Hornby Island Natural History Centre
We Love Our Volunteers!
Hornby Natural History depends on the generous contributions of community volunteers. Many people have donated their time, energy, and unique talents and resources, and all are appreciated. Natural History extends a warm thank you to the following recent volunteers:
- Oakley Rankin who provided technical support and software installations. Oakley has found us computers and computer parts, and helped equip Natural History computers with software.
- Michael Hills who helped us with the fumigation process at the Centre. Michael lent us supplies and shared his expertise with us.
- Roger Jenzer who donated wood for edging to the ethnobotanical garden.
- Jordan and Emi who shared their expertise and ideas to help reorganize the exhibit. They designed a new floor plan for the collection creating better traffic flow through the space. Jordan is setting up new lighting of the cases and Emi hefted big fossils and rearranged displays.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us. Volunteers can take part in all areas of the Natural History Centre. Ask about available volunteer positions or let us know if you have something in mind!
Tiny Owl, Big Character
A Northern Saw-whet Owl at the Natural History Centre. Photo by Barb Biagi.
The Northern Saw-whet owl at the Natural History Centre was found by Sophie Courteau in the winter of 1995/96. He is a tiny owl with plenty of attitude: Saw-whet’s measure about 20 cm long with a short tail, large head, bright yellow eyes, dark bill, and reddish plumage with a white streaked front. These owls live in forests and wooded swamps. Although a highly common owl, Saw-whets are highly nocturnal and seldom seen. They hunt at night and eat small rodents, birds, and insects.
Saw-whet Owls make their homes in old woodpecker cavities (large chiseled-out holes) in trees. Their high-pitched call may sound like too-too-too. (To some this sounds like a truck backing up.) It can be heard in evergreen mountain forests from January through May. On migration they make a different note. When alarmed they make a raspy noise like a saw being sharpened.
Listen to the different vocalizations of the Northern Saw-whet Owl.
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is our Natural History Treasure of the Month for April 2015.
Student Salmon Release
On March 10th, volunteers from the Natural History Centre joined students, parents, and staff who set out on foot from the Hornby Island Community School to Beulah Creek for an annual salmon release. At the creek, the group transported chum fry from a Department of Fisheries and Oceans holding tank into the stream. Students carefully carried chum fry to the stream in bags and let them swim free. After the event, students visited the Natural History Centre to watch a presentation on the herring life cycle and participate in educational salmon life cycle activities. They compared the herring life cycle to that of the salmon. After spring break, students will return once again to the creek, this time to release their own salmon who are currently in the Hornby School Library. See the gallery below for pictures from the eventful day.
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- Chum fry transported from the holding tank.
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- Ready to be set free.
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- Students release the salmon.
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- Students release the salmon.
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- More salmon are set free.
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- Afterwards, a herring life cycle presentation.
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- Salmon life cycle activities at the Centre.
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- Salmon life cycle activities at the Centre.
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- A salmon life cycle display in the library.
The Mighty Mosasaur
Students and Stewards on a fossil walk at the site of the Mosasaur discovery.
Each month this blog will be featuring a natural “treasure of the month”. The featured object for March is a mosasaur fossil that was found on Hornby Island. The mosasaur–an extinct marine mammal whose distant relatives are snakes and monitor lizards such as the Komodo Dragon–was discovered by Betty Franklin in 2004 while on a fossil walk with the Vancouver Island Paleontological Society. Prior to the find, Betty had been fossil hunting on Hornby for fifteen years.
Bones of vertebrates such as mosasaurs are a rare find on Hornby Island. During the last 20 million years of the Cretaceous Period, mosasaurs were the dominant marine predators. Their elongated body was streamlined for swimming. Their broad tails supplied the locomotive power as they patrolled the water off of North America’s coast looking for fish, ammonite, and other mosasaurs to dine on.
Celebrating 10 Years of Natural History!
A photo taken in the early days of the exhibit.
This year Hornby Island Natural History celebrates ten years of sharing our natural treasures. Our collection began with a horned owl and a glaucous-winged gull in the 1980s. With the arrival of the beaver in the early 90s, the exhibit began to grow to the forty plus taxidermy specimens and other natural history artifacts and fossils. The dream to share the collection with the general public became a reality in 2005 when these specimens–who had been either displayed in the school library or stored in boxes–moved into a room of their own.
Today, the Natural History Centre is a place for people of all ages to learn about the natural world in a fun and educational environment. Visitors can view the natural history displays, participate in hands-on activities, attend presentations and nature walks during the summer, and tour the ethnobotanical garden.
Over the years, many people have supported the exhibit and programs. It is due to the generosity and participation of Hornby students and their families, school staff, members of the community, and island guests that we continue to develop and grow. Thank you!
Hornby Island Natural History Centre 