The blister glassy-bubble snail (Haminoea vesicula) is common in the sheltered eelgrass beds on the east side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Typically known as a “bubble snail,” this species of sea snail also goes by the name blister paper bubble, white paper bubble, and the white bubble shell. This unique marine creature belongs to the family Haminoeidae and is …
Comox
Rising Tide at Point Holmes
Point Holmes #1 A large boulder is slowly surrounded by the rising tide. Point Holmes in Comox, British Columbia is a fabulous place for landscape photography. The dynamic nature of the rising or falling tide can create very different compositions at the same location. Therefore, the challenge is to quickly adapt to changing water levels and find interesting combinations of …
Lions in the Dunes at Goose Spit
The sand dunes at Goose Spit are a small and remarkable place to visit in the Comox Valley. It is easy to miss this unique dune ecosystem located about mid-way from the last parking area at the gates of HMCS Quadra and the end of the spit. Yellow Sand-verbena (Abronia latifolia) can be found in the dunes at Goose Spit. The dunes …
Sand-verbena Moth Surprise
It has been too long since I’ve checked out the plants in the spectacular dunes at Goose Spit. A number of specialized plants grow in these dunes—yellow sand verbena (Abronia latifolia) and black knotweed (Polygonum paronychia) are prolific. With a little effort, other interesting plants can be found as well. A large patch of Black Knotweed (Polygonum paronychia) just above …
Point Holmes Moonrise
The first night I went down to Point Holmes, the moonrise was relatively close to sunset so there was still some very interesting colour in the sky. The beach at Point Holmes is fabulous to photograph and particularly good on a falling tide since the dropping water reveals a set of very interesting boulders. Over the last month I’ve been down …
Signs of Spring … Gold
A constellation of Gold Star (Crocidium multicaule) in the dunes at Point Holmes, Comox, BC. One of the most beautiful early blooming spring flowers on the east coast of Vancouver Island is gold star or common spring-gold (Crocidium multicaule). In the Comox Valley the best show is along the narrow stretch of sandy “dunes” between the road and beach at …
Boulders at Point Holmes
Six image panorama, stitched together in Photoshop CS6 and converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2. These huge boulders captured my attention on the rocky beach at Point Holmes, in Comox, British Columbia. During low tide Point Holmes is excellent for marine life, but the weather was pretty awful and though the tide was low, I didn’t …
Gold Star in Bloom
A trio of Gold Stars (Crocidium multicaule) at Point Holmes, Comox, BC. One of the first wildflowers to bloom here in the Comox Valley is the gold star (Crocidium multicaule). Usually you can expect to see it in early March and this year it was right on schedule, brightening up the coastal gravel flats at Point Holmes and Kin Beach. …
Kye Bay Beach Walk
I had a couple of hours to myself on Saturday afternoon and thought that I’d walk from Kye Bay through to Air Force Beach and back. It didn’t take too long and the tide was low so I had plenty of beach and tidepools to explore. Water flows from one tide pool on the flats into another, draining as the tide drops. …
Where’s Wagtail?
Update: March 24, 2013 Last confirmed sighting of the Citrine Wagtail on eBird was Thursday, March 21. However, since that time, access to the farm lane has been restricted due to active farming and the lane is gated. Update: March 6, 2013 Checked the original farm site on Wednesday, March 6 with Viktor Davare and had a really nice look at …