langley field naturalistsreproduces is to send up a large number of shoots. as this is considered an...

Margaret Cuthbert with Al Grass and Anthea FarrPhoto: Sheila Puls

Saturday July 29th 10am to 4pm rain or shine

SUMMER SOCIAL AND NATURE WALKS At the GRASS SHACK, 17375 27A Avenue, Surrey

Bird watching in the backyard, and/or a guided walk at 10:30 am & 1:30 pm

Bring a chair, binoculars & camera and savory or sweet to share - let Jude know what you are bringing so we have a good variety.

Please RSVP to Jude at [email protected] or 604-538-8774I will send out instruction for finding the Grass Shack when you RSVP

Langley Field Naturalistsc/o Secretary, 203-9018 208th Street, Langley, BC, V1M 2Y8

www.langleyfieldnaturalists.org e-mail: [email protected] Newsletter June 2017

At the May meeting of Langley Field Naturalists,Marg Cuthbert, Education Chair of BC Nature,presented a certificate to Al Grass in recognitionas “Naturalist Mentor of Distinction”. A similarcertificate had been presented to Anthea Farr atthe BC Nature meeting in Lillooet earlier in themonth. Congratulations to both of these hardworking, knowledgeable naturalists who arealways so willing to share their knowledge. Weare honoured to have them as members ofLangley Field Naturalists.

The Mad Hatter and the

White Rabbitinvite you to

“The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party”

Thursday June 15th

immediately following the

Annual General Meeting

Prize for the best hat

Please bring finger food to share

NOTE: In light of the BC Nature increase in membership fee by $2, at our AGM we will bevoting to raise the LFN membership fees to $32/single, $37/family as of September 1st.

To encourage nature appreciation, conservation and education

Langley Field Naturalists’ Newsletter - 1 - June 2017

LANGLEY FIELD NATURALISTS 2016-2017 DIRECTORS

President: Bob Puls604-856-7534 ~ [email protected]

Vice President:

Past President: Jude Grass604-538-8774 ~ [email protected]

Secretary: Joan Taylor (Assist: Nora Truman)604-868-6417 ~ [email protected]

Treasurer: Ian Taylor604-868-0107 ~ [email protected]

Conservation: Bob Puls604-856-7534 ~ [email protected]

Membership: Sheila Puls& Newsletter 604-856-7534 ~ [email protected]

Programmes: Jude Grass604-538-8774 ~ [email protected]

Field Trips: Gareth Pugh604-576-6831 ~ [email protected]

Publicity: Lilianne Fuller604-533-0638 [email protected]

FBCN Director: Kathy Masse604-513-8927 ~ [email protected]

Webmaster: Lisa Dreves/Joan Taylor

REPRESENTATIVES & CONVENORSHistorian & Toots TuckerLibrarian: 604-532-6398 ~ [email protected]

Greeters: Rebecca Tin Tun/Helen Thompson

Refreshments: Cecily Isler / Monica Newman604-514-9697 ~ [email protected]

Forslund-Watson: Ryan Usenik604-530-3257~ [email protected]

Campbell Valley Park Association: Jude Grass604-538-8774 ~ [email protected]

Derby Reach Brae Island: Anne Gosse604-888-1787 ~ [email protected]

Nature Kids Anthea Farr 604-576-7731 [email protected]

Member Participation Committee: Joanne Rosenthal604-455-0116 ~ [email protected]

Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month from September to June, starting at 7.15 pm

at the Langley Community Music School, 4899 207 St. Langley

Executive meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month Sept - June

at the LEPS office or at Executive members’ homes.

PRESIDENT'S

MESSAGE

The Lillooet Naturalists put on a great SpringMeeting for BC Nature. You can see reports ofthe meeting and field trips in this newsletter,with a presentation on the research conductedinto the Fisher and Wolverine populations ofthe area being particular highlights.

Back in Langley, conservation continues to takeup most of my time. I attended the City ofLangley open house for the development of theland under the hydro right-of-way this week. The LFN have been asked for suggestions forthis site in the past and haven't had much tosay. The options presented by the interestedparties seem to provide a fairly completecoverage of the hydro right-of-way, but includea walking trail. Parking for vehicles was a bigconcern. My comments were to please maintaina wildlife corridor. I am concerned that if theyleave enough cover for birds and mammalsthey are going to have a nightmare protectingtheir crops from predators such as deer, rabbitsand raccoons which will make fencinginevitable and perhaps prevent wildlifemovement altogether.

The Trans-Mountain / Kinder Morgan Pipelineis still a concern and I have been invited to jointhe SRES in meeting with MP John Aldag todayto hopefully clarify DFO's role in theconstruction should it go ahead.

I am pleased that a young (teenager)ornithologist has volunteered to do regular birdcounts at our Forslund/Watson Wildlife Area.Last week he and his brother identified 51species on site and have been seeing specieswe have not recorded in the past. Hopefullythey will be able to join us at some of ourregular meetings.

Congratulations to Anthea and Al for beingacknowledged by BC Nature as NaturalistMentors of Distinction.

Bob


Another wet walk Photo: Bob Puls

Checking the pond Photo: Anthea Farr

8TH AVENUE TRAIL FIELD TRIP REPORT

FRIDAY MARCH 3RD 2017;

This is the third umbrella trip in a row that I haveled!

