We took advantage of good weather last week to get out to Merville Woods, just north of Courtenay, British Columbia. This is an area that is characterized by sandy soil, mixed pine and other conifer forest and a thick under story of salal. It’s prime mushroom habitat and many commercial pickers go there for both chantrelles and salal. We found …
Destinations
Winter Shorebirds
Sanderlings and Dunlins at Air Force Beach As we gear up for the Christmas Bird Counts in December, now is the time to do a little winter shorebird watching. Last week, during a break in the weather, we got out to Air Force Beach in Comox and scoped out some of the shorebirds on the rocks near a decommissioned boat …
Cochise Lake Birdwatching – Arizona Skywatch #6
As the rain continues to fall here in British Columbia, I wistfully return to Arizona for this episode of SkyWatch Friday. Last March, I traveled to Arizona with a pair of naturalists for a week of birding and botanizing. One of the locations that we wanted to hit was Cochise Lake, just outside of Wilcox, Arizona. We arrived late in …
Sunbathers vs. the Large-headed Sedge
Some weeks ago there was a letter in a local paper complaining about the “invasion” of Large-headed Sedge (Carex macrocephala) at Air Force Beach in Comox. The complaint was based on the fact that the sedge was taking over the prime sunbathing area. Removal was the only solution. Jocie and I decided that it was worth taking a drive out …
Jingle Shells
After Monday’s deluge there was a break in the weather yesterday. We made the most of it, taking the kids to Air Force Beach in Comox to enjoy the sun. Surprisingly, we had never been to Air Force Beach before despite the length of time we’ve lived in the Comox Valley. We’ll definitely be back. It’s a beautiful beach that …
Crinoid Country
Imagine being able to travel back in time million years. What would you see? Crinoid stalk – side profile with jackknife for scale (Marble Meadows). Our visit to Karst Creek in early November enabled us to do just that, at least in a figurative sense. The limestone, or karst, landscape of the Karst Creek Trail in Strathcona Provincial Park is …
Scarlet Waxy Cap
Scarlet Waxy Cap This gorgeous Scarlet Waxy Cap (Hygrophorus miniatus) was one of many mushrooms that we found at Miracle Beach Provincial Park this weekend. Part of the thrill of mushroom hunting is discoveries like this – it made our day!
Strathcona Skywatch #2
While looking for mushrooms last weekend up at Buttle Lake we also had the opportunity to do some weather watching. On the coast, the skies were blue and cloudless. Heading west from Campbell River towards the Buttle Lake corridor of Strathcona Provincial Park we were apprehensive about the look of the sky. Fortunately, though the skies were dramatic, we managed …
More Mysterious Mushrooms
Coral Fungus | Ramaria sp. – found growing alongside road in mixed Western Hemlock and Douglas Fir. After walking the Karst Creek Trail on Sunday we headed down to the Ralph River campsite in Strathcona Provincial Park to look for more mushrooms. The weather continued to be variable and we knew that we had a small window of opportunity to …
Magnificent Mushrooms!
Lactarius sp. (probably rubrilacteus). This was the only mushroom we were able to identify fairly conclusively. The latex of this mushroom was reddish in colour. Yesterday we took a family walk around the Karst Creek Trail in Strathcona Provincial Park. It’s a 1.2 km loop to a beautiful waterfall through an interesting karst, or limestone, landscape. Streams appear on the …