Outdoors TheReview — Wednesday, November 20,1991 — A24 snow geese return by the thousands to Delia The winter populations of the exciting snow goose have been building on the Reifel Refuge at the mouth of the Fraser delta and now number many thousands. Their great flocks provide an See eed elemental, thrilling sight for bir- dwatchers of all ages. The snow-white adults with their sharply contrasting black wingtips, seen against a bright blue or even sombre sky, remains long in the memory of the obser- ver. When their wheeling masses coast into a field of golden stubble, winter with its pristine snowdrifts seems to have suddenly descended upon the countryside. _The clamour of their wild calls in concert is unforgettable. These spectacular flocks breed .on Wran- gel Island in northeastern Siberia but not all of the birds from that breeding area winter here. Well over half of them are known to form the Oregon- California subpopulation, rather than ours. The former consists of birds both from Wrangel and the western Canadian Arctic. T.W. Barry of the Canadian Wildlife Service spent much of a lifetime studying snow geese, earning both his Masters of Sci- ence and doctoral degrees in the sustained effort. Hair show for trip fo Expo A hair design fashion show to benefit the Showtime On Stage Dance Company will be held in Stelly’s School multipurpose room tonight starting at 8 p.m. About 30 students will model hair designs prepared by Cham- berlain Walk Hair Designers of Brentwood. Models will be transformed from a casual look to formal designs intended for graduation or a similar setting. Talented vocalist Dianne Pancel will also perform. Tickets are $4 at the door and a dessert bar with a cost of $1 will be offered, choreo- grapher Gini Foley said. Hair products and perfumes donated to the dance company by the Ginger Group and other salons will also be sold in efforts to raise money to send the company to Spain for Expo 1992. He, too, documented the fact that subpopulations of the species and their offspring tend to utilize the same breeding and wintering areas, season after season. It has been noted by many observers that the numbers of snow geese tend to fluctuate markedly, depending upon breed- ing success in the Arctic. The large component of greyer youngsters present this year indi- cates that they have had a very successful season. The birds tend to arrive on the Arctic nesting grounds with a good deal of regularity, despite local weather conditions there. Should weather conditions be favorable and patches of bare ground present, the birds begin almcst immediately to pull together mosses, dry grasses and other bits of loose material for their nests. Finally the cup is lined with soft, white, insulating down, plucked from the breast of the goose. However, should the area be buried under persistent snow, few, if any, eggs may be laid that year, Ceara resulting in virtually no incre- ments to the population. Barry carefully documented that on the advent of such unfavourable seasons, the goose tends to resorb the eggs rather than laying them. The incubation period, which begins only after all the eggs have been laid, tends to be just a bit over three weeks. Goslings are predominantly gol- den yellow and are led from the nest when dried off by both adults who try to guard them closely. The major predators on the breeding grounds on the Arctic coast are pumarily the large glaucous gull, jaegers, foxes and the odd wolf. Such nesting areas are very exciting places during the spring. Geese are busily coming and going throughout the 24-hour day; legions of shorebirds are courting overhead; tree sparrows, white- crowns and longspurs are in full song; ptarmigan add their rich Staccato notes to the distant calls of loons, old squaw ducks and the peremptory voices of Arctic tems guarding. territory. The tundra is vibrant with life. So, too, is the Westham Island area near Ladner at the moment. Observation of the great flocks of snowgeese there at this time of year provide us with one of the great ornithological spectacles readily available in Canada. Don’t miss it! VACUFLO FIRSTUIN CENTRAL CLEANING SYSTEMS © * THE ONLY NAME TO KNOW QUALITY AND RELIABILITY CALL DAVE BARTLETT 566H David St., Victoria, B.C. V8T 2C8 383-6336 Central Saanich Recreation Drop in Volleyball Monday Eves. Beginning Nov. 25th 8-10 p.m. Stelly’s School Gym S Pie Steam eee eos Skreet nitersel ORNS ae 7060 W. Saanich Rd. PLUS All Our Fresh Baking FRUITS & NUTS Recipes Available SNOWGEESE CY HAMPSON photo The large component of greyer youngsters present this year indicates that they have had a very successful season’ 5798 2352 BEACON AVE., SIDNEY : SIDNEY ELECTRONICS 656-5771 8 SS NICHOLAS W. LOTT D. MAYLAND McKIMM G. LIANNE Macdonald SIDNEY, B:C. 9830 FOURTH ST. 656-3961 McKIMM & LOTT BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS & NOTARIES CHRISTOPHER S. LOTT TIMOTHY F, LOTT Personal Injury/ Real Estate/ Criminal Law Wills & Estates/ Family Law Commercial & Co. Law/ Municipal Law FIRST 1/ 2 HOUR CONSULTATION FREE GANGES CENTRE BLDG. GRANT S. WARRINGTON GEORGE F. McKIMM — Retired R.G. WITT LAPPER GANGES, B.C. 537-9951 now it’s on sale. *Pre-cooked wt. SIDNEY DQ HERE’S A HEFTY HUNK OF A DEAL Sink your teeth into something special at Dairy Queen®. Our 1/3 |b.* tender Homestyle Double Burger® looks, cooks, and tastes like homemade. And DOUBLE BURGER NOW 21.72 Limited time offer 2323 Bevan Ave. 656-3339 The Sidney Dairy Queen is a participating sponsor of the British Columbia Children’s Hospital through the Children’;s Miracle Network Telathon: Se oo eS OS SSS SS Oe 8 <