Winter jellies wiggle in the woods

Island Wild for Fri. Feb. 26, 2010






Witches’ Butter is an irregular lobed mass of golden jelly.

Resembling amethyst, this Purple Jelly disc fungus grows alongside the Campbell River. Photos Christine Scott.

Most children love Jell-O and other gelatinous desserts. This jiggly treat almost dances on the plate, and since its launch in 1902, J-E-L-L-O has been a family favourite.

Colourful jellies can also be found in the forest. Just the concept of finding wiggly jellies out-of-doors is enough to send folks rushing out on nature trails, with the young ones singing “J-E-L-L-Y” in that familiar rising five-note theme.

Jelly fungi are simply mushrooms with a different texture, and colours that span the entire rainbow. Not all mushrooms have gills; jelly mushrooms resemble their food counterpart, but have no stem, gills or visible pores. But as with other mushrooms, jelly fungi lack chlorophyll, feed on organic matter, and reproduce through spores.

A jelly-like consistency defines them when wet, but they can dry up and turn rubbery and convoluted. When it rains, these magical little jellies slurp up the water, and take back their original soft, wiggly shapes.

Alongside the Campbell River, we found half-a-dozen clumps of bright orange jelly fungus, little purple disc jellies, and white jelly tooth. These strange fungi can appear on a tree branch, a bed of moss or rotting tree trunk.

When a bright purple blob on some dead wood caught my eye, we were thrilled to discover the Purple Jelly disc fungus (Ascocoryne sarcoides), a species that very much resembles the gemstone amethyst.

Arguably the most conspicuous and common jelly fungus, Witches’ Butter (Tremella mesenterica), is a jiggler of many names, including Yellow Brain Fungus, or Golden Jelly Fungus. An edible, year-round find, this species prefers to grow on deciduous wood, especially alder, and varies in colour from orange to yellow to almost red when dry.

A similar species, Orange Jelly (Dacrymyces palmatus), also forms a brain-like, lobed mass, but with a white basal attachment. This edible species grows year-round, but prefers coniferous wood.

In some countries, jellied mushrooms are harvested, powdered, and sold as medicine or soup flavouring. Researchers believe Pig’s Ear (Wood Ear) jelly mushroom (Auricularia auricula) may contain anti-cancer properties.

Some –not all – jelly fungi are edible, but very few are toxic. Nevertheless, always teach little ones to be suspicious of mushrooms; the childhood habit of nibbling on things in the outdoors could be disastrous if the ‘things’ turn out to be toxic mushrooms. Always wash hands thoroughly after touching wild mushrooms.

Mushrooming is a wonderful family activity, and finding a spoonful of marmalade on a tree branch is pure fun. Until the spring wildflowers begin blooming, our woodland jellies await discovery in all their jiggly glory.

Island’s Bigleaf Maple enjoys sweet success

Island Wild for Fri. Feb. 19, 2010

Collecting maple sap is a simple process.


As Canada celebrated Olympic gold last Sunday, Vancouver Island’s biggest maple garnered its own awards at Duncan’s Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival. Sweet liquid gold literally flowed from the podium, as local producers offered samples and vied for prizes.

Hosted each February, “maplefest” showcases food items produced by ‘The Sapsuckers’ – an island-based group of maple tappers. A taste-test of local syrups revealed yummy elixirs ranging in colour from black to light amber, with a flavour reminiscent of butterscotch.

Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) is the largest and most common maple in the Pacific Northwest. Tapping begins once the leaves are off the tree in November and continues until buds are about to open in early March, but flows are normally sweetest in January and February.

Sap is boiled down to produce some of Canada’s most unique maple syrup. Over the past few years, local syrup production has become a burgeoning industry, with more ‘tappers’ involved every season in Vancouver Island’s newest cottage industry.

There’s good reason for this sweet success. Pure Canadian maple syrup has more calcium than milk by volume and more potassium than bananas by weight. It contains amino acids, vitamins and many trace minerals and – best of all – has fewer calories than sugar, honey or molasses.

Maple sap is 98 percent water and must be evaporated to reduce it to syrup. Large batches are boiled down outdoors, using wood or propane heat, to allow steam to dissipate.

Gary Backlund, co-author of the Bigleaf Sugaring guidebook, says West Coast maple sap contains less sugar than maples in eastern provinces, but the end result is a more concentrated flavour from the extra sap.

Trunk size and tree age are no guarantee of sap quantity. Limbs as thin as 10 to 45 cm have successfully been tapped, while overgrown, gnarly old trees are poor producers.

Tapping for sap simply involves drilling a hole, plugging in a tap (spile) and collecting. Sap (a.k.a. maple water) can be used raw in place of water for cooking and beverages – hot maple-mint tea is divine.

Long considered a garbage tree of little commercial value, Bigleaf Maple is now treasured for non-timber forest food production.

