Witty’s Lagoon Regional Park is located in Metchosin, on the southern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The regional park is well-known for its diverse and rich ecosystem, walking trails, and excellent birdwatching. At over 58 hectares, the area is home to a large number of plant and bird species. In addition to nature viewing, one of the notable attractions …
Victoria
Niagara Falls in Goldstream Provincial Park
The winter months are a perfect time to stop in for a quick walk to Niagara Falls in Goldstream Provincial Park. During the summer, water flow is low and the Niagara Creek slows to a trickle. When the rain arrives in November and December, the falls return to their dramatic flow. This Vancouver Island, British Columbia waterfall is definitely worth …
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 …
Satinflower Search
Satinflower (Olsynium douglasii) blooms for a very short time in early spring on Vancouver Island. I finally experienced the delicate beauty of these wildflowers this March and the bloom was awe inspiring! The southern part of Vancouver Island is one of the few locations in British Columbia where there are reliable views of this beautiful member of the iris family. …
Cattle Point Sunrise
Long lines of logs at Cattle Point in Victoria, British Columbia. I’m trying to be a little more disciplined over the last month or two and am making an effort to get up earlier to catch the first morning light—such was a case late last month when I was down in Victoria to pick up a long awaited Fuji X-T1 and …
Phillips Beer + Nature = Vote for Swan Lake’s Rye Ale
Who doesn’t like beer? Who doesn’t like nature? Now’s your chance to enjoy both. Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary has been selected as a finalist to receive funding in the Phillips Beer Benefit Brew 2013 project. You can support this wonderful nature sanctuary located just minutes from downtown Victoria, British Columbia by voting daily at Benefit Brew 2013. Note …
Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites
The massive gates, battery gun emplacements, underground magazine rooms, towers to climb, windows to peek in and out of, and secret rooms to discover. All of these things and more make Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites of Canada very cool destinations for kids (and adults) of all ages. Last weekend I took Clara and Alden on a …
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Harris’s Sparrow, Brown Pelican – Twitch
OK – I’m not a hardcore lister by any stretch of the imagination (I’ve finally just broken 200 on my restarted BC list) but sometimes unexpected birds are a good excuse for a road trip. I’ve been fortunate that the extremely rare citrine wagtail is a mere five minutes away from my house, and perhaps adding that bird to my …
Book Review – Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island
Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island Adam Ungstad UNGSTAD Information Architects Paperback 150 pages 2012 Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island: Adam Ungstad Secret Lakes of Southern Vancouver Island is a nice little guide book to some of the well known and lesser known lakes in the Saanich Penisula and Sooke. If you’re planning a trip to Victoria, British Columbia, …
Cattle Point Round-up
We made a short stop at Cattle Point during our weekend in Victoria, British Columbia – both kids were asleep in the car so I was able to nip out for a quick walkabout while Jocie supervised. Cattle Point is usually pretty good for unusual birds and earlier in March a number of Rock Sandpipers (Calidris ptilocnemis) had been reported …