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An Activity Guide About the Songbirds
of
British Columbia
A WORD from the
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"Hey,
did you know that British Columbia is home to more living species of plants
and animals than any other province in Canada? And it's no wonder, let me
tell you, since we've got a whole bunch of different homes for a whole bunch
of different creatures: everything from mountains to valleys, to grasslands
and coasts. Scientists have come up with classification systems to help
us make some sense of the patterns in our province's landscapes." |
"One system separates
the province into ten regions called ecoprovinces. Simply put, this
is a region with similar biological and physical features. If
you take a look below, I have collected a little bit of information about
the ecoprovinces for you.
Then, scroll
down further and you'll find a lovely little map of the ecoprovinces, that
I coloured all by myself. I even took the time to label some of the main
towns in each ecoprovince. You can use my map to find out which ecoprovince
you live in and which songbirds you may find there."
"To
get a complete list of every single songbird in the province, click here.
"
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Mountains, plateaus, wide valleys and lowlands east of
the northern Coast Mountains. This region has dry summers and long arctic
winters. The vegetation consists mainly of white and black spruce, willow
and birch forests.
Main towns: Atlin, Cassiar & Telegraph Creek
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Plateaus, plains, prairies and lowlands east of the Rocky Mountains. The
summers are dry and sunny with cold, arctic winters. The most common vegetation
is white or black spruce forests and aspen parklands.
Main towns: Fort St. John & Dawson Creek
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Lowlands to the east of the northern Rocky Mountains with rivers, streams
and muskeg. The summers are variable and the winters are long and cold.
The main vegetation is white and black spruce forests, bogs and wetlands.
Main town: Fort Neslon
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Broad level plateaus east of the Coast Mountains. Most of the region is
in a rainshadow and is very dry with warm summers and cold winters. The
vegetation consists of dense coniferous forests, mainly spruce, as well
as some mixed forests.
Main towns: Prince George, Mackenzie & Quesnel
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This region is full of vast mountain ranges including the Columbia and
Rocky Mountains, and the highlands, valleys and trenches that go with
them. It has dense coniferous forests as well as some mixed and deciduous
forests. The summers are warm and the winters are cold.
Main towns: Cranbrook, Nelson, Revelstoke & Trail
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Flat to rolling plateaus east of the Coast Mountains with many wetlands
and small lakes. The summers are warm, cooled by the ocean breeze off
the Pacific, and the winters are cold. The vegetation consists of spruce
and Douglas-fir forests, dry sagebrush and grasslands.
Main towns: Williams Lake & Smithers
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Rainshadow region east of the Coast and Cascade Mountains and west of
the Columbia Mountains. There are many large deep lakes and scattered
wetlands and rivers. The summers are hot and dry and the winters are cool.
The vegetation consists of dry grasslands as well as Ponderosa Pine and
Douglas-fir forests.
Main towns: Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna & Penticton
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A broad, sheltered basin that borders Georgia Strait, sandwiched between
the Vancouver Island mountains and the southern Coast Mountains. The climate
is moderated by the ocean. The vegetation is dominated by Douglas-fir,
Western Hemlock and Garry Oak forests. Most of the humans in British Columbia
live here.
Main towns: Vancouver, Powell River, Victoria & Nanaimo
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Here you'll find large coastal mountains, lowlands, shorelines, deep inlets,
islands, and the Continental Shelf. There's plenty of rainfall from the
Pacific Ocean. The vegetation changes from Western Hemlock forests to
alpine tundra. This ecoprovince is pretty big and it's full of some pretty
diverse areas. It can be divided into four differnt regions. The first
covers the western part of Vancouver Island. The second covers the Queen
Charlotte Islands. The third and fourth regions divide the mainland into
northern and southern portions from Bella Coola.
Main towns: Prince Rupert, Terrace, Queen Charlotte City, Kitimat, Bella
Coola & Port Hardy.
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Oceanic portion west of the Continental Slope. This region has light summer
winds and rain and gale force storms during the winter. I haven't included
this ecoprovince in the map below since I can't think of any of my buddies
that do much more than migrate through this region.
"So which ecoprovince
do you live in? Which one of our feathered friends is your neighbour?
Here's where you get to find out:"
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