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.