by Heather Harbord, 7 April 2013.  White avalanche lilies, or fawn lilies (Erythronium montanum)  are at the northern edge of their range in coastal British Columbia.  How they might have reached Sliammon is a bit of a mystery.  Our trip was ably led by Andrew Bryant and Rod Innis. Although the mystery of disjunct geographic distribution remains … Continue reading Fawn Lily Extravaganza

By Heather Harbord, 23 March 2013. Several carloads of us drove up to Goat Lake where we viewed about 4 goats from the viewpoint.  A short hike through the woods took us past the climbers’ camp and out onto the river bank where we ate lunch and enjoyed the rushing water.  Geologist Barbara Sherriff expounded on the local … Continue reading Goats and Eldred River geology

By Heather Harbord, 16 February 2013. Twelve of us, including Barbara Sherriff (Leader) and myself (Coordinator), walked on the 9:50 AM ferry to Texada.  On board, Barbara explained how limestone is formed from marine sediments and how igneous intrusions into it produced small deposits of gold, silver and copper. At Blubber Bay, retired quarry manager, Harold Diggon, … Continue reading Texada Quarry

By Heather Harbord, 25 November 2012. A small delegation of Malaspina Naturalists (all 3 of us) boarded the 8:10 ferry and piled into Clyde Burton’s truck on the other side.  We drove straight to where the Citrine Warbler had first been seen by Comox Valley Naturalists on Nov. 14th. In company with birders from Nanaimo, Vancouver and Iowa … Continue reading A Citrine Wagtail!

By Heather Harbord, 15 October 2012.  Dave Taylor from Texada had been asked to lead this but at the last minute declined saying there were no mushrooms.  Eight of us went to Squirrel Crossing anyway and found about 20 species. Despite a recent injury, Izi Loveluck led the trip as she knew far more than the rest … Continue reading The Great Mushroom Cook-out

by Andrew Bryant, 19 July 2012. Sixteen of us made the first Queen of Burnaby sailing at 8:10 AM.  The day began with clear skies, calm water and great promise… From Little River we car-pooled up the winding road to Mount Washington Alpine Resort, where we ascended to the summit via the ski chair-lift.  Not only was this method much … Continue reading Marmots on Mount Washington

By Heidi Rohard, 5 June 2012.  The rain started in the afternoon, but it was light and there was no wind, making it pleasant enough for 10 birders to meet at Lindsay Park.  We walked around the park for a bit, but birds and other wildlife were pretty elusive except for some violet green swallows flitting … Continue reading Birding by canoe

By Heather Harbord, 2 June 2012. Ten members boarded the Misty Isles at Lund at 10 am and motored to Mitlenatch over calm seas as the wind did not warrant raising the sails.  Half the group went ashore while the other half circumnavigated the island by zodiac.  Although we saw both California and Steller’s sea lions … Continue reading Mitlenatch Island

By Janet Alred, 20 May 2012.  Following the talk the evening before by Sari Saunders and Heather Klassen, Ministry of Forest Research Ecologists for the south coast, based out of Nanaimo along with Andy McKinnon, about 9 people large and small drove to Stillwater to examine the transition between Douglas Fir ecosystem and the Western Hemlock … Continue reading Douglas fir ecosystems

by Janet Aldred, 25 March 2012.  Clyde Burton led nineteen of us to the lookout on Goat Lake where we saw the horns, eyes and splendid white coats of two Mountain Goats very clearly through Sharon Godkin’s excellent telescope.  Other dots may have been goats. Then we progressed down the hill and on to Mile 34 where a … Continue reading Goats and the Eldred River

By Janet Alred, 22 November 2011. On Tuesday Christine Woolcott met with six would-be star gazers for an indoor get acquainted session.  Using simplified diagrams, Christine showed us how to use Orion to find Taurus, the Pleiades, Auricula (?), Capella and her three goats, Castor and Pollux, Procyon and Sirius. A few nights later we went … Continue reading Naked Eye Star-gazing

by Andrew Bryant, 16 November 2011.  Our resident naturalist, Clyde Burton, took seven members to Gibson’s Beach and Sliammon waterfront on Wednesday.  Gibson’s Beach produced three herons in the trees and Glaucous-winged gulls almost at our feet.  We stayed only long enough to separate the different age groups. At Sliammon we saw several hundreds of gulls, the majority … Continue reading Rambling with Clyde Part II (seabirds)

by Heather Harbord, 15 July 2011.

by Heather Harbord, 2 June 2011.

by Janet Alred, 20 May 2011 On Friday 22 people showed up at 8am to meet the previous night’s speaker, Andy McKinnon.  Although the campsite was in shadow at first, gradually it warmed up as the sun reached it.  Nodding onion, Chocolate lilies, Sea blush, Monkey flower, Shooting stars, Blue-eyed Mary, Death camus, Saxifrage, Saskatoon, Salal, … Continue reading Spring wildflowers with Andy McKinnon

