Exploring Pt Holmes at Low Tide

 by Keith and Heather Nicol      

     Last year we checked out Pt Holmes at low tide on several occasions over the summer and were surprised by the variety of tidal life we saw. It seemed like each time we explored the area we saw something new. For those people not familiar with this area it is to the right of the Pt Holmes boat launch and there is parking for a number of cars just off of Lazo Road in Comox , BC. Because of the large tides in this area the tide pools are 200-300 meters from the parking area and footing can be tricky especially near the outcrops of conglomerate rock where the tide pools are found. We wore hiking shoes but some people we saw were wearing rubber boots. Flip flops or similar sandals are not recommended given the slippery, sea weed covered rocks. 

 

On Sunday , June 13 low tide was just 0.8 meters  at 2:40 pm so it was ideally timed for an afternoon outing.  We like to get down to this area about 30 minutes before the low tide so that we can do some exploring knowing that the tide won’t start rising for awhile. We have been having some windy weather lately and today was no different. The winds were gusting to 40 km/hour but this added to the scene with dramatic clouds in the distance over the mountains. We saw several other people including a family with young kids who were having a great time exploring the tide pools. On our most recent visit we saw orange sea cucumbers which we hadn’t seen before as well as 2 midshipmen fish which had come into spawn. We found one in a tidal pool (see photo below) and it was doing its best to stay hidden since last year we saw gulls and crows eating these fish that they had caught.  The other one was hidden under a rock and saw the yellow eggs that it was protecting on the under side of the rock-see photo at the end of the blog post.  For more information on these unique fish see: https://theconversation.com/being-a-dad-is-hard-when-youre-a-plainfin-midshipman-fish-111214 

 

   We also saw many ochre sea stars and as well as a leather sea star which we don’t see that often. The next very low tides will be around June 25, 2021 so make a note of it. We will see you there.  Also since we are new to the area, if readers know of other good places to explore tide pools in the local area let us know at k2nicol@gmail.com.