The future seems secure for distinctly-flavoured western maple syrup, and for value-added items like maple-cranberry-apple jam, honey maple mustard, maple vinaigrette, caramelized maple popcorn and even maple wine.

Bigleaf Sugaring guidebook (blmaple@shaw.ca), or (250) 245-4939. Find West Coast maple syrup production info online at: members.shaw.ca/blmaple or at: bcforestmuseum.com. Also: woodlot.bc.ca/agroforestry.

CONGRATULATIONS: Campbell River placed second in B.C. for most species seen, at 71, in last weekend’s Great Backyard Bird Count. Victoria topped the province with 101 species. E-mail Christine at: wildernesswest@shaw.ca.

Meet high speed racers and songbird chasers.

Island Wild for February 12, 2010.


This three-year-old Bald Eagle is just beginning to show adult colouration, such as white tail feathers. Photo Jim Dubois.

It’s eagle time again in Rivercity. Love is in the air as the bald eagles renew their pair bonds, repair their nests and begin mating season. This time-honoured ritual takes place every year around Valentine’s Day ... and everyone can celebrate with the eagles.
‘Eaglefest’ – Campbell River’s annual feather festival –set for Saturday, February 20, draws hundreds of bird-lovers intent on taking a close-up look at the objects of their affection. It’s where people meet the birds and birds pose pretty for all the nice people.
We’re talking really big birds here – the avian kingdom’s high speed racers and songbird chasers. This is a once-a-year opportunity to see live birds of prey (raptors) for viewing and photographs. All under one roof (with their handlers), a live hawk, barred owl, burrowing owl and eagle will show off their stunning feathers, beaks and claws.
Just about every local raptor-ous organization will attend. Pacific Northwest Raptors from Duncan returns this year with a flying demonstration of one of their birds of prey, and “Harrison” the mascot will fly in from the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival.
Marvel at the size of a mounted snowy owl and other life-like wildlife species in Steve Howard’s extensive taxidermy display. All manner of educational exhibits turn Eaglefest into a day at the bird zoo.
On hand to talk about what interests us most – BIRDS – will be Dr. Rob Butler, well known author, conservationist and ornithologist, and Vancouver Island birder Guy Monte (Brant Monitoring Project). Experts galore will be on hand to answer your questions.
New this year is an Eaglefest photo contest, sponsored by Photo Tech fotosource, with prizes for youth and adults in two categories - Vancouver Island Wildlife and Vancouver Island Birds. Deadline is tomorrow (Saturday, February 13); $10 entry fee includes your 8x10 mounted photo. Contact 250-286-1233 or email phototech@fotosource .com.
This annual fundraiser for Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society guarantees a wild and wonderful day for all ages. Plan to attend and help support bird rescue and wildlife rehabilitation by the good people at MARS.
EAGLEFEST: Saturday, February 20. 10am – 3:30 pm. Admission $5 single/$10 family. Memberships sold at door. Maritime Heritage Centre (Discovery Pier). For more information, contact MARS at (250) 337-2021 or visit their website: www.wingtips.org.

A weekend dedicated...to the birds we love

Island Wild for February 5, 2010







Nature and birds. If you love them, mark next weekend on the calendar. The 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is just one week away. For four wonderful days (Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15), we can all sit back and admire the feathered objects of our affection.

Practice makes perfect, and the birds in backyards this week will likely still be there next weekend. Sharpening up those bird ID skills is a fun way to spend the week leading up to February’s birdcount, and there’s no better time to take a closer look, and write their names down.

Bird watchers of all ages and abilities may participate in this free four-day event by counting local birds in backyards and parks, or down by the shore. A good place to start is by checking out the GBBC website (www.birdsource.org/gbbc). This comprehensive and educational site features an online bird guide, a section on tricky IDs and bird-feeding tips.

A complete ‘British Columbia – coastal checklist’ of local birds may be printed from the website. Then learn how to distinguish one “little brown bird” from another by clicking on ‘Learn about birds.’

Avian populations are always shifting and changing due to habitat loss, climate change, disease, or other factors. So scientists count on birdwatchers for an overall “snapshot” of North America’s mid-winter birds.

Birdcount results help researchers at Cornell’s Ornithology Lab and National Audubon Society learn where the winter birds are, how they’re doing—and how to protect them.

Every participant’s submission will be entered into a draw for nature prizes, including bird feeders, binoculars, books, and CDs. Photo buffs can try their luck in the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count.

Even if you can only ID a few species, taking part is a fun way to get family, friends, students and nature groups involved, and help birds—all at the same time. And birdcounts present a wonderful opportunity to learn a few more.

Counting birds is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Simply observe for at least 15 minutes on one or more days during the event, keeping a separate list of birds for each day.

For each type of bird you see, count the most you see at any one time (to make sure you don’t accidentally count the same bird twice). Then enter your results online at www.birdcount.org/gbbc and check the provincial map to watch your community’s progress.

