SkyWatch Friday ~ Yakoun Estuary

One of the prettiest walks on Haida Gwaii when the tide is in and the sky is blue is the walk along the Sunset Trail in Port Clements.

The Yakoun River is the longest river on Haida Gwaii meandering about 60 km(37 miles) from Yakoun Lake in south central Graham Island to Masset Inlet, a large salt water bay.

The estuary is broad and shallow partly due do silt deposits from clear-cut logging.  It has a world famous fall salmon run and cut throat trout in the spring.

Bank erosion of the river combined with high water in the spring sweeps large trees into the esturary

Where some continue life as a "nurse stump" for new life.

This is this morning's collection of trash off the two kilometer stretch of beach we walk daily.  Fortunately there were no feet in these shoes!  If you are new to my blog check the previous two posts to see what we pick up off the same two km. stretch of  beach daily! There is about 8000 kms of exposed shoreline just on this island.....IMAGINE THE GARBAGE!!!!!!

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Wordless Wednesday ~ Beach collection!

Collected off the same beach as the previous post but 48 hours later!

Sorry can not remain wordless.... please reduce, reuse & recycle, we are killing our oceans!

Wordless Wednesday

MyWorld Tuesday ~ A mornings walk on the Beach

The weather has finally started to turn around so when the sun shines you take advantage.

We walk the beach almost every morning and part of that ritual is to pick up the garbage that comes up on the new tide.

This morning we got a surprise when about a dozen dog fish in this state showed up.

We don't know whether it is natural or man made but a call has gone into the Ministry of Fisheries.  Dog fish are considered a garbage fish by commercial fishermen.

High Tide line

Each day the beach is different.  Haida Gwaii gets two high tides and two low tides a day.  High tides can be as high as 24' on the New and Full moon. 

Peter with this mornings collection

This, I am sorry to say is the average collection every morning on the same stretch of beach, approximately 2 kms!

The finds are not all bad though, Agates, the second hardest rock in the world which are created through volcanic activity are a bonus to our morning walks.

Amazing pieces of drift wood are also a bonus if you can pick them up...this one would look great in the garden!

And of course you can't forget the views!

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and please think about where your garbage goes if you do not recycle it!

SkyWatch Friday ~ Mercury Sky

The weather has been gray, wet and windy for the past couple of weeks but the skies have been beautiful.

I love a mercury sea and sky.

The gulls like a very specific point on the beach and will stay till the very last minute before taking off and circling around.

I am still learning how to capture birds in flight but these guys make it easy!

  As we walked closer they would take off, hang in the air and then settle a little further down the beach

or in the water!

And then they become part of the mercury sea and sky!

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My World Tuesday ~ Introduced Species

Bunchberry Dogwood (Cornus canadensis)

When I first arrived on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) I took a job as a research assistant with a crew that was working with introduced species.  I knew about introduced species but I was not aware of their impact on native species and especially on islands.

Fairyslipper (calypso bilbosa)

Islands often have rare or genic specific species which are found nowhere else in the world therefore making them vulnerable to extinction by invasive species

Visitors often comment on how beautiful the forests of Haida Gwaii are with all their moss however this is a result of introduced deer which dine on the understory.

 

The above photos show the difference between forests of Haida Gwaii on an island with deer (left) and on an island without deer (right). Photos courtesy of RGIS

Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius)

Other destructive forces are introduced plants which are fast spreading and change the chemistry of the soil therefore killing off native plants and taking over.  Scotch broom was introduced by settlers in the early 20th Century.

BC Parks has a vigorous removal program but if individual property owners don't "buy in" the problem is an on-going one.

Wild Strawberry(Fragaria vesca)

The lands of Haida Gwaii are home to endemic species 

Grey beach peavine (L. littoralis)

 which have been used for centuries by First Nation peoples for food and  medicinal purposes.

Seashore Lupine (Lupine Littoralis)

With the lose of these plants due to man's carelessness by introducing animals and plants many of these unique plants have and will become extinct.

Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca)

It is important to know what you are planting in your gardens, they may look lovely but can change our world as we know it.

Western Bitter-Cress (Cardamine occidentalis)

The only plant in this series of photos that is introduced is the Scotch Broom, all the others are native to the islands.

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MyWorld Tuesday.

SkyWatch Friday #46 ~ Weather Skies

Since I arrived back on Haida Gwaii the weather has been cold, wet and windy.  I have been away long enough that it is taking me a while to re-acclimatize to coastal weather.

Our long weekend, the Victoria Day long weekend was stormy and cold but as usual the weather cleared after everyone went back to work and school.  The winds persisted after the skies cleared and the gulls were taking full advantage.

The cirrus clouds, which form above 23,000 ft or 8,000 m are an advant of changing weather, often stormy!

Later in the day these little puffy clouds known as Altocumulus (developing over 6,000 ft or 2,000 m.) showed up.

And then the big guys(stratocumulus forming below 6,000 ft or 2,000 m) moved in!

However by dusk any threat of bad weather was heading to the main land.

      And dusk (11 p.m.) was promising a nice tomorrow!

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Wordless Wednesday ~ The Reality!

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