Today's trip was an LFN introductory Field Tripto the trail and due to the continuous rain, onlyGareth, Tom and Al Grass turned up. BillBurgey met us at his property which borders thetrail. Due to the rain, rather than walk from myhouse, we drove to the trail head in Tom's carwhere we met Bill.

Bill (also an LFN member) accompanied us asfar as the second bridge at which point we weresuitably cold and wet and returned homewards.

Bill showed us around some of the trails on hisproperty which we are welcome to use anddescribed some of the geology of the areawhich includes Kames and Kettles left over fromthe ice age. The gravel deposits throughout thisarea were deposited by glaciers and not by riveraction.

We found some BUM's (brown unidentifiedmushrooms) which I think were Cortinariusvibratilis. Very few birds showed themselves,but on return we saw a pair of HoodedMergansers on the pond at the corner of 8thand 256th so I decided to post an eBird entryafter all.

Bob Puls

FORSLUND WATSON NATURE

RESERVE

SATURDAY APRIL 22ND 2017

On Saturday April 22 (Earth Day), twelve LFN

members and one guest participated in anature walk at Forslund Watson NatureReserve. With the weather man’s cooperation,participants observed nature around the twoDucks Unlimited ponds, the raptor meadow andthe treed corridor where there are several fruittrees. Because of the time of year, severalflowering trees were observed. The new vernal pond is continuing to showmore natural life, but no frog egg masses havebeen observed so far this year. There wassome discussion re further things we could doto hopefully attract more frogs to the vernalpond.

A platform has been erected below the bathouse but it did not reveal that the box hadbeen occupied this past week. As is reported inthis Newsletter, last year the south coast batmonitoring project revealed significantly morebat species in the area than were expected.

36 species of birds were recorded by thebirders. It was the first time the EurasianCollared Dove was recorded at FLW.

The group viewed a large number of new TreeOf Heaven shoots. It was determined that amature Tree of Heaven had blown over acouple of years ago. Apparently when a Tree ofHeaven is up-rooted, one of the ways itreproduces is to send up a large number ofshoots. As this is considered an invasivespecies, discussion was held re the eradicationof it from FLW.

Another walk will probably be held in midsummer.

Ryan Usenik


Ring-necked Duck Photo: Al Grass

Peregrine Falcom Photo: Bob Puls

American Wigeon Photo: Al Grass

Scarlet Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) Photo: Bob Puls

CHEAM LAKE

FRIDAY MARCH 17TH 2017

This is a lovely setting with Mount Cheamdominating the mountain scenery. The weatherwas cloudy and cool but refreshing. We walkedthe main trail taking us past the Lagoon on oneside, the lake on the other, and forward into thewoods. From the bridge over the pond, we hadclear views of the Alga (Chara sp.) which lookscoral-like.

The birds of the day included Eurasian Wigeon,Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, HoodedMerganser (12!), Common Merganser,Trumpeter Swans (40), Gadwall, Downy andHairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker. TheDouble-Crested Cormorant was a nice surprise.

Passerines included the expected sparrows,chickadee, and Pine Siskins. Later JohnGordon took us to the Quarry at the base ofSumas Mountain where we saw two PeregrineFalcons. John told us this site has a large CliffSwallow colony and in Summer Rock Wrenshave been seen (thank you John).

Al Grass

SEMIAHMOO FISH AND GAME CLUB

NATURE TRAIL WALK

SATURDAY MARCH 25TH 2017

The weather was cloudy and cool as wegathered at this lovely site. We first noted apair of Hooded Mergansers in the river. Ourguide, Roy Thomson of the Semiahmoo Fishand Club, guided us along the trail (which issigned naming the plants along the way. Thisexcellent resource was a project of MargCuthbert of the Friends of Semiahmoo BaySociety).

Bird highlights included Red-breastedSapsucker; drumming and sign; Red-tailedHawk active nest; Bald Eagle, Purple Finch(singing), Northern Flicker, Spotted Towhee,Brown Creeper (2 – good views); PileatedWoodpecker (sign); Anna's Hummingbird (lotsof flowers for the birds); Mallard, AmericanWigeon, and Canada Goose. There werescarlet cup fungus - one of the beauties ofspring - and a mink! Thanks to Roy, who alsogave us an excellent account of the work of theSFGC.

Al Grass


South Coast Bat Conservation Society Bat research, conversation and education

April: The South Coast Bat Conservation Society (SCBats) conducted a batinventory at Forslund Watson Nature Reserve for the North American BatMonitoring Program (NABat). This report provides a summary of findings from 2016 monitoring.

One ultrasonic bioacoustics recording device (Wildlife Acoustics™ SM2Bat) was deployed alongthe woodland edge 450m west of the pond (UTM zone 10U 529965 easting and 5433356 northing).Recordings were made between sunset and sunrise on 10 June through 18 June. Bat identificationwas made from acoustic recordings by a professional biologist trained in bat acoustic analysisusing the software AnaLook developed by Titley Electronics.

