Hummingbird Hill Farm at Brigade Bay, Gambier Island

Whether it's watching eagles and hummingbirds during the day, deer munching on grass in the early dawn or bats fly around at night - Craig and I love to watch the critters.... 

Mid-April, the Hummingbirds start to arrive...much to my delight!  The males are first - hungry and anxious to scout out the best nesting spots before the females arrive (up to 2 weeks later).    
   I place several feeders out for them during their 'hungry' time.  Once the foxglove and other flowers start to bloom, I put the feeders away and let nature take its course.

"Hey!  You woke me up!"

This baby brown bat wasn't too grumpy after being woken up after I lifted the rock that was serving as his home (unbeknownst to me!!).

Critter List

 This list is certainly not complete...we have seen many creatures over the past 3 years.  To date, I can say we have enjoyed viewing from time to time the following:

In the sky: 

Bald Eagles - Incredible that we have these stately birds in our presence!  We see them everyday and enjoy listening to their 'calls'.  We also see a good number of juveniles every year - all scruffy and clumsy-looking - they like to perch in the nearby treetops.

Rufous Hummingbirds - These birds are my favourite, as they are like mystical creatures to me.  I love how tiny and fast they are and that they can hover in one place.  I love how they chirp and are territorial like crazy.  I love how the males do their insane aerial 'kamakaze' dives in the Spring to attract the females.  I love how they come to visit me in the garden - they'll perch somewhere close by and just sit.  I love how they will fly up close to my face to just take a look!

Brown bats - Fun to watch at dusk as they feed on the insects in the air - a big reason why we never need to bother with putting on bug repellent!  Craig built a bat house 2 years ago, but we haven't seen any bats coming or going from it yet.  Apparently, it can take 3 -4 years for them to find it.  They HAVE found homes however, under some of our solar panels - mistakenly found by Craig while attempting to move a panel to a new and better spot.  I once had a little bat flying around my head as it tried to find a new home after such an event!

Turkey Vultures - UUUUUGLY!!! Fun to watch as they glide around overhead and catch the air currents.  I hope they're out there feeding on the mice that are so bothersome to us!!! 

Robins - these guys return after each winter almost on the exact same day!!! - between March 1 - 3, they suddenly re-appear after Winter, and do their 'march' across our lawn, checking for grubs and worms.

Swallows - we have both Barn type Swallows as well as Green Swallows.  We love to see them swoop and circle above our heads and low to the ground as they gulp up the bugs in the air!  We have had them make several attempts to build nests in our little outbuildings!

Woodpeckers - we love having dead trees around our property because they attract these amazing birds!  Where the Woodpeckers go, the Hummbingbirds follow, so as to take advantage of the yummy bugs found in the tree holes!

Sap Suckers - we have a couple of trees within good viewing distance that the Sap Suckers 'make their rounds on' - literally!  They drill holes into the trees where sap slowly oozes.  They will make these in a circular pattern up the tree trunk.  You can see them to from tree to tree, checking out the same sap holes over and over again!   

Finches - bright yellow and very tropical looking - we don't see them for very long, as they migrate through our area within just a couple of weeks, then are gone until the next year.  They LOVE hanging out in my fruit trees in the Spring!

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On the ground: 

Deer (of course!!) 

Each Spring, we have been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of a Doe and her spotted new born tucked close to her under her legs, enjoying a good feed of milk!

Salamanders - Fun to watch as they squiggle out of the way when caught unaware of us approaching them on  a sunny pathway.

Garter snakes - I've always loved snakes.  As a kid, I lived across from some woods, where we would go and catch snakes to keep as 'pets' for a few days.  Occasionally, I'll pick up a snake to say 'hello' to it.

Green frogs (we hear them at night singing away!).  One day, a frog made its way onto our deck, so we got a close up look at him before setting his straight as to where he should be hanging out!

Shoreline and in and around the Breakwater and Dock areas (in and out of water):

Mink (yes!) - you have to have a keen eye to spot these, as they are quick!

Otters - One night while sleeping on our boat at the dock, I was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night by what sounded like a dog running along our dock.  It scared the living daylights out of me, because I could only think that someone up to no good was at the dock with their dog....it turned out to be a mischievous otter!!

Killdeer birds (in the grasses by the parking lot) - we love how they practice their 'broken wing' dance to divert our attention from their babies nesting in the grasses!

Geese - we love watching the baby gozlings each spring crawl up onto 'mama's' back while in the water!

Blue Herons - not often seen, but definitely heard, as they squack their prehistoric-like call as they fly up to their roost high in the trees!

Wood Ducks - gorgeous!  Of course, the males are so beautiful with all of their glistening colours.  We welcome the sight of them in late February/early March - a sign that Spring is really just around the corner!

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In the water:

Craig and I both Scuba dive, so can happily report that we have seen the following:

Seals - we love to hear them barking off in the distance in the early summer evening!

Sea Lions - we don't see these too often.  Usually, we catch a glimpse of them as we are under way on our boat to the island.

Crabs - we see these scampering around the rocks on our dives....not very big, but fun to have a tug of war with, when holding a stick!  Great fun!  Laughing while diving is fun too!

Ling Cod - these are the laziest fish we have ever seen.  They love to just hang out on a rocky ledge!

Sea Perch - fun, bright and sparkly - we love seeing them on our dives.

Sea Cucumbers - ugly as sin, but fun to pick up and gently 'play with them'.

Sculpins - cute and territorial!  These guys are may-be an inch long, but will defend their territory if you stick you finger close to where they are 'roosting' on a rock!

Sea Stars - both big and small, purple, red and orange!  I love seeing the variety of stars in the water - from no bigger than and inch up to 2 feet across!

Jelly fish - both Red and Moon.  I love watching the pulsing action of jellyfish in the water...as the Red ones having stinging cells, I like to enjoy these from a distance on any dive in the winter months!

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