Gray Jays Spend Wintertime at Grouse Mountain

Gray Jays, otherwise known as "Whiskey-Jacks", are frequently seen around Grouse Mountain during the wintertime. They show up about the time of our first snow-fall and stay well into the spring.

Gray Jays are known by many other names: "Lumberjacks", "Venison-hawks", "Meat-birds", "Camp-robbers" and more. By looking at these names the personality of this confident little bird becomes apparent.

Gray Jays have a history of hanging around logging camps and making off with shiny bits of metal as well as mouthfuls of food. They are one species of bird who do not appear to be frightened by humans and they will often land on your hand or shoulder looking for a free meal.

To survive in cold climates, Gray Jays have come up with an innovative solution. During the fall when food is more plentiful, they will take mouthfuls of food and coat it with a sticky saliva solution. The Whiskey-Jack then finds an old woodpecker drilling hole, or other natural crack in the bark of Fir trees, and deposits the food well above the snow-line for later consumption.

Next time you are on the mountain, listen for the "whee-oo" whistle of this thrifty bird and watch for one jumping around a nearby tree.

Santa's Reindeer Arrive at Grouse Mountain

Two of Santa's Reindeer have arrived at Grouse Mountain from the North Pole. Dancer and Vixen showed up late last week and are currently hanging out near Santa's Workshop at the Skating Pond.

Reindeer are domesticated Caribou. In the wild, Caribou live in herds that can number into the hundreds of thousands of individuals. It is quite a sight when the herd begins to move in search of a new food source! Their favourite foods include lichens, mosses and other small vegetation.

Reindeer have been domesticated for thousands of years and in some cultures they play an integral subsistence role. There is evidence of reindeer being domesticated in Northern Asia as early as 499 AD and Reindeer cave paintings up to 25,000 to 30,000 years old have been found in Europe.

Santa's nine reindeer - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen and of course Rudolph - are good choices to live at the North Pole since Reindeer are very adapted for cold climates. Their large hooves spread out and act like large snowshoes and the outer hairs of their coat are air-filled, which helps provide added insulation against cold weather.

When they are not flying, Reindeer can run at speeds approaching 50km/hr. Of course, to make it around the world in one evening Reindeer have been known to fly at over 3000 times the speed of sound.

I hope you get to make it up here to visit Santa, Dancer and Vixen and enjoy the Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain.

Grinder & Coola in Hibernation

Grinder and Coola, our two orphaned Grizzly Bears, have now entered their seventh hibernation period at the Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife. They are tucked into the bear hotel for the wintertime and will emerge sometime in the spring - exactly when depends on the weather.

Winter Looms

It’s definitely getting close to wintertime now. The first few snowfalls of the season have come and gone and it is getting dark by 5pm. We have taken down the majority of the bear’s summertime fencing and they are now living in their smaller hibernation habitat next to the bear den.

Every day we throw in a few Silver-Fir branches for the boys to use as bedding. Coola dutifully comes over, inspects the branches, gathers them up and drags them into the den for later arranging. Grinder sits and watches, assuming a supervisory role. At last check, their bed was approaching 40-50 branches and a depth of one foot. These branches will not only serve as a comfy mattress, but will also help insulate the den and keep it much warmer than the surrounding area.

The bears appetites have begun to wane. They have gone from around 40 pounds of food each day to 10 pounds or less. They are now more interested in denning and sleeping than eating and playing!

As the snow begins to accumulate, the bears will spend increasing amounts of time inside their den. Once they are sleeping for the majority of the day we will close the door to their den and they will officially be in ‘hibernation’. Bears, however, are not true hibernators as they get up and move around fairly often. This movement keeps their muscles and bones active so that no grizzly physio-therapy is needed come springtime! Our extra large bear den has plenty of room should Grinder and Coola wish to go for a winter-time walk or stretch. We also have infrared cameras monitoring their movements. These cameras let us know the bears are doing well during the winter months.

The fresh snowfall allows one to observe a great many wildlife tracks around the mountaintop. In the last few days I have observed the tracks of Lynx, Coyotes, Snowshoe Hares, Douglas Squirrels, Common Ravens and of course our local Black-tailed Deer. There have also been a few other tracks that were harder to recognize.

The amount of wildlife activity on the mountain has definitely decreased now that the snow is here and will only continue to do so into the depths of winter. That being said, however, it is still a magical experience to feel the crisp winter air on a sunny morning while studying the tracks of the wildlife that is still all around you. I encourage you to come and visit!