We meet at the Ballpark in Gillies Bay at 10:00am
Last week we hiked on the high ground in the Bobs Lake area to please the hikers who were keen on gathering some early edible mushrooms. There were very few fungi of any kind to be seen anywhere, but a few small fresh boletes were spotted and picked. The weather was dull and overcast and a strong south-east wind was noticeable in open areas. For lunch we just sat beside a small creek and then afterwards visited an attractive but tiny lake on a side road.
This is the time of year when the geese are heading south in high-flying flocks that are often heard from quite a long distance away. Some people are not aware that the flocks we see and hear are not all just Canada Geese. There are in fact two other species coming over on fall migration and I managed to photograph a flock of about one hundred Snow Geese when we stopped for lunch on a beach on the midweek hike. You usually need binoculars to see their distinctive black wingtips and white bodies, but listen carefully and you can tell them from the Canadas by their higher pitched calls. The third and much less common species are the White-fronted Geese. From time to time there are a few individuals of these two species that choose to stop and rest and feed in open areas in Gillies Bay and I've attached photos of them to earlier hike emails. The one species of geese that don't usually migrate along the coast in the fall are the Black Brant. Most of them take a shortcut from Alaska to Mexico by flying south on a route far out over the Pacific Ocean.
JD.
PS You can view many of my older hike emails by going to this website:—
You can pass this web address to friends who are not on the mailing list.
Snow Geese crossing Mouat Bay and heading south to the Lower Mainland for the winter.
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