Stories and Pictures about Mandarte Island, BC, Canada
"I'm asked sometimes, 'How did you get a biologist?' And I say, 'It's really easy. You start out as a little kid and then you never grow up.'"
-Sylvia Earle
Mandarte Island
Mandarte Island, more a huge rock in the middle of Haro strait, is an island east of Sidney Island B.C. and supports the largest sea bird colony in the surrounding area. The island is a First Nation reserve and approximately 8000 sea birds nest on this island. Along with glaucous-winged gulls, pelagic and double-crested are breeding here. The island is about 700m long and 100m wide, overgrown with grass, native and himalayan blackberries, snowberry, rose plants and elderberry. The shrub can reach up to 2-3m height and narrow trails lead to most places. Only four little cabins and one outhouse are available for the researchers during the fieldseason. During spring time, beautiful camas lilies are blooming on the whole Island, as well as one single! chocolate lily. The whole island is inhabited and visited by a variety of birds, such as pigeon guillemots, red-winged blackbirds, harlequin ducks, fox sparrows, hummingbirds, and of course song sparrows. During the season, a lot of different bird species will fly by or stay for shorter time, for example bald eagles, owls, peregrine falcons, savannah sparrows, caspian terns and a lot more. Of course, you can also frequently observe marine mammals. In the early season, steller's and california sea lions will swim by the island, harbour seals and north american river otters are in the intertidal zones, and humpback whales, minke whales and killer whales will be around. This amazing diversity of wildlife makes this island to one of the most beautiful places to live and do field work.
Song Sparrows of Mandarte Island
Copyright © Martina Andrés 2016