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October 8, 2026 Newsletter: Celebrating the Buffleheads Return, SPEC and the Municipal Election, Kingfishers, Halloween Fireworks, Winter Ducks Arriving

Dear neighbours and friends, 
While we enjoy this lovely fall weather, there is lots going on and not only about elections. This newsletter contains information about:
  1. All Buffleheads Celebration October 18, 10 am
  2. Local Election Candidates and the Environmental Coalition 
  3. Consider the Belted Kingfisher
  4. Halloween Fireworks
  5. First winter ducks have arrived

1. All Buffleheads Celebration October 18th 10am

Bufflehead Ducks
Everyone is welcome to the annual ceremony to celebrate the return of the first Bufflehead ducks to Roberts Bay for the winter.  Time and location: Sunday October 18, 10 am at the Ardwell Avenue Beach Access. Rain or shine! Come to learn more about Sidney’s iconic Buffleheads.
 
Town of Sidney Crest

Breaking news!

Biologist Kerry Finley, who has studied the Bulffleheads for decades, predicts that they will be early this year, with individuals or small groups making their “first appearance this Sunday, October 11th, following the first major cold front of the season, that will bring frost and a first skiff of snow on the prairies, and monsoons to the west coast. Michael Snyder of PNWeather calls it a dramatic cold front fuelled by a strong mid-latitude cyclone. A spinoff of a major El Niño.”

2. Saanich Peninsula Environmental Coalition and Municipal Elections

The Coalition (SPEC) submitted this question to All Candidates Meetings in Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney:
 “Research has shown that collaboration enhances climate resilience and helps to conserve the environment.  When elected, would you support formalizing more cooperation among Sidney, North Saanich and Central Saanich by reinstating Tri-Municipal Council meetings [on the environment] and establishing a Saanich Peninsula Environmental Advisory Committee?”  
At the October 3  forum, all Sidney Council candidates said they would support these measures. 
Sidney Town Council affects our day to day life in many ways: sewer and water, housing, the safety of our streets, and management of parks and beaches. We have heard from several people who intended to go to the All Candidates meeting, but forgot!  Radio Sidney has an excellent series of interviews with all Council candidates, plus a recording of the Oct 3 meeting at https://www.radiosidney.ca/elections. The Town website’s election pages include candidate profiles, key dates, nomination papers, etc. at https://www.sidney.ca/government/elections/. Voter turnout is notoriously low for local elections. Please vote.

3. Consider the Kingfisher

The Belted Kingfisher has never been featured in this newsletter before, but these handsome birds are our neighbours on Roberts Bay all year. They can often be found perched on trees overlooking the water near the Bowden beach access on the north side of the bay before making a dramatic dive into the water to catch a fish.  Kingfishers are one of the bird species where the female is more brightly coloured than the male. There is lots to learn about them!
Kingfishers came to our attention this past summer when some neighbours on Harbour Road were concerned about how the work on the steep slope beneath one of the Shoal Harbour townhomes at 2353 Harbour Road would affect the Kingfisher family that had a nest in the slope. 
male kingfisher
Typical Kingfisher nest hole
Female Kingfisher

4. Halloween Fireworks

Last year our October Newsletter contained a summary of the community’s experience with family or personal fireworks at Halloween since 2022 when Sidney amended the Fireworks Bylaw to introduce a 200 meter prohibition zone around Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) like Roberts Bay. The goal was to  protect birds and other wildlife from being frightened by explosions of noise and lights in the bird sanctuary and other places where they should be safe.
 
Many of the birds have just arrived here to rest and feed after arduous long-distance migration flights.  The Fireworks Bylaw also prohibits personal fireworks anywhere in Sidney without a permit.  The poster and brochure are attached.
 
In 2025, only distant fireworks were heard in the sanctuary and we had no reports of disturbance to the ducks, herons and other wildlife that add so much to our human quality of life. Let’s try to keep things safe and peaceful again this year! 
 
If you see or hear fireworks inside the 200 meter buffer zone, call the Sidney Fire Department at 250-656-2121 to report illegal fireworks.
Fireworks Ban Poster
Fireworks Ban Brochure

5. Some Winter Ducks Have Arrived!

We have already seen some Harlequins

Breeding plumage male and female
Non Breeding Male

and some Goldeneyes

Common Goldeneye
Barrows Goldeneye
Female Barrows

in Roberts Bay. All photos from allaboutbirds.org.

Join us October 18 to welcome the Buffleheads!  

If you have binoculars, bring them down to the shore on October 18 or anytime and look for the migratory birds arriving to spend the winter with us.

Roberts Bay Residents

Jocelyn Gifford, Communications

We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Just reply to the newsletter or write to robertsbayres@gmail.com. 

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Our mission: We are a small group of friends who live on Roberts Bay or nearby and work together to preserve the ecology of the bay for future generations  by promoting eological understanding among neighbours through newsletters, relationships, and volunteer projects.

“Our vision is to build a future in which our community lives in harmony with the living wonders of Roberts Bay and where the natural beauty and functionality of the ecosystems of the bay are preserved and enhanced to ensure that this very special place remains a safe refuge for wildlife and a source of inspiration for its present and future residents and visitors.”

 

Posted in Activism, Conservation, Education, Event, Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, Migratory Birds, Roberts Bay

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