We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am.
Last week we hiked up through the forest to a viewpoint near the top of Black Mountain. This mountain has steep sides, is rounded at the top and almost entirely covered by mature forest. However, on the south side there are some small open spots which offer great views over Malaspina Strait to the Sunshine Coast and beyond. While it was a nice sunny day on Texada there was too much cloud over the Lower Mainland area to allow us to see the more distant Mt. Baker in Washington State.
On the way back to the vehicles we spotted an early butterfly species that I have never seen before and while it was very skittish it did pause long enough on the road gravel to allow me to get a good shot of it. The zig-zag pattern on the underside of the hind wings is so distinctive I was able to track it down quickly and identify it as a Western Pine Elfin. This is a common species in most parts of North America, but fairly rare west of the Cascades which explains why I probably did not see one before. They lay eggs on pine trees for the young to feed on the needles and the adults visit a variety of wild flowers for nectar.
JD.
A very frisky butterfly called the Western Pine Elfin on a logging road near Black Mountain.
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