Last year, birders in 142 British Columbia communities participated, recording a whopping 193 different species. B.C. also earned a spot in the coveted North American Top Ten – the only Canadian province to do so. For more information, visit www.birdcount.org.

BACKYARD BIRD POSTER: Now at Courtenay’s Laughing Oyster, Campbell River Museum’s giftshop, and Coho Books. E-mail: wildernesswest@shaw.ca.

Great weather for ducks

Island Wild for Fri. January 29, 2010

The male Green-winged Teal sports a cinnamon-coloured head with a shimmering emerald ear patch. Photo Jim Dubois.
It’s been a long, wet winter, and a common greeting on the streets these days is: “Great weather for ducks, eh?” In truth, it’s an accurate assessment. This time of year, the waterfront is flooded with about 40 different species of waterfowl and shorebirds ... just waiting to be discovered.
So many birds make our local offshore waters their winter home that it’s a virtual smorgasbord of wet feathered delights. February’s increase in daylight makes any rainless day a great time to grab binoculars and head down to the shore.
Gulls are challenging, with at least eight different species, leaving ducks as the easiest waterfowl to learn. Mallards win the trophy as the area’s most common dabbling duck, easily seen on any river, pond or shore. The male’s iridescent green head and chestnut breast are unique, while females are a drab brown – like most female ducks.
Three species of teal may be found locally on occasion, but normally, only the Green-winged is common here in winter. These smallest of the puddle ducks, 38-41 cm (15-16 in.) bring stunning colour to our grey winter waters. The male Green-winged Teal sports a cinnamon-coloured head with a shimmering emerald ear patch, along with a green ‘speculum’ (trailing edge of secondary feathers). A grand total of 48 Green-winged Teal were counted during Campbell River’s 2009 Christmas Bird Count.
Another duck worth knowing is the elegant, long-necked Northern Pintail. Almost twice as large as a teal, the pintail grows to about 66 cm (26 in). A winter visitor, the Northern Pintail features a pointed, pin-like tail (thus the name). The male’s chestnut-coloured head features a bold white line extending up from the white neck.
Day after day, rain or shine, cormorants stand their ground on offshore boulders, dive for small fish, or hitch a ride on floating logs. Identification is challenging, as slight size and colour variations exist between three West Coast cormorant species (Pelagic, Brandt’s and Double-crested). These large, dark seabirds often stand upright, holding their wings out to dry; cormorants lack the waterproofing found in most seabirds.
Other common waterfowl in local waters include shoveler, gadwall, wigeon, the colourful harlequin, little bufflehead and merganser. Scaup and scoters usually swim a bit further offshore. Oystercatchers can occasionally be seen at Rotary Park.

Indian Plum a late winter bloomer

Island Wild Jan. 22, 2010

Indian Plum (Osoberry) is among the first wild plants to leaf out and flower in early springtime. Photo Christine Scott.

"Plum blossoms soften a stone wall, and give warmth to the moon." (Tony Black Feather, 1934-2004).

Nothing says spring like the first wild blooms on our native plants. Although the familiar hot-pink Salmonberry is well-known to Pacific Northwest residents, another early indigenous fruit shrub recently caught my attention.

Indian Plum (Osoberry) is among the first wild plants to leaf out and flower in early springtime, and it’s a beauty, both in floral delight and for its multi-coloured, edible little plums. Delicate white bell-shaped flowers with five little petals hang in pendant clusters from reddish-brown branches bearing long pale-green leaves with a cucumber scent.

Oemleria cerasiformis, a shrub native to the Pacific coast, grows on Vancouver Island; it’s known to grow naturally as far north as Comox but was once successfully transplanted at Sayward. Gardeners would do well to find and cultivate this wild shrub, which attains a height of 1.5 to 5 metres.

Indian Plum is already leafing out on the Lower Mainland, with blossoms rushing out almost before the leaves. How precious those first fresh greens must have been to First Nations groups, who ate the cucumber-flavoured leaves, the ripe fruit, and tea made of the bark.

One to five little plums – about 1 cm long – grow per cluster. Ever resourceful, aboriginal peoples also dried the fruit for winter use, although a taste-test last summer revealed it to be slightly bitter – but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a little honey.

Bees and hummingbirds relish Indian Plum’s early nectar, and birds ravenously attack the fruit. For people, however, it’s only safe to eat in small quantities; indeed, only a thin layer of flesh is available, along with one large pit.

A member of the Rosaceae family, this deciduous shrub does a triple-header, offering blooms in late winter, tiny plums in summer and early yellow leaves by mid-summer.

Indian Plum – a perennial – grows in moist, humus-rich soil in part-shade, from ripe seeds or greenwood cuttings, and suckers may be transplanted in the dormant season. The flowers are ‘dioecious’ (individual plants are either male or female, so both are needed for pollination.