Seven bat species were identified at the reserve. One species detected, the little brown myotis(Myotis lucifugus), is listed under Schedule I of the Species at Risk Act. Although this speciesremains abundant in British Columbia, severe population declines from the emerging diseaseWhite-Nose Syndrome (WNS) are anticipated within the next decade. One species not native toBritish Columbia was also detected, the Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). This fast,high-flying species appears to be extending it’s range northward from the United States.

Table 1: Species Detected at Forslund Watson Nature Reserve, 2016 Species (Scientific name) Activity Species-at-risk Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) High No Silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) Medium No Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) Low No Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis) Low No California Myotis (Myotis californicus) Low No Little brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) Medium SARA Endangered Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) High No

SCBats is committed to the bat research, conservation, and education in British Columbia. Wesincerely appreciate the opportunity to work with Langley Field Naturalists on bat conservation. Welook forward to working with you again in 2017.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

Felix Martinez-Nuñez,SCBats Chair [email protected] 604-657-0973

Patrick Burke SCBats Treasurer [email protected] 778-288-3420

Note: Another survey will be completedthis year.


DIRECTORS' 2017 MEETING

AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

LILLOOET, BC, MAY 4TH TO MAY 7TH

Directors' Meeting: We arrived in Lillooet onMay 4th, a beautiful warm day, and picked upour registration forms at Fort Berens EstateWinery. After enjoying the scenery at thewinery, I headed to the Directors' Meeting at theLillooet Recreation Centre. I always enjoyre-uniting with club directors from all over theprovince to share stories and concerns. Themain purpose, of course, is to attend toimportant BC Nature business.

President Alan Burger gave his report, referringus to the AGM booklet, but he wanted tohighlight a few items such as the work done byBC Nature to amend our by-laws to conform tothe new Societies Act. The issue of raisingmembership fees for clubs will be discussed atthe meeting and voted on at the AGM. Restricted funds have now become available forfunding club projects, such as wildlife youthprograms and nature brochures. The upcomingFall General Meeting will be in Vernon inSeptember, the next AGM will be hosted byNature Vancouver at UBC in May 2018.

Treasurer Reda Akladios, who could not be atthe meeting, shared his December 31st, 2016Financial Statements with us over the internet. He emphasized how our income is down fromprevious years because of less revenue fromBC Nature camps and lower charitabledonations. The need for a raise in fees isconfirmed when we look at these numbers. Wevoted and approved the motion to raise BCmembership dues. Under the guidance of Kees Visser, we voted toaccept BC Nature's new Vice President VirginiaRasch from Cranbrook. We also voted infavour of Vivian Birch-Jones and Susan Thorneto jointly hold the position of Secretary for aperiod of two years.

Past-President Kees Visser went over thechanges that the Bylaws Sub-committee hadalready corrected, mostly with wording. ButKees had found even more wording that eitherhad to be deleted or re-worded. After thesefurther amendments, Kees would bring forwardall amendments to the AGM for a vote.

Education committee leader referred us to herwritten report but wanted to highlight the newNaturalists Mentors Award that will be given forthe first time this year. She wants clubs to beaware that they can nominate someone for thisnew ongoing award.

Heather Neville, Camps Committee chair, saidthat four camps for next year will be announcedin BC Nature's Winter magazine.

We were advised to read other reports such asOffice Updates, the Conservation Committee,Communications Committee and BC NaturalistFoundation in the AGM booklet. After a brief discussion of issues concerningclub concerns, the meeting was adjourned at7:00 pm.

Annual General Meeting: After a wonderfulFriday of amazing field trips and a Saturdaymorning of informative talks, BC Nature's AGMbegan at 1:00 pm at the Bridge River IndianBand headquarters. After a delicious lunchprovided by the Bridge River Band members,we were ready to sit down to a very full agenda.

The meeting opened with the introduction of BCNature's new Vice-President Virginia Raschfrom Cranbrook. President Alan Burger referred us to the AGMbooklet to read The President’s Report,Treasurer's report, the Office Report, theCommunications Committee, the Conservationscommittee and the annual reports from clubs. Briefly, the same issues as discussed at thedirectors' meeting were mentioned before amotion to accept all reports was called forapproval and passed.

Kees Visser, of the sub-committee dealing withthe new Societies Act, told us any new oramended bylaws can now be submittedelectronically and any new bylaws or


Seton River Spawning ChannelsWeb photo

amendments can now be approved at anygeneral meeting, not just the AGM. He thenexplained the changes to BC Nature’s bylawsand called for a vote on acceptance. Afterdiscussion of wording, the motion to accept waspassed.

Next was a discussion about raisingmembership fees for club members, required bythe $8,000 deficit from previous years. In 2015funds had to be moved from the contingencyfund to cover operating funds. After debateabout how much to raise fees, a motion to raisefees $2/membership was called and passed.

Next came the presentation, discussion andvoting on eight resolutions submitted by BCNature clubs. Seven of the resolutions afterdiscussion were passed after only slightamendments, including resolutions on roadsidevegetation management during nesting season,Fossil Heritage, Unencapsulated ExpandedPolystyrene used as flotation, BC Nature'sposition on climate change, re-instatement ofBC Rail service to Lillooet and beyond, properprovincial management for Lillooet Area trailsand finally solar power generation. The onlyresolution that was defeated concerned banningthe wolf kill, submitted by the Cowichan ValleyNaturalists. The discussion began with thepresentation of an emotional appeal by theCowichan club. Ensuing discussion involvedmany members noting the emotional words inthe resolution would ensure its defeat. Theresolution should be re-written more clearly,with less sentiment. Another suggestion was tobreak the resolution into two: one resolutionconcerning the value of the wolves and asecond for the preservation and improvement ofCaribou habitat. This resolution, as it stood,went down to defeat.

