Vancouver Island BC Nature Tours

T he mild climate in               the bear, elk and deer come out    Oceanside provides year         into the peripheral hay fields to  round access to nature          browse new growth.                 hiking, wildlife viewing and bird                                        watching in much of Vancouver         Summer is a parade of berries      Island’s wilderness. Subtleties       beginning in June with the orange  mark your passage from the months     salmon berries and black           of the leaping salmon, vibrant        raspberries, then trailing         moss, herring spawning, singing       blackberries, red huckleberries,   frogs, brant geese, blazing           Himalayan blackberries,            flowers, alligator lizards,           blueberries, black huckleberries   berries and back again. There’s       and cranberries. Where there are   plenty to do and see every month      berries, there are bears and lots  for the avid eco tourist on           of birds. More than 300 species    Vancouver Island.                     of birds use the island and                                              surrounding waters at least part   The herring return to spawn in        of the year. Summer brings some    March and in hot pursuit come         of the lowest daytime tides        thousands of sea birds and            revealing tide pools with a        hundreds of sea lions, seals and      colourful array of bizarre marine  eagles. April to June is the best     life. Visit during a full or new   time for wandering down fragrant      moon to take advantage of the      paths alight with spring wild         lowest tides and the greatest      flowers. Salmon berry, red            variety of marine life.            currant, fawn lilies, bleeding        Snorkelling the lush eelgrass      heart, trilliums and violets are      forests or wading through the      just a few of April’s flowers.        sparkling phosphorescence at       Garry oak and streamside walks        night are magical experiences not  are especially lovely at this         to be missed. Summer days are      time of year. Spring is also when     never too hot with a sea breeze    nearby, comfortable ocean and         spark technicolour explosions of   lake swimming, icy rivers to dip      mushrooms.                         in, cool snowfields to hike in                                           the mountains and refreshing          The winter moisture makes the      caves to explore. Alpine flower       Vancouver Island mountains among   meadows peak in July and August,      the snowiest places on earth,      popping up as the snow melts.         receiving up to 10 meters of                                             snow. When you want snow, you can  The pink salmon usher in autumn       have it by driving up Mount        in early September, followed by       Washington between December and    Chinook salmon peaking in             May and enjoy snow shoeing in the  October, then Coho salmon and         winter wonderland. The grey whale  Chum salmon continuing through        migration starts off the west      November and December. You can        coast in February and continues    watch them leaping over               into May.                          obstacles, jockeying for position                                        or stare eyeball to eyeball with      Unique nature exploration          a 50 pound Chinook the size of a      opportunities are available every  garbage can in an underwater          month of the year on the island.   viewing area. Black bears and         In addition to each season’s       eagles gather to enjoy the feast.     unique features, beaver, mink,     Fall colour typically peaks in        otter, seals, eagles, juvenile     early October with brilliant          salmon, many bird species and      yellow maples along the lakes and     tide pool life can be seen year    streams and plenty of red foliage     round. During the September to     from blueberries in the alpine.       May season the trails are less     Massive bird migrations pass          busy and offer some fantastic      through in the fall, especially       wildlife viewing opportunities.    along the coast, so bird watching     Discover nature’s delights in the  is a delight while autumn rains       secret corners of Vancouver        Island.                                About the Author: Patrick Walshe, R. P. Biologist, 1-866-954-0110 Coastal Revelations Nature Tours http://www.coastalrevelations.com Published At: www.Isnare.com