We meet at the Ballpark at Gillies Bay at 10:00am.
Last week we decided to explore a new route for hiking that would start from Pocahontas Bay and head east along the old Pocahontas Main logging road to where a new logging road branches off into an extensive cutblock. Eventually after passing through many hectares of fresh slash this road drops down and swings shaply to the left ending close enough to the beach to hear the waves beyond a thick stand of trees. We soon found a deer trail that made it fairly easy to get past piles of branches and debris into the welcome shade of an old growth forest. From there on down to the beach was easy going with open forest floor in every direction. From the beach logs where we sat for lunch the view of the mainland side was quite extensive and we have named the spot Tower View Beach as the tall, white Stillwater Hydro Station surge tower was prominent on the far side of the strait.
My photo this week is a lucky shot of a small grasshopper that posed for me on a stone at the road side. As far as I can tell it's a Red-legged Grasshopper in the genus Melanoplus, perhaps M. femurrubrum. I understand it takes a grasshopper expert to identify most kinds of grasshoppers, but mine fits a photo I found on www.bugguide.net. What amazing patterns you find these insects have on their bodies when you get close enough to the insect to see them.
JD.
A Red-legged Grasshopper at the roadside near Pocahontas Bay.
No comments:
Post a Comment