birds on your favourite walking routes, too. When I birded for a living in the boreal forest of Alberta, songs were the easiest way to identify birds. Songbirds were often hard to see in dense over- and understory or they were far away and high up. Luckily, birders train in mnemonics and you can too! Photo: Robert Fraser 34 Island Parent Magazine IslandParent.ca
Jon Young, author of What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World says the bravest to most secretive birds to reveal their presence to you are: chickadees, sparrows, juncos, thrushes, warblers, then towhees. Twelve phrases and clues to identify Vancouver Island birds by song: American Goldfinch says “po-ta-to-chip” while in flight Barred Owl says “Who-cooks-for you? Who-cooks for you all?” Chestnut-backed Chickadee says “Sika-dee-dee” Chipping Sparrow sounds mechanical, like a sewing machine Olive-sided Flycatcher says “Quick, three beers!” Ruby-crowned Kinglet says “Chubby, chubby, cheek, chubby cheeks” Song Sparrow says “Maids-maids-maids-put-on-your-teakettle-ettle-ettle” or “Hey! Hey! Put on the kettle, kettle, kettle” Spotted Towhee says “Tow-hee?” White-breasted Nuthatch sounds like a nasally French horn White-throated Sparrow says “O, sweet, Canada, Canada, Canada” Yellow Warbler sings “Sweet, sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet” I also recommend learning songs of the Pacific Wren, Darkeyed Junco, Brown Creeper and Yellow-rumped Warbler, too Don’t hear it? Don’t stress. Listen to a variety of bird song recordings online to train your ear. Prefer to learn in the field? Join a local naturalist group or register for a nature sanctuary guided birding walk. Lindsay Coulter is a writer, educator, facilitator, naturalist, community catalyst, soul activist, mentor, and dedicated mother of two. She’s the Director of Communications, Culture and Community at EPIC Learning Centre, a forest and nature school in Victoria. Find her @SaneAction on Instagram and Facebook. Photo: Kalene Lillico Swimming is a Life Skill Remember how much fun it is to swim! Now Registering Spring pre-competitive programs Coming Soon Summer intro programs— registered by the week Register online at www.islandswimming.com/program-info More information info@islandswimming.com (250) 744-5536 IslandParent.ca April/May 2022 35
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Island Parent Magazine April-May 2022

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