Bob Peart, the incoming president of NatureCanada, spoke to us. His job is advocating onnational issues such as pipelines and, asalways, he will work with BC Nature. His maingoal is to get all Canadians outside, enjoyingand protecting nature.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 pm after thecompletion of a jam-packed agenda.

Kathy Masse

Early Morning Birding, Friday

Three groups met at 6 am on a cool overcastmorning. I was in a group led by BC NaturePresident Alan Burger, who took us to thespawning channels on the Seton River. Therewe walked the perimeter trail, hoping to findsome of the wide variety of summer visitors forwhich the area is famous. The channels are aman-made spawning stream managed by theSekwe'el First Nation. It was built as habitatcompensation to assist the reproduction of thelarge numbers of several species of salmon thatcome up from the Fraser River. First stop wasthe feeders behind the Splitrock Nursery at thebeginning of the trail, where Brown-headedCowbirds, Spotted Towhees and HouseFinches could be seen.

As we ambled along the trail, we sawYellow-rumped Warblers and Song Sparrowsbut could not find the hoped-for McGillivray'sWarbler. A Warbling Vireo posed for us and aNashville Warbler was heard singing in thedense bushes but refused to be enticed into theopen with bird calls. A Cooper's Hawk flew overus and obligingly perched on a hydro pole togive us great views in our Leader's scope. Wefound a pair of Harlequins in the channel andalso found two males scrapping over a femaleThen as we walked along the river dike, aRuffed Grouse was spotted as it darted into thebushes.

This was a veryenjoyable walk in anew location formost of us, eventhough the speciescount was low dueto the late springa n d t he coo lweather.

Gareth Pugh


Long-horned bee Photo: Anthea Farr

Wolf lichen Photo: Anthea Farr

BC NATURE AGM, LILLOOET

FIELD TRIPS

Xaxli'p Community Forest, Ethnobotany and Invasive Species

I had no intention of going on this trip, but theone I registered for was cancelled. Turned outI enjoyed it. Also turns out that all three items inthe title really are related. We were welcomedby Herman Alec, a Xaxli'p and Chair of theBoard of Directors for the community forest.Robin Strong, the forest manager, gave us anillustrated talk about the ontogeny and purposeof the forest and Jacquie Rasmussen talked tous about invasive plants. We were then servedlunch before going into the field.

I particularly liked the ‘map biographies'developed from interviews with elders that wereincorporated into forest planning to sustainplants with traditional uses into forest planningand management. We saw both examples ofthis management and efforts to control invasivespecies in the field. I found their forest plansound and discovered that burdock, particularlygiant or great burdock (Arctium lappa), entrapsbats, hummingbirds and songbirds. It was onlywhen I got home to the web checking what allspecies got caught that I discovered that Velcrowas developed by a Swiss engineer, tired ofpulling burdock seed heads from his dog's fur.Sticky, lethal Velcro.

Fred Bunnell

Fountain Ridge Hike

I had no idea this would be such a challenginghike, or that I was not in the shape I thought Iwas. A group of about 15 of us set off after ourleader, a relatively young man and avidmountain biker. The only times I saw him againwere at a rest stop (he'd been there for ageswaiting for us stragglers) and again at the lunchstop. The trail climbed up steeply andrelentlessly, with very few level parts. Pauseshad to be short as the mosquitoes soon caughtup. There were ticks too, but I think they wereall flung off before they had time to bite.

Adorning trees along the trail was theincredible, brilliant green wolf lichen. Also, theSaskatoon bushes were in fine form, ablazewith white blossoms. We were serenaded by aRed-breasted Nuthatch and saw numerousgrouse droppings. Corey found a bright redjumping spider. The view at the lunch stop wasa fine one, even though clouds obscured thepeaks. Coming back, we were fascinated towatch a snow avalanche flowing down a slopeacross the valley. The steep downhill sections were brutal on theknees of some of us (and yes, we older onesdid have trekking poles). It was a relief to reachthe open grassland and flowering balsamrootnear our cars. At that point, the sun came outand so did the bees and butterflies, includinglong-horned bees and a lovely orangetipbutterfly. That was the best part of the hike forme – just a few dozen meters from our car!

Anthea Farr


Out in the meadow Photo: Bob Puls

Selaginella wallacei (l) and S. densa (r) Photo: Bob Puls

Melissodes sp. Photo: Bob Puls

Wildflowers/Butterflies/St'at'ime Plants

The morning was cool and cloudy as 16 of usleft in four-wheel drive vehicles for the loggingroads east of the Bridge River, north of Lillooet.Candice Jack led us along restricted accessroads on her traditional territory where shepointed out which plants they harvested andhow they ate them. Eleanor Wright was ourLillooet naturalist leader and Odin Scholtz theexpert in all things natural. We first stopped ata small meadow at moderate elevation andexamined the flora and fauna on the site.

