Beautiful Day for A Bird Count

A warm (actually, hot) sunny day up at Paradise Meadows, for the annual Strathcona Bird Search! Several members of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society participated, and found the following 18 species around the meadows:

Turkey Vulture 2
Band-tailed Pigeon 1
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1
Gray Jay 8
Steller's Jay 2
Northwestern Crow 1
Common Raven 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 2
Varied Thrush 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
White-crowned Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 14
Pine Siskin 6

The easiest bird to spot today was the Dark-eyed Junco.

An owl? no, a tree-lichen bird....

No woodpeckers were seen or heard, which was rather unusual!

Lots of people were out enjoying the trails, including visitors from far & wide. There is still quite a bit of snow beyond the meadows - if you are not familiar with the area, the Battleship Lake & Helen Mackenzie trails could be tricky to find.

Flowers blooming include:
marsh marigold (abundant)
skunk cabbage
yellow violet
Jeffrey's shootingstar
fern-leaved goldthread

And, new within the last few days:
western bog-laurel
pink mountain-heather

Shootingstar & marsh marigold

Spring Golds of the Meadows

Summer in Paradise Meadows is just arriving - there is a stretch of beautiful weather predicted! However yesterday felt more like late winter or early spring, with intermittent rain all day, and the meadows ponds and creeks overflowing with rushing water among the melting snow.

A patch of blue sky to the north - forecasting full blue skies  for the next several days.

Swamp Lantern - a more fitting name for Skunk Cabbage

The dampness did accentuate the colours of flowers and foliage however - with skunk cabbage lit up like golden lanterns. Down in the Comox Valley, these were blooming months ago!

Golden centres of Marsh Marigolds brighten the meadows

Marsh marigolds are extremely abundant right now - carpeting the entire meadows, growing even in rushing water.

Fern-leaved Goldthread (Coptis asplenifolia)

A smaller gem of a flower, easily overlooked, is the tiny spider-like flowers of fern-leaved goldthread - there is a substantial patch near the Buckbean Pond - the pond just past the first junction, on the west side of the meadows.

Canada Day Flowers

Happy Canada Day! volunteers staffing the Wilderness Centre report that although there is still lots of snow around the meadows, summer  is on the way: "Marsh marigolds are out; someone reported shooting stars, and I saw yellow violets. So it’s starting!"

Summer programs are starting also: the first organized event is next Sunday July 8: the annual Strathcona Park Bird Search, an informal bird count in the Paradise Meadows area. Participants should bring binoculars and prepare for snow underfoot, however birding expertise is not required. Pre-register at coordinator@strathconapark.org