On Friday, April 6^th and Saturday, April 7^th, we will be joined by two local experts to celebrate, enjoy, and learn about our shoreline and forest birds, while connecting with other birdwatching enthusiasts. We hope you can join us for this wonderful opportunity.

Hornby Island is a vibrant location for birding. It is an important part of the K’omoks Important Bird Area which supports globally significant numbers of several species of waterbirds. Each year, announcing the arrival of spring, the herring spawn attracts and supports tens of thousands of seabirds annually. The relatively low density of settlement and the large area of protected land on Hornby supports greater densities of forest birds than most other areas of the Comox Valley.

Friday, April 6th 
6:00 pm (doors) – 8:10 pm: Evening Celebration and Presentations
Hornby Island Community Hall
Cost: $15
Learn from two local birding experts, connect with other birding enthusiasts, and enjoy delicious snacks during the intermission.

6:30 pm – 7:15 pm
“Learning Bird Songs”
with Art Martell
Focusing on how to listen and learn the songs of some common forest species (with sound recordings). People may wish to bring their field guide along to refresh their memory of the birds.

Art is retired in the Comox Valley and has had a cabin on Hornby Island for over 25 years. He is the Volunteer Caretaker for the K’omoks Important Bird Area and is active in the Comox Valley Birders Group, BC Field Ornithologists, and Bird Studies Canada. Art was also a Regional Coordinator for the BC Breeding Bird Atlas. Before retirement, Art worked as a wildlife research scientist and manager with Canadian Wildlife Service and was the first Canadian National Coordinator for the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Art is a keen birder who enjoys birding locally, nationally and internationally.

7:15 pm – 7:25 pm
Intermission
Light snacks and beverages for sale.

7:25 pm – 8:10 pm
“Birding on the Shores of Hornby Island”
with Daniel Donnecke
A slideshow on our common alcids, cormorants, loons, grebes, seaducks and a few winter shorebirds. 

Daniel has been an avid birdwatcher for over 10 years. He is an active member of Rocky Point Bird Observatory where he volunteers in the field and on the board. Daniel coordinates the South Salt Spring Island / Sidney Christmas Bird Count and conducts regular shorebird surveys on Sidney Island. He is spear heading Rocky Points youngest project: the seawatch, which aims to generate baseline data of seabirds using the Strait of Juan de Fuca via land based observations. Daniel teaches chemistry at Camosun College in Victoria.

Saturday, April 7th
Birding Expedition 
Cost: $10
The Saturday portion of this event is by registration. You can register by email: hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com or in person at the Friday evening event at the Hall. Please register early if you wish to secure a spot as space is limited. After you have registered, we’ll send you the time and location once they are finalized. We plan to go out in the morning when the forest birds are singing. Payment can be made on the Saturday.

This event is a fundraiser for the Hornby Island Natural History Centre.

Photos by barb biagi.