Butterflies were a bust for the day, it being toowindy and cool, but we saw lots of interestingplants and insects.

We then continued up the mountainside tovarious small ponds and meadows at increasingelevations. Intermittent showers had usswitching into rain gear now and again, but onthe whole it was pleasant weather.

Highlights for me were Barrow's Goldeneye onone pond with many Yellow-rumped Warblersflitting around, lots of lichens and mosses, inparticular the club-mosses Selaginella wallaceiand S. densa, which we rarely find in the lowermainland, as well as Hippuris vulgarisMare's-tail (similar to Horse-tail) growing in thewater. There were lots of insects feeding on theArrow-leaved balsamroot and dandelionflowers, most of which seemed to beMelissodes species of long-horned bees.

The most striking find was a Western Terrestrial(wandering) Garter snake about 30" long whichCandice greeted with a resounding First Nationsscream and a leap when it appeared out of ashrub close to her feet.

To cap off the trip as we descended from thehighlands, we saw a rainbow in the valleybelow.

Bob Puls


Pit house Photo: Joanne Rosenthal

Xwisten Fraser River FishingRocks & Archeology

My field trip in Lillooet was the "TraditionalFishing Rock and Archaeological Village Tour."Our guide was Ashley of the Xwisten or BridgeRiver Band. Her family is from the Bear Clan.

The tour began from a roadside view of thefishing grounds at the junction of the Bridge andFraser Rivers. The St'at'imc people (membersof the Lillooet Tribal Council) still use this areaevery summer to gather and wind dry salmonfor winter consumption. The traditional fishingpractises used include dip nets, gill nets anddrift nets.

We took a walk down a gravel trail to get acloser view of the area. Ashley answered ourmultitude of questions and described howSalmon are caught and dried on each family’sracks. The racks remain in place all year. Ittakes a lot of effort to construct them on therough, steep terrain. The racks must be set wellback from potential flood areas. Many rackswere lost during the 1997 flooding. How do thepeople know when to prepare for the fishing?Ashley told us "When the rosebuds bloom thesalmon are coming!" The hot, dry, and windysummer climate in the area is perfect for dryingthe salmon. Sockeye is the species used fordrying. The racks must be supervised allsummer to keep the black bears away.

One senior fellow in our group told us hismemories of seeing drying racks all along theFraser down to Boston Bar. He described it asa "sea of orange along the river". Sadly thereare only pockets of this activity left with natureand human impact on the rivers and streams.

The next part of our tour was at the extensivearchaeological site north of Lillooet. It containsthe remains of over 80 identified undergroundpit houses or S7istken. This site was thetraditional winter home of the St'at'imc people.Pit houses were built communally. A shallow pitwas dug and then a structure was made usingabout 150 layers of clay, boughs and leaves. Itwas supported by a series of poles. A chimneyhole with pole ladder was the main entrance. Asecond side opening was used by the elders,women and children. A typical pit house could

last 20 years. Then the poles were removedand the structure was burned to the ground. Anew house was constructed on top of the oldsite. At one of the excavation sites, over 17layers of old houses were discovered along withartifacts such as tools, fish bones and materialtraded with the Europeans. It was amazing tosee and walk through the area where thedepressions of about 30 pit houses remain. Thesite of the Chief’s house had tunnels connecting2 other houses and various cache pits. It wasstrategically situated to overlook the entirevillage. This village site was occupied forseveral thousand years. It is believed the villagepopulation was at its height about 200 yearsago with a population of about 2000. We wentinside the pit house, rebuilt over 10 years agoby the community as a symbol of history andtradition. (see photo).

To complete our tour, we had lunch at theXwisten Band HQ. We were served sockeyesalmon fillets accompanied by side dishes anddessert of whipped soapberries or Sx'usum. Wealso sampled the wind dried salmon. I canattest that Chef Annie does a wonderful job and"makes the best bannock in Lillooet!" It was agreat tour highlighted by spectacular scenery,local history and interesting people.

Thanks to all the volunteers and the people ofLillooet who made the AGM and our stay soenjoyable!

Joanne Rosenthal


Confluence of Bridge and Fraser Rivers Photo: Bob Puls

Curlew next Web photo

Backcountry Birdingwith Ian Routley

Ian Routley, a well-known member of theLillooet Club and a very experienced birder, ledus on a fascinating trip up the Fraser Rivercanyon. We headed north on Highway 99 andour first stop was above the confluence of theBridge River, where Ian gave us somebackground on the Bridge River Band and theconservation work they have been involved in.He told us how Lillooet is at the centre of sevenbio-diversity zones which is why there havebeen so many different species recorded there.Every species of owl found in Canada has beenrecorded there and a number of rarities haveturned up from time to time.

We drove on for several kilometres until wereached Ian's main objective, a large ranch onthe bench lands above the Fraser. After drivingsome distance off the road on a rough track, weparked the vehicles and started walking acrossthe grasslands towards the river so that wecould look down onto the area whereLong-billed Curlew are known to nest. Ianstopped part way to set up his scope and showus a Golden Eagle's nest on the cliffs across

the river but there was no bird on the nest. Aswe continued walking through the grass, Iansaw a curlew walking away very furtively andlooked down to find a nest with four eggsalmost under his feet, so he quickly led usaway. Everyone had great views of the curlew'sunusual behaviour as it tried to lure us away.