This is one shrub well worth seeking out at a native plant nursery for backyard wildlife habitat or native plant restoration purposes.

Forests present a winter cone-undrum

Island Wild for Fri. Jan. 15, 2010

Western Redcedar cones resemble a small wooden flower. Photo Karalyn Hubbard.

Winter woodlands are chock-full of cones, but not the creamy summertime treats. Forest cones –dry, scaly, and brown – (botanically referred to as strobili, single strobilus) are organs on conifer plants containing the reproductive structures.

Cone-bearing trees developed on earth about 300 million years ago, making conifers some of the most successful plants in the world. A conifer is a category of evergreen tree with needle-like leaves (Sitka spruce, pines, firs, hemlocks) or scale-like leaves (cedar and juniper).

The term “pinecone” is often used to describe any species of cone, but it’s more accurate to include the tree’s name (spruce cone, Douglas-fir cone, cedar cone, hemlock cone, etc.).

Conifer trees bear both male and female cones – usually on the same plant. The more recognizable woody cones (females) produce seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, look very different and may be difficult to see. Always the clever one, Mother Nature positioned the female cones on the higher branches, a configuration thought to improve chances of cross-fertilization.

Although cones may be brown, dry and common, they are far from boring. Complex factors lead to remarkable variations in size, shape, and colour. Cones can be tiny or huge, and cylindrical, egg- or cone-shaped. Together with needles and bark, cones help identify different conifer tree species.

The term ‘scale’ doesn’t usually conjure up images of pine cones, but all conifer cones have scales. Many species have overlapping scales (individual plates) spirally-arranged in one of nature’s most beautiful configurations. Some cones close their scales when wet and open when dry, over and over again, a mechanism that assures seed dispersal by wind in dry weather.

Children love to collect pine cones – and the more different species they can find, the better. Cones are not perishable, so they can decorate a child’s shelf forever, and when the novelty of the cone wanes, they can be tossed to the backyard birds.

You don’t have to be a conehead to appreciate cones, and cone-hunts should be on the agenda for all winter family outings. Mid-winter is a great time for a woodland walk in search of cones, and it’s not difficult to find half a dozen different kinds on most nature trails.

Photo source: http://karalynhubbardphotography.blogspot.com.

New Year’s facelift underway for Oyster River trail

Island Wild for Fri. Jan. 8, 2010

Vancouver Island’s only native squirrel, the Red Squirrel must increasingly compete with the imported Gray Squirrel.

Some nature parks lose their lustre in the coldest months, with deciduous trees bereft of foliage, wildflowers absent, and many woodland critters snoozing in their dens.
One noteworthy exception is Oyster River Nature Park, one of the area’s premiere winter destinations, where trees reach up to touch the sky. A bevy of animals including Red Squirrels, Coastal Black-tailed Deer and Little Brown Bats make this forest their home.
This dense five hectare (12 acre) wedge of old- and second-growth forest nestles between the Oyster River (near its estuary), the Strait of Georgia and the former UBC farmlands. One of the area’s most charming sandy beaches is located just a short stroll from the park trailhead.
Major changes are underway for the popular park, located midway between Campbell River and Courtenay. Better trailhead signage, more interpretive information and new cedar fencing will all enhance visitor enjoyment of the park, which already attracts about a hundred users daily, says Peter Woods, Parks Coordinator, Strathcona Regional District.
“These trails are suitable for all demographics,” says Woods, noting that families, joggers, seniors and dog-walkers all seem to enjoy Oyster River park.
One improvement already in place is a new wooden footbridge over the old channel – an amenity that turned a popular pathway into a loop trail – always a desirable option for users. The park’s woodland, heavily logged 60-70 years ago, still boasts impressive specimens of old-growth Douglas-fir and Bigleaf Maple.

Photo buffs will find dozens of winter nature subjects alongside the four major trails within this park. Mosses and lichens become shining delights when no leaves mask their beauty; rows of pores on coppery cherry bark resemble amber jewels; Rattlesnake Plantain orchid leaves look vivid in striped white and green.
A daytime nature walk may include a peek at the wild Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) – the only squirrel native to Vancouver Island. These shy charmers are active by day, even in cold weather, foraging primarily on seeds and cones.
The smaller ‘Red’ averaging 230 grams, must now expend energy to defend its territory against the Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) – an introduced species twice its size – which continues a troubling northward expansion on Vancouver Island. The Red Squirrel is protected as a furbearer under the BC Wildlife Act (Yellow-listed).
Oyster River Nature Park falls within the jurisdiction of Strathcona Regional District, maintained under the stewardship of Oyster River Enhancement Society.
Check out the improvements at Oyster River Nature Park. From the Old Island Highway, take Regent Road east to the parking area, located across from the Glenmore Road intersection.