Magnificent Elk Falls
Elk Falls
One thing that I love about living on Vancouver Island is the proximity of wilderness. I live in town, but it doesn’t take long to get out into nature; rivers, mountains, waterfalls, primeval rainforest and great beaches are all close at hand.
Whenever I go to Campbell River I am impressed with the number of hiking trails that are only a few minutes from the city center. Elk Falls Provincial Park is certainly high on the list. The park’s 1087 hectares encompass a huge area, and feature a 122 site campground and a network of hiking trails including Quinsam River Trail, Kingfisher and Beaver Pond Trail, Canyon View Trail and Millennium Trail.
One of the park’s gems is Elk Falls, the park’s namesake, which plummets 25 metres into a deep, rocky gorge. According to the book Edge of Discovery (a history of Campbell River by Isenor, Stephens and Watson) the park was established in 1940. Prior to being declared a park, the area housed a camp for reforestation efforts. The “Great Fire” of 1938 narrowly missed the park, burning a swath of land that stretched from north of Campbell River south to the Courtenay area, almost reaching Comox Lake. Continue reading »
All About Ants
Thatching Ants (Formica spp.) become active in the Spring.
For many years now there has been a mounded ant’s nest on my mother’s property. During the winter months, birds peck and scratch at the nest looking for an easy snack. In the early spring, the ants begin to emerge, moving slowly. As things heat up, the nest becomes a teeming mass of ants in a frenzy of activity. These thatching ants (Formica spp.) are red and black and have never caused my family any trouble. Continue reading »
‘Tis the Season for Christmas Bird Counts
Birders Bundle up for the Christmas Bird Count
For birders, the Christmas season isn’t about staying warm by the fire. Every year, thousands of birders across Canada get up at dawn to brave the elements for a full day of birding on a freezing winter day. This tradition is known as the Christmas Bird Count.
The requirements are simple: warm, water proof clothing, binoculars, a spotting scope, bird book, field check-list, lunch, a thermos of tea and good supply of cookies. At the end of the day, the birders gather for a potluck dinner, to tally up the numbers and species of birds seen, and share stories about the day’s adventures.
Christmas bird counts have been going on for more than a century. American ornithologist Frank Chapman of the Audubon Society organized the first bird census on Christmas day, 1900. At this time, conservation was a new concept, and scientists were just beginning to be concerned about declining bird populations. Chapman changed history when he proposed that rather than shooting birds, they be watched and counted. Continue reading »
On the Trail of a Snail
Pacific Sideband Snail
Whatever the time of year, we always find something of interest on our nature walks. A few days ago we found ourselves on the trail of a snail, which crossed right in front of us. It glided slowly but stealthily over twigs and needles, toting a brown spiral shell on its back. When I got home, I pulled out my copy of “Land Snails of British Columbia” by Robert Forsyth, an excellent guide to our provinces’ slugs and snails, to learn more about this quiet but compelling creature.
In evolutionary terms, slugs and snails are very successful, with as many as 35,000 species of land dwelling slugs and snails in the world, and 94 species in BC.
Snails belong to a large group of marine and land-dwelling creatures called molluscs. The word mollusc comes from the Greek word “mollis” meaning soft, in reference to the soft-fleshed body. Continue reading »