  By Janet Alred, 13 May 2011.  Following the most interesting lecture on these endangered turtles by Vanessa Kilburn, our field trip took us to Lindsay Park at the north end of Cranberry Lake.  Here we were met by Vanessa and her colleague Aimee Mitchell, as well as photographer of amphibians, Terry Brown and partner Jude … Continue reading Turtles at Cranberry Lake

By Janet Alred, 25 March 2011.   Following his talk the previous evening, on Friday John Dove led a field trip for eleven members to Stromberg Falls and Marshall Point. At the Falls, we saw a creek exiting a cave and running into a swallet concealed under our feet. Then we went up to where a … Continue reading Texada karst and caves

By Janet Alred, 10 March 2011.  On Thursday, six people dripped their way around the Lang Bay Fish Hatchery where there were no dippers to be seen as they have all gone up to the mountains to breed in the fast water.  We crossed the road to look at the mouth of Lang Creek and on … Continue reading Rambling with Clyde

by Janet Alred, 5 February 2011. On Saturday Wendy Cocksedge, who spoke to us last year about the forest greens used in the floristry industry, escorted four of us along the Willingdon Trail where we identified Scouring rush, Salal, Trailing blackberry, an early Skunk cabbage, small leaves of Sweet Cecily (we think), new Salmonberry shoots, Oregon-beaked … Continue reading Forest Greens

Winter twigs with Shirley Cole by Heidi Rohard 7 November 2010 On a surprisingly sunny Sunday morning, Nov. 7th, 2010, nine of us met Shirley Cole in the North mall parking lot. While waiting for departure time she showed us and explained various twigs, some with leaves still attached, as well as a beautiful collection … Continue reading Winter twigs

by Janet Alred, 16 October 2010.  Thirty-three people turned out for the mushroom workshop with Brigid Weiler of Cortes Island.  Brigid’s picture appears on page 145 of David Arora’s All that the Rain Promises and More… This eclectically illustrated handbook is available locally from Breakwater Books along with his larger reference book Mushrooms Demystified. Brigid brought … Continue reading Mushroom workshop

Turtles of Turtle Lake by Heather Harbord, 22 June 2010. Nine of us gathered at the Lucky Dollar Store in Van Anda on Tuesday to meet with Vanessa Kilburn, South Coast Western Painted Turtle Recovery Project Leader.  She led us along the mossy trail to Emily Lake, also known as Turtle Lake.  There we watched as one of … Continue reading Texada turtles

by Heather Harbord, 10 April 2010. Ten of us stalked the old golf course at the Townsite with Pierre listening for birds.  It was “briskly cold” but warmed up later. Many of the migrants had flown north after the storm three days ago but there were enough singing for our purposes. The most conspicuous were Song Sparrows, Purple … Continue reading Birding by ear Part II

by Heather Harbord, 3 April 2010. Led by Shirley Cole and Clyde Burton, six people enjoyed the sunshine after the previous day’s big storm. Rod Innes took us to see the white fawn lilies at Sliammon and we then proceeded on to Dinner Rock where we picked up Walter Kubany and looked at shooting stars, blue-eyed … Continue reading Wildflowers

by Heather Harbord, 28 March 2010. Twenty-two people travelled up the Goat Main as far as Mile 34. Through spotting scopes, we had a clear view of five mountain goats on the bluffs on the other side of Goat Lake.  We continued on to Eldred Falls which was just beginning to flood from spring runoff.  A pair of Dippers exhibited their … Continue reading Goats, rushing river and a portage

by Heather Harbord, 20 February 2010 Three of us attended this birding field trip.  On the ferry to Comox, numerous long-tailed ducks and murres were sighted. At Little River, we stopped to see the shorebirds just outside the terminal. A large flock of dunlin were interspersed with black-bellied plover, mew gulls and glaucous-winged gulls. By the airport, we … Continue reading Swans of Comox

by Heather Harbord, 30 January 2010 The Lichen trip was so popular that those who couldn’t attend asked for it to be repeated.  This we did at Ann and Paul Clements’ house, followed by a field trip to Haslam Lake. Five people attended.

by Ann and Paul Clements, 9 January 2010. Seven members attended.  The trip started at Community Living Place at 10am with a review of the biology of Lichens.   As a framework for identification in the field, we then reviewed the seven Lichen classifications described in Pojar and MacKinnon’s Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. The group viewed examples … Continue reading Lichens

by Heather Harbord, 14 November 2009. On Saturday, nine members carpooled from the Liquor Store parking lot and drove out to the Sliammon Hatchery, picking up a north-of-town member on the way.  The person Clyde had arranged to show us around wasn’t there. Instead, he and Susan did the honors assisted later by a gentleman who was … Continue reading Salmon, Eagles and Waterfowl

by Michael Stewart, 1 October 2009. Twelve members met at the Lang Creek Hatchery and enjoyed a tour given by Salmon Society staff member, Phil Nakatsu. He showed us the facility and how the fish enter the tanks and are sorted and counted. Then he showed us the salmon in the spawning channel and explained further what … Continue reading Lang Bay Hatchery