The beautiful pink flowers of Sea Blush (Plectritis congesta). Earlier this week I headed out to Woodhus Slough to do some birdwatching and ended up botanizing instead. The slough provides access to a number of different kinds of habitats, and thus different plant communities. This week, the gravel dyke that separates the slough from the ocean was in full bloom. …
Woodhus Slough
Trumpeter Swans at Woodhus Slough
Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) gliding over the water at Woodhus Slough. I headed out to Woodhus Slough this morning to do some casual birding with the kids and to check out how last week’s heavy rain, high tides and storm had affected the slough. The change was dramatic – while the dyke separating the slough from the ocean hadn’t been …
Birding at Woodhus Slough
Ruby-crowned Kinglet in blackberry brambles. Did a little birding at Woodhus Slough, just north of Oyster River on Vancouver Island this afternoon. The slough is accessed by either the parking area at the Salmon Point Pub or at the Oyster River Park parking area near the Fisherman’s Pub – hence its popular name the “Pub to Pub Trail.” The trail …
A Good Year for Mushrooms
It seems that every time we take a walk we’re seeing mushrooms. Our stroll at Woodhus Slough last week was no exception. In addition to the Lake’s Boletus we found several other spectacular mushrooms that day, some that we were able to identify and others that we weren’t. Rosy Gomphidius at Woodhus Slough Probably the most beautiful (and coolest) mushroom …
Meet a Bolete – Lake’s Boletus
Lake’s Boluteus is part of the boletes, a group of mushrooms that are fairly easy to recognize due to the fact that they have pores instead of gills. Run your finger underneath the cap of a potential boletus. If the texture is smooth it is likely that the mushroom you are looking at is a boletus. Earlier this week I …
There Be Dragons
I had the opportunity to lead a Young Naturalists Club walk this morning out at Woodhus Slough just north of the Oyster River. We were looking for dragonflies and on this sunny morning were fortunate to find a few. It’s late in the year for dragonflies and many of the ones that we caught (and released) were looking tattered. Variable …