Nature Vancouver

  Severe windstorms the day before caused many ferry delays and cancellations, leading me to doubt whether this trip would go or not. But Saturday dawned with the weather cleared and most of the winds died down and twelve us made it out for the hike. Apart from Mayne and Galiano, the layout of most of the Gulf Islands and the current ferry schedules don't easily allow day hikes from Vancouver on weekends. The times to Galiano give you a good full day, and you need it to complete the Mount Galiano circuit we usually do; the Mayne schedule gives you enough time to do a trip that is somewhat shorter and easier than Galiano. We walked off the ferry onto Village Bay Road; from there you have a clear view directly ahead of Mount Parke, but the route is somewhat more complicated. Wood Dale Road, which cuts off on the right, runs along the bottom of the bluffs; there may be a route connecting with it from the other end of the ridge, but someone with much more time on their hands would need to investigate it. Morning birding along Village Bay Road included Orange-crowned Warblers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, a Pileated Woodpecker, a singing Hermit Thrush, and several Turkey Vultures. The main entrance to Mount Parke Regional Park is about 2km along on Felix Jack Road, but we take a more interesting route about 1km along. The private Mount Parke Road is not marked on most maps but is easily found on the right hand side with a signed archway, and switchbacks up through woods to a housing development on the ridge. We stay on the road until it begins to drop again; the trail shortcutting onto the ridge above the last houses is overgrown and hard to find, but behind a pair of green water tanks there is a rough but short route through the woods out onto the bluffs. From there, it’s a gradual climb along the bluffs to the summit and lunch spot next to the helicopter pad and microwave tower, with views south to Pender Island and east to Saturna. It was a bit early for much of the flowers, but spring gold (Lomatium utriculatum) was abundant, and lots of sea blush (Plectritis congesta) could be seen further down the bluffs. Notable were some early Menzies’ larkspur (Delphinium menziesii), a few grassland saxifrage (Saxifraga integrifolia), at least one white death-camas (Zygadenus venenosus), and several fairyslipper (Calypso bulbosa) in the woods on the way up and down. We hiked down through the woods on the north side to the main park entrance and back along the roads to the ferry. If time allows, one can walk into Miners Bay and visit the pub and bookstore there, but we took the more direct route back. Keep left coming back is the main rule; neither of the two main turnoffs is well marked. The wind was steady and chilly on the bluffs, but the only rain came on the walk back. Just before the ferry, we found a flock of about ten Red Crossbill on either side of the road, the avian highlight of the trip. Plants in flower included: Calypso bulbosa – fairyslipper Cerastium arvense – field chickweed Claytonia lanceolata – western spring beauty Collinsia parviflora – small-flowered blue-eyed Mary Delphinium menziesii - Menzies’ larkspur Erodium cicutarium – common stork’s-bill Galium sp. - bedstraw Lithophragma parviflorum– small-flowered woodland star Lomatium utriculatum – spring gold Plectritis congesta - sea blush Ribes sanguineum – red-flowering currant Rubus parviflora – salmonberry Saxifraga integrifolia – grassland saxifrage Zygadenus venenosus – white death-camas   Birds seen and heard (* from ferry) * Canada Goose * Mallard * Barrow’s Goldeneye * Bufflehead * Harlequin Duck * Common Merganser * Pacific Loon Great Blue Heron (overflight on Village Bay Road) * Double-crested Cormorant * Pelagic Cormorant * Pigeon Guillemot Sooty Grouse Turkey Vulture * Bald Eagle Peregrine Falcon * Glaucous-winged Gull * Mew Gull * Bonaparte’s Gull * Belted Kingfisher (Sturdies Bay terminal) Pileated Woodpecker * Rock Pigeon (Sturdies Bay) Rufous Hummingbird Hutton’s Vireo Northwestern Crow Common Raven Chestnut-backed Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch Winter Wren Brown Creeper * European Starling (one at Sturdies Bay) American Robin Hermit Thrush Yellow-rumped Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Song Sparrow Spotted Towhee Pine Siskin Purple Finch House Finch Red Crossbill