Cow-parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) is a distinctive looking plant. Dense thickets of Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) and Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) line parts of the South Beach Trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve . However, at this time of year they are the dramatic flower heads and leaves of Cow-parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) overshadow other plants. The large umbels are in various stages …
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
How to Find a Glass Ball
Participate in the dune grass pull at Wickaninnish Beach on Sunday, August 22 and you have a chance to find and keep this glass ball. If you’re like me you’ve always kept an eye open for flotsam and jetsam while hiking the long sandy beaches of the West Coast. Occasionally a glass ball will turn up but today that has …
Comber’s Beach Sunset – BC Skywatch #10
Sunset at Comber’s Beach It’s been a while since I’ve posted a series of Skywatch images but this Friday I walked from Wickaninnish Beach to Comber’s Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Various combinations of sand and water and sky presented themselves and changing the camera position slightly revealed different patterns and textures. It was one of the uncommon …
Two Taildroppers
A Yellow-bordered Taildropper (Prophysaon foliolatum) peering over the edge of the boardwalk. Sometimes when you least expect it you find something that is a little bit different. Such was the case during a recent guided walk on the South Beach Trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve when I found two different taildroppers. Usually I expect to find Banana Slugs …
Dune Tansy Revisited
Dune Tansy (Tanacetum bipinnatum ssp. huronense) can be found along the edge of the beach at Schooner Cove in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. While out at Schooner Cove last week I decided to check out the small sand dunes for a number of dune plants. It was here at the top of the beach that I found two species …
Schooner Cove Searockets
Last week I hiked out to do some intertidal exploration at the wonderful rocks at Schooner Cove, a truly inspiring part of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and at a low tide, spectacular for marine life. However, the small dune ecosystem along the shore of this remote cove is also fascinating. Two species of searockets grow in the dunes in …
Water-line Isopods: Scourge of the Surf-line
When jellyfish wash up on the shore at Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve they don’t last long. At first glance, this stranded Moon Jelly (Aurelia labiata) appears forgotten. However, a closer look reveals that water-line isopods (Cirolana kincaidi) are hard at work dealing with the jelly’s remains. These marine isopods look similar to terrestrial isopods like wood …
Flacid Horse Clam Siphons
I love turning over rocks in the intertidal zone – you never know what you might find! Many creatures that live in the intertidal zone bury themselves beneath the surface. Looking for clues that there is living creature under the sand or gravel is very worthwhile. Finding the siphon of a horse clam (Tresus sp.) can be a provocative discovery. …
Reintroducing Pink Sand-Verbena: A Rare West Coast Plant
After a less than satisfactory morning exploring the intertidal zone at Little Beach, Terrace Beach and Big Beach in Ucluelet (mainly due to the abundance of seaweed) I shifted gears and in the late afternoon. I decided to check out the Parks Canada Pink Sand-verbena (Abronia umbellate breviflora) reintroduction project at the dunes at Wickaninnish Beach in Pacific Rim National …
Gentians in the Bog
At this time of the year on the Shorepine Bog trail in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve two different species of gentians are blooming. Both are easy to see with a little effort and can be found in bogs and wet areas on Vancouver Island. King Gentian The rich blue flowers of the King Gentian (Gentiana sceptrum) suggest a king’s …