One of a kind

On Baikie Island the restoration project continues. Along the water's edge, someone has been cutting down little alders; evergreen saplings in black plastic pots wait to be planted in in the newly-cleared space. On one of the downed alders, I found this crop of yellowish, flattish mushrooms covering most of its underside. (I rolled it over to get this photo.) I couldn't find any on any of the other trees, standing or cut, in the vicinity.

Alder trunk with mushrooms, sapsucker pits, and a pale green dust lichen.

And why, I asked it, did you pick this one tree and ignore all the rest? No answer was forthcoming.

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El proyecto de restauración de la isla Baikie sigue. Al borde de la laguna, han estado cortando los pequeños alisos; en macetas de plástico, arbolitos de hoja perenne esperan a que los siembren en el espacio recién preparado. En uno de los alisos tumbados, encontré estos hongos amarillentos, algo planos, que cubrían casi todo el lado junto al suelo. 

Busqué entre los árboles alrededor, en pie o tumbados, y no hubo más que este árbol con hongos.

Foto: el hongo, el tronco del aliso con pocitos hechos por chupasavias, y un poco de liquen de polvo, de un verde claro.

Y ¿porqué — le pregunté — escogiste este árbol y no tocaste ningún otro? No me respondió.

April flowers

Along the Myrt Thompson trail.

Red flowering currant. They are growing wild in the bush along the river's edge, but this and a dozen or so more have been planted as part of the restoration project.

Sign near the beginning of the trail

Text of the sign:

Myrt Thompson Restoration
This trail winds along the banks of the river and through the heart of the estuary. After a century of industrial use by the forest industry, the Myrt Thompson trail is now being restored to provide habitat for a wonderful array of wildlife, including bald eagles, cedar waxwings, and black bears. Invasive species such as Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberry have been cleared by volunteers and replanted with native species. These plants will provide a diverse habitat for avian wildlife. Riverside vegetation also helps to protect the riverbank from erosion and provides hiding places for juvenile salmon.

The eagles were much in evidence this week. A couple of years ago, I saw many piles of bear scat. It's too early this year for them; they'll show up when the berries ripen.

More red-flowering currant. Looks like there will be a good crop of berries. For now, they'll attract hummingbirds.

Salmonberry flower. More bear bait coming up.

A lineup of salmonberry buds.

I think this is Pacific crabapple, Malus fusca.

Baikie Island, off-season

There is a sign near the entry to Baikie Island. A small rectangle, bashed, stained, and bent, on the street sign post. The street appears to be a lane through a construction company's storage area; gravelled, pot-holed, curving between stacks of pallets, old machinery, huge rusting tanks. