Report and Photos by Leader – Bettina Matzkuhn

Nine members of Nature Vancouver and one guest participated. The weather was warm and breezy. We saw a Humpback whale spouting in the distance en route to the island. We covered approximately 10km to and from the Sturdies Bay ferry terminal, with a short stop at the historic Japanese Charcoal Pit Kiln. We made a few mistakes with the route but were rescued by Teresa’s GAIA track. The trail that goes up the back of Mt. Galiano has been decommissioned. Teresa found it and we followed it up. No longer marked or maintained, it will be impassable in a number of years. It seems that the route from Georgeson Bay Rd is now the only and official one. 

Ecological Notes: The amounts of invasive Moss Campion and Scotch Broom in Bluff Park seem greatly reduced from previous years, probably due to ongoing invasive pulls. The invasive evergreen Spurge Laurel (Daphne laureola) was common along roadways, but not much was seen on park trails. Along Shore Access Trail #17 we saw hundreds of pink flags locating recently planted native species, obviously part of a significant restoration project.

Large-flowered Blue-eyed Mary

Birds (incomplete list)

Townsend’s Solitaire, Chipping Sparrow, Bonaparte’s Gull, White-winged Scoter, Ruddy Turnstone, Violet-green Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Ring-billed Gull, and Bald Eagle.

Fungi & Lichens

Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor), Evernia, Platismatia Glauca, Alectoria Sarmentosa, AND Lichenomphalia umbellifera – a lichen that produces gilled mushrooms. The mushrooms are little pale mushrooms and the lichen part of the fungus appears as a green powder coating the surface of the log. 

Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor); Lichenomphalia umbellifera

Flowers in Bloom

Fairy Slipper Orchid (Calypso bubosa)

Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis)

Swamp Lantern (Lysichiton americana)

Spring Gold (Lomatium utriculatum)

Small-flowered Woodland-star (Lithophragma parviflorum)

Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

Dwarf Owl-Clover (Triphysaria pulsila)

Red-stem Storksbill (Erodium cicutarium)

Maiden Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora)

Large-flowered Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia grandiflora)

White Fawn Lily (Erythronium oregonum)

Dull Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa)

Red-flowering Currant (Ribes saguineum)

Monkey flower (Erythranthe sp.)

Shepherd’s Cress (Teesdalia nudicailis)

Spring Draba (Draba verna)

Big-leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)

Flowers Not In Bloom Yet

Pacific Sanicle (Sanicle crassicaulis)

Dwarf Lupine (Lupinus lepidus)

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Garry Oak (Acer macrophylum)

Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor)