Orcas off Pt Holmes near Comox !

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Orcas between Pt Holmes and Denman Island

     On Friday, November 17 we were out checking out the new bird arrivals and stopped at Pt Holmes on Lazo Road near the Comox airport.  In the near shore waters we saw some harlequin ducks as well as buffleheads and some loons when some other bird watchers noticed some spray in the water to the south west of us. We could easily see between 7-8 orcas steaming west and they proceeded to swim right past us. They were some distance off shore but the perfectly flat calm conditions made them easy to see. At times they did some interesting tailing slapping activity and partially leaped out the water. It is not known why orcas tail slap but suggestions are that it may be a playful activity or may be used in hunting. The pod then headed into the main part of Georgia Strait and appeared to be heading north.  We have not seen orcas from shore from this location so this was a real highlight. 

Orca tail slapping

A pair of Mergansers swim past a swan

       Next we headed down to the Puntledge River in Courtenay to see what bird and seal activity we could see there. The tide was about 4 meters and we headed to Lewis Park and walked along the walkway next to the tennis courts. We were lucky to see many trumpeter swans which were swimming along the far shore. They have begun to arrive over the past couple of  weeks but we could get a fine close up view of them in the river. There were also many pairs of mergansers and some golden eye ducks in the vicinity. Several seals popped their heads up now and then taking advantage of the last of the salmon runs for this year.You never know what you might see so bring your binoculars and camera when you head out!

Trumpeter Swans

Exploring the Ruth Masters Greenway park with the Comox Valley Naturalists

By Keith and Heather Nicol

We saw a colourful Amanita mushroom

    On Sunday, October  29^th the Comox Naturalists were having a walk in the Ruth Masters Greenway and it was a spot on Courtenay that we had never visited so we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to check this place out. Ruth Masters Greenway is located off Powerhouse Road and covers 18 acres of forest habitat and one section butts up against the Puntledge River. So with all of our tubing trips down the Puntledge River this past summer we actually had driven past the entrance to the park on many occasions. The fall colours were amazing and this is one reason to explore this park before fall progresses much further. The leaders of the walk were Loys and Alison Maingon and they interpreted a variety of mushrooms and other aspects of the natural flora and fauna.

The fall colours were spectacular

Inky Cap mushrooms were found in a couple of places

 We saw several species of mushroom although Alison said there would be alot more if the fall weather had been wetter. ``It has been so dry that many mushroom species are just not out in abundance`` she told us. The Greenway extends into the a section of Bear James Park which runs along the Puntledge River and we saw many chum and coho salmon in one of the shallow side channels. Beside the fine autumn colours and the spawning salmon, other highlights included seeing a colourful Amanita mushroom (sometimes known as the Fly Amanita since it was used as an insecticide for flies) and several Inky Cap mushrooms. Evidently these can become poisonous if consumed with alcohol hence another name for them is `Tippler`s Bane`. For more information on the Comox Valley Nauralists see:  http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/  .  For more information on Ruth Masters Greenway view: http://www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/EN/main/community/parks-trails/comox-valley-parks/masters-greenway.html.   

Salmon could be seen in the side channels