Saturday April 11 2009

Spring is here. Flowering Current Bush

A very rare Green Winged Pink Breasted Dicky Bird

Our first fish of the year.

Sculpin.

Today was another great day out and about. We went up into the mountains to Swan Lake for a walk. We checked our fish box and got our first fish of the year: a Sculpin. This proved to be quite entertaining as all the young folk crowded around the box as Cynthia tried to net the Sculpin. After many attempts, very fast at the evasive manoeuvres, she managed to net it [see pic] long enough for a quick picture then released it back into the creek.

Temperature was 7c , a little cold for the fish to be moving downstream yet. We will be checking the box every few days from now on, then every day once the fish start to move. On the way back down we stopped in the gravel pit to check on the Hog Weed. We have a small patch which over the years we have tried every non toxic method to be rid of it, Salt and vinegar seems to knock it down but it soon grows back. This year we will try the tiger torch to burn it down to the roots before it gets going again.

After coffee we stopped to check a report of fill being dumped over the bank into Nanoose Creek by the Island Hwy bridge. This turned out to be erosion from the upland hill where several trees had fallen over and unravelled the slope exposing fresh soils. Next week while we still have time we will build a Willow spilling wall along the base to catch the soils before they reach the creek then next fall plant some trees in the face of the slope to help stabilize it. 

I forgot to mention Roy returned from Maui today, to the disappointment of all the volunteers he did not wear his grass hula skirt he acquired while there.