3/4 Jay, Chinook for orcas, gray whales, Canada geese, BC Ferries fare, Braided Warrior demo

Steller's Jay [Noel Reynolds]

 
Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
Drive into the mountains, and as soon as an evergreen canopy closes over your head you can start looking for Steller’s Jays or listening for their scratchy, scolding calls. Also keep an eye out around feeders, backyards, picnic tables, and campgrounds, where they are probably already watching you, sizing up their prospects for a handout. (All About Birds)

Winter supply of Chinook salmon critical to survival of orcas, says study
Endangered southern resident killer whales would have a much better chance of survival if chinook were in their hunting grounds during winter off the coast of British Columbia, a new study says. The whales expand their menu and the distance they travel as they forage for food from October to March in the waters off California up to Alaska, which leaves them with little energy, says the study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Plos One. Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said this is the first study that looks at the diet requirements of killer whales from their perspective. Hina Alam reports. (National Post)

Gray whales return to region
A group of Pacific gray whales known as the Sounders because they stop over in Puget Sound during their coastal migration is beginning to arrive in the region.  As of Wednesday, at least four had been seen in the area, where scientists with the nonprofit Cascadia Research Collective have found they tend to congregate in waters off Whidbey Island and feed on ghost shrimp. Kimberly Cauvel reports.(Skgit Valley Herald)

Vancouver needs help keeping up with its Canada goose problem
In Vancouver, it's geese who reign over the green space in town.  Thousands of the birds — and counting — waddle as they please through the city's oceanfront parks, leaving an impressive trail of feathers and excrement in their wake. They foul public swimming pools, gobble young grass from freshly seeded fields, dig holes around water sprinklers and nip at passersby who get too close during mating season. The Vancouver Park Board, by its own admission, cannot keep up. (CBC)

B.C. Ferries unveils new fare options, including ‘saver fare’
A new “saver fare” — ranging from $49 to $73.70 for a car and driver — will be available on less busy sailings throughout the year between Swartz Bay and ­Tsawwassen, Duke Point and Tsawwassen, and Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay, the company said. Lindsay Kines reports. (Times Colonist)

Vancouver demonstration over jailing of pipeline protester ends with 4 arrests
Four people have been arrested after Indigenous youth temporarily blocked and forced the shutdown of a major Vancouver intersection to protest a 90-day jail sentence handed to an anti-pipeline protester. The protest, organized by a group called the Braided Warriors, began late Tuesday at Hastings Street and Clark Drive and ended Wednesday night, roughly 24 hours after it started. (CBC)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  345 AM PST Thu Mar 4 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON   
TODAY  E wind 10 to 20 kt becoming SE 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 9 ft at 16 seconds. Rain  in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 10 to 20 kt becoming E 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 13 ft at 16 seconds.  Rain.

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