Most people visit Beechey Head for the spectacular views out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca or the interesting botany. This viewpoint in East Sooke Regional Park is also an excellent place to view the turkey vulture and hawk migration in the fall. The Head represents one side of the narrowest gaps between Vancouver Island and Washington State. Raptors …
East Sooke Regional Park
California Broomrape, A Beautiful Surprise!
I’m not sure if I’ve seen California broomrape (Orobanche californica) on Vancouver Island before so when I saw a few plants on the rocky shoreline in East Sooke Regional Park I was pretty excited. Broomrapes are very interesting parasitic plants that are often overlooked because of their small size. And while I have seen naked broomrape fairly frequently over the …
Tansy Ragwort
Tansy Rawort (Senecio jacobaea) Early in September I wrote about two tansies that occur in British Columbia. Last weekend while at East Sooke Regional Park looking for turkey vultures I found a species of Senecio growing in an old farm field. Tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), like the common tansy, is an introduced plant from Eurasia. It does well in fields, …