As we walked back, we heard and sawMeadowlarks, Chukar and Vesper Sparrow. Onour way out we met the rancher who asked Ianto show him the location of the Curlew nest sothat they could protect the area until the chickshatch. It was good to see the level ofcooperation with the local naturalists.

Driving further up the main road, we turned offonto a gravel road leading up into a higherelevation valley. There we stopped for ourlunch break, with sweeping views of ranchlandswhere cattle and young calves were grazingunder partially cloudy skies: a typical springday. After lunch, we drove further on to see asmall reservoir. As we walked across the fields,we saw some Horned Larks and a large flock ofmigrating American Pipits, while around thereservoir large numbers of at least threespecies of swallows chased insects around us. From there we drove on to an area whereSapsuckers breed, but the cool showeryweather must have dampened their spirits aswe only heard one drumming in the distance. Asthe road was in worse condition at this pointafter the recent heavy rains, we turned back tothe main road. On our way back, the sun came out so westopped to take a short walk in an area ofPonderosa Pine, where many trees had beenlost either to fire or the Pine Beetle epidemic.Ian showed us an area where there were anumber of depressions in the ground that are allthat remain of the pit houses of a largesettlement. It had been abandoned many yearsago due, it is believed, to a shortage of food inthe area as a result of climatic change, similarto what has happened with other ancientcivilizations.

This was another very enjoyable outing whichwas, for me, the highlight of the wholeweekend.

Gareth Pugh


Koaham Train at Lillooet Photo: Sheila Puls

Seton Lake Photo: Sheila Puls

Koaham Train to Seton Portage and Tsal’alhThe train that never came!

Originally intended to be a round trip trainexcursion, this was amended thanks to a lastminute CPR decision to work on the track. Soat 7 am we gathered at the Lillooet train stationto be greeted by our guide, Christine Galliazzo,a forester and Lillooet naturalist. We boardeda small bus and headed out along PioneerRoute 40 - a winding country road. Thescenery is beautiful, and we stopped for a viewof the confluence of the Bridge River & FraserRiver, where the First Nations have many fishdrying racks; this is a favourite fishing spot.

Travelling on, past the Xwisten Bridge RiverIndian Band headquarters (where we would bemeeting on Saturday for the AGM), we travelledbeside the Bridge River, often high above, withsheer drops down beside the road. The roadbecame gravel, the angle steeper as weclimbed higher.

Our next stop was at the Terzaghi Dam for agood view of Carpenter Lake - presentlysomewhat low to enable work to be done on thedam. This is part of the Seton Portage hydroelectric project of BC Hydro - where they drilledthrough the mountain to pipe water fromCarpenter Lake (which is much higher) to SetonLake, generating electricity at Seton Portage.

We turned to drive across the lake - leaving the road to Bralorne - and along the side ofCarpenter Lake on the South Shalalth Road. This road was not for the faint of heart - hairpinbends, sheer drops for hundreds of feet with noverge or guard rails, and much of it single trackwith occasional passing places - most of whichwere on the hairpin bends!

Arriving in Seton Portage after a 3 hour journey,we were met by Garry John of the local FirstNation, on the shore of Anderson Lake. Hewelcomed us with a traditional drum song ofwelcome, and explained their story of howAnderson and Seton Lakes used to be one. Hetold us about the land given to them asreservation, and how the railway had takensome, and BC Hydro had taken more, until theyare left with less than half their origiinal lands.

Anderson Lake is beautifully clear, Seton Lake shows as a glorious turquoise - due to turbidity. According to Garry, if Hydro stop generating fortwo days, the lake returns to clear.

With the advent of rain, some walked andothers rode the bus to a First Nationscampground, where his people gave us awonderful bag lunch before we headed intoSeton Portage train station for the returnjourney. The train had been due at the stationat 11.30 am, but by 12 noon it had not arrived,so Christine made a phone call - and oops,there had been a slide across the rails. Luckily,Christine had asked the bus driver to stay withus until we boarded the train, so we piled backon the bus and, with a short stop at the localpub to drown our sorrows, we braved the roadback to Lillooet. On arrival back at LillooetTrain Station, there was the train - and the staffwere apologetic about not being able to fetchus, and opened up the train so we could seeinside. A fascinating trip even without the trainride!

Sheila Puls


Fisher Web photo

Wolverine Web photo

PRESENTATIONS:FISHERS Larry Davis MSc., RPBio

WOLVERINES Richard Weir, MSc., RPBio

These two excellent Saturday morningpresentations were complementary, about tworelatively unknown members of the weaselfamily. Both are very shy of human contact,and little is known about them - most especiallythe numbers living in our wilderness. These twowildlife researchers have been working on aproject to find more about these reclusiveanimals.

Larry Davis explained that there were thought tobe about 3800 Fishers in BC, and that they are‘blue listed’. They den in the internal cavities inold growth trees and there was concern thatdeclining habitat could mean declining numbers. With a maximum 8 year life span, maturity at 2or 3 years old and a birth rate of 1 or 2 kits ayear, the lack of habitat was of concern. It wasdecided to build nest boxes and install them inareas known to be inhabited by the species.

