Exploring the Little River Nature Park with the Comox Valley Naturalists

By Keith and Heather Nicol

The endangered sand verbena can be seen along the beach

     On Saturday, June 2 we joined the Comox Valley Naturalists for a walk through the Little River Nature Park which we had not been to before. This is a small community park which once was an old gravel quarry but is now features 2 ponds and beach access to the Little River shoreline where you can see the endangered yellow sand verbena. Loys and Alison Maingon led a group of about 8 people and we had barely stepped out of our cars when Loys looked up and saw a merlin (a small falcon) being chased by some red wing blackbirds. “This area is good for merlins since the ponds produce many dragonflies which the merlin feeds on” he told us. 

At the start of the trailhead

   We took a trail that first traversed through the forest and past one of the ponds. The path then leads to a road which connects to the Little River part of the park and to the beach access.  The path by Little River provided a chance to look for rare Rein orchid and other plants associated with the sensitive salt marsh ecosystem. We then headed for the beach where we saw a small patch of the endangered tallow sand verbena in bloom. This plant is found in just a few places along the east coast of Vancouver Island – the other places include Goose Spit and nearby Tree Island. This link provides an intriguing map of this species - http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Abronia%20latifolia.  We recommend visiting this park to see some coastal and adjacent ecosystems that are not often protected in this area The park is located on Wilkinson Road near the Little River ferry which connects Vancouver Island with Powell River and for more information see:  https://www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/parks-recreation/comox-valley-parks-trails/little-river-nature-park. For more information on the Comox Valley Naturalists see: https://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/ . 

Along one of the ponds