Nature Vancouver

Nine of us from Vancouver travelled by BC Ferries’ new ship, Coastal Inspiration, from Tsawwassen to Duke Point, Nanaimo. Bill Merilees met us there with a key to the gate in the fence that surrounds the parking lot. He had arranged this with the BC Ferries to get access to Jack Point Park which more or less parallels the approach to the ferry terminal. We were in the park only a few minutes after arriving at Duke Point and were greeted by a nice display of tall camas just on the other side of the fence. Much better than having to walk along the road to the main entrance. 

We had a leisurely walk around Jack Point and back to the main entrance along a lovely wooded trail with views of cliffs on Gabriola Island, mountains on Sunshine Coast, downtown Nanaimo, Mt. Benson and the Nanaimo River estuary.

The park has a great diversity of plants many of them were in full bloom - tall and death camas, seablush, monkey flower, chocolate lilies, starflower, Indian paintbrush, larkspur, stonecrop and Saskatoon berry. We looked for Clarkia in nearby Biggs Park without much luck but came across a chocolate lily that had completely yellow flower. 

The birds seen included Osprey, Black Oystercatchers, Belted Kingfisher, Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, Willow Flycatcher, Orange-crowned Warbler, Bewick’s Wren, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, White-crowned and Song Sparrows, Northern Flicker, Great Blue Herons, Pigeon Guillemots, Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants and Surf Scoters.

The day started out cloudy but the afternoon was sunny and we had a nice trip back although the two hour sail through Georgia Strait was not too exciting – not much to see except a few fishing boats - all in one small area, a couple of tugboats and barges and two gulls on log.