A number of plywood boxes were built andinstalled in the Bridge River area, with still andmovie trail cameras to check whether theywould be used - and two were used the firstyear. The size of the entrance was consideredcritical as the male is thought to kill the kits. Larry showed video of the moms and kits - onefemale was very upset about the intrusion of thelight/camera used to check the box, the otherwas completely unconcerned. He also showeda hilarious video of the male Fisher, head stuckin the entrance hole, legs waving, in an attemptto get in.

Maintaining the den boxes will providereproductive habitat for an estimated 14 Fisherthat reside in the watershed.

Richard Weir started by explaining thatWolverines are just large weasels, and thatalthough they have a reputation for beingvicious, they prefer to avoid human contact. Their preferred habitat is where people are not -snowy landscapes and deep forests.

Wolverines are scavengers who will also huntand can bring down a caribou. There arethought to be about 3500 in the Province, andthey too are ‘blue listed’. The Wolverines are aspecies of management focus for the B.C.Government due to uncertainty aboutsustainability of legal trapping and harvest.

Richard had mapped out an area in theKootenays to attempt to obtain numbers of thisshy species. Ramps were built with barbed wiretunnels to access hanging bait in order to try toget hair samples for DNA. Small clippers weremounted with the barbed wire. Trail cameraswere installed.

The resulting videos showed the persistence ofthe animals as they walked up the ramps,leaped and hung onto the bait, ate for a whilebefore dropping to the ground, walking roundand doing the same again. As they posed forthe leap, the still cameras caught an excellentview of the markings so it was possible toidentify individuals. As to the hair samples -Wolverines are reluctant to spare any hair - onewalked up the ramp over 20 times and left atotal of 2 hairs!

The good news is that there were about 3 timesthe number identified as had been expected.

These are two ongoing projects sponsored bythe Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program.

Sheila Puls


Western Tiger Swallowtail Photo: Al Grass

Junco nest in strawberry hanging basket - with eggs, andlater with two chicks Photos: Joanne Rosenthal

WHAT IS A BUTTERFLY GARDEN?

AL GRASS

This year we will be selecting colourful plantsfor a butterfly garden, but what makes a goodbutterfly garden? Essentially there are twoneeds for these insects:

1) Nectar sources – lots of colour.2) Larval (caterpillar) feeding plants – nettlesand willows are locally important

In our area, some of the butterflies that we canexpect to see are:

· Western Tiger Swallowtail· Anise swallowtail· Pale (Black and White) Swallowtail· Anglewings (several)· Mourning Cloak· Lorquin's Admiral· Red Admiral· Cabbage White· Pine White· Woodland Skipper· White-lined Sphinx (moth) – it acts and

feeds like a hummingbird – beautiful!

Butterfly gardens are also excellent forhummingbirds like our two common speciesAnna's and Rufous. The garden here will be anectar source garden. There are plenty of wildplants on site for their caterpillars (willow,stinging nettle (very important), cow parsnip,etc.!

Al Grass

PROGRAMMESMeeting at 7.15 pm at the Langley CommunityMusic School, 4899 207th Street, Langley

PLEASE Bring your own coffeemug - we don’t want to keep usingdisposable ones.

THURSDAY JUNE 15TH

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING see page 1

MAD HATTER’S TEA PARTY

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21ST

BC SPECIES AT RISK - DOWN THE RABBIT HOLESpeaker Fred BunnellA look at ecological and legislative reasons whyBC has so many species at risk. Points areillustrated by looking at the fate of the first fourspecies legally designated as endangered inthe province (in 1980). The rabbit hole lurksbecause in the Wonderland of BC these are stillthe only species legally designated asendangered.


FIELD TRIPS Please Note: anyone wishing to carpool should phone in to make arrangements beforehand,otherwise please meet at the designated meeting place. Please call to let the leader know toexpect you. The walks are generally about two to three hours long and are open to all NaturalistClubs & members of the public (adults & children, but no pets please). Dress for the weather andbring water, binoculars and a snack, plus bug spray in the summer. Note these walks are weather dependent so if the weather is bad and no calls are received thenthe leader will not show up.

SATURDAY JUNE 17TH

LANGLEY COMMUNITY DAYDouglas Park, City of Langley

FRIDAY JUNE 16TH - SUNDAY JUNE 18TH

MANNING PARK BIRD BLITZPhone 604-869-1274 [email protected] for information$60 per birder

SATURDAY JUNE 24TH

IRENE PEARCE TRAILLeader: Anthea FarrTime: 9:00 am at the parking lot, east side of

224th St at where 5th Ave would be.Join the Langley Field Naturalists as we walkthe trails in this rural park, that was turned intoa park after pressure was exerted by theCouncil of Ratepayers and LFN. It is part of theMunicipal Natural Park with the Little CampbellRiver flowing through it and has stands ofmature Douglas Fir. Phone: 604-576-7731 forinfo and to let us know to expect you.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 28TH

GEORGE C. REIFEL

MIGRATORY BIRD SANCTUARY – DELTALeader: Al GrassTime: 9:00 am at ReifelJoin the Langley Field Naturalists to walk thetrails in this well known nature reserve. Expectto see lots of birds in the middle of the breedingseason and a great variety of trees and shrubs.Please dress for the weather and wear properfoot ware. There is a small admission fee. Bring lunch, snacks, and refreshments. Meet atthe Reifel Sanctuary. Phone 604-538-8774 tolet us know to expect you.

