Win for North Okanagan wildlife

At the beginning of the trail to the Middleton Steps, on Middleton Mt in Vernon, an RDNO park, you might notice a tall pile of large rocks on the north side.  The developer, Aldebaran Homes, has used heavy equipment to create a pile of large rocks as a habitat for an uncommon bird, the Rock Wren.

In the Spring of 2015, naturalists monitoring Bluebird boxes were alerted to the loud ringing sound of a Rock Wren perched on a rooftop in this area.  There were in fact two Rock Wrens and the pair sang from rooftops, excavators and tall rocks throughout the season.  Because the proliferation of houses and condos marching up and around all sides of the park would endanger any nesting of this uncommon bird, an attempt has been made to preserve some disappearing habitat.  The North Okanagan Naturalist Club, Keith Pinkoski – Manager of Parks for the Regional District of North Okanagan, and John Jacobsen – Manager of Development & Construction for Aldebaran Homes, collaborated on this project.

Of the five different species of wrens in the Vernon area, the Rock Wren and Canyon Wren are uncommon to rare.  These two wrens are expanding their range north and are specialised for only certain kinds of rocky habitats.  The rock pile has been placed by the Middleton steps in the hopes that the Rock Wrens will return from their migration south in the Spring of 2017 and consider this the right habitat for breeding and nesting.

The North Okanagan Naturalists Club would especially like to thank Aldebaran Homes for their interest in saving wildlife.