WEDNESDAY JULY 5TH

WESTERN TOADS, THEIR FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL

Leaders: Christy Juteau and Ryan UsenikTime: Meet at A Rocha,

1620 – 192nd Street at 6:30 pmJoin Christy and Ryan to view and learn aboutthe A Rocha on site projects. Also learn abouttheir work with a local Western Toad breedingcolony. If nature cooperates we hope to viewmigrating Toads. If the migration is late, we willnotify participants when it starts and where toview it. Phone 604-530-3257 for info and to letus know to expect you.

WEDNESDAY JULY 12TH

E.C. MANNING PROVINCIAL PARK

PAINTBRUSH TRAIL & VIEW POINT

LOOPLeader: Bob PulsTime: Meet in Langley at 7:30 am or

Manning Park Lodge at 9:30 am. Join Bob to wander along some of the ManningPark trails to check the summer flowers in thiswonderful park in the coastal mountains. Choiceof trail will depend on the snowpack. Bringbotany books. Weather permitting only. Phone604-856-7534 for info and to arrange carpooling.

WEDNESDAY JULY 19TH

WEST CREEK WETLANDSLeader: Lisa ParkerTime: Meet on the south side of 72nd Ave

approx 400 metres west of 264th Streetat 6:30 pm. Parking is available on thenorth side of 72nd Avenue.

Join Lisa for an evening walk through thewoods to the lake where beaver are usuallyseen. Phone 604-532-0081 for info and to let usknow to expect you.


WEDNESDAY JULY 26TH

CAMPBELL VALLEY REGIONAL PARK Leaders: Jude and Al Grass Time: Meet at 16th Ave Parking Lot at 6:30

pm.Join Jude and Al to walk the trails and explorenature in high summer. Phone 604-538-8774for info and to let us know to expect you.

SATURDAY JULY 29TH

GRASS SHACK SUMMER SOCIALAll members welcomeTime: 10 am to 4 pmBirdwatching and guided walkSee ad on page 1

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 2ND

NICOMEKL FLOOD PLAINLeaders: Al Grass and Lisa Parker Time: Meet at Portage Park at the end of

204th Street at 6:30 pm.Join Al and Lisa for a summer evening walkalong part of the extensive trail system in theheart of Langley. Call 604-538-8774 or604-532-0081 for info and to let us know toexpect you.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 9TH

HOUSTON TRAIL - DERBY REACHLeaders: Anne Gosse & Joan Taylor Time: Meet at Houston Trail parking lot on

Allard Crescent, Langley at 6:30 pm. Join Anne and Joan to walk the trails and seethe new observation platform with views overthe pond. Phone 604-888-1787 or604-868-6417 for info and to let us know toexpect you.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16TH

ALDERGROVE REGIONAL PARKLeader: Bob PulsTime: Meet in the parking Lot at 645 Lefeuvre

Road (one block South of 8th Avenue)at 6:30 pm

Phone 604-856-7534 for info and to let us knowto expect you.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 23RD

FORSLUND-WATSON WILDLIFE AREALeader: Ryan Usenik

Time: Meet at 2705–232nd Street at 6:30 pm.Join Ryan as he leads us through this propertywhich LFN co-manages with the B.C. Ministry ofthe Environment. Part open fields and partwoodland. Wear waterproof footwear as someof the trails may still be flooded. Phone:604-530-3257 for info and to let us know toexpect you.

SATURDAY AUGUST 26TH

CYPRESS PARK AND YEW LAKE Leader: Al GrassTime: 9:15 am in the Cypress Bowl Parking

lot at the info kiosk. Parking fee ineffect.

The easy walking trail passes alongsideCypress Creek and subalpine meadows to YewLake and remnant old-growth forest. If trailconditions permit, we might also hike up thenew section of the Howe Sound Crest Trail tothe viewpoint. Bring lunch, water, protectiveclothing for changing mountain weather, andwear sturdy shoes/boots. This will be a leisurelyouting with time for photography and birding. Phone 604-538-8774 for info and to let us knowto expect you.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH

POINT ROBERTS Leader: Gareth PughTime: 9:00 am at Lighthouse ParkJoin us as we visit Point Roberts to walk alongthe beach and scan the ocean for whales andthe various seabirds that can be found there.We will also visit Lily Point Park and MarineReserve which is in Whatcom County Park.Bring lunch, snacks and refreshments and, ofcourse, your passports. Phone 604-576-6831for info and to let us know to expect you.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 29TH

GOLDEN EARS PROVINCIAL PARK

FALL FUNGI, MUSHROOMS AND MORELeader: Al Grass Time: 9:30 am in the Park Entrance Parking

lot (just past the goat)Bring lunch as we will finish at the Alouette LakeDay use area. We will walk the Spirea NatureTrail and the Lower Falls trails in search of fungiand more. Phone 604-538-8774 for info and tolet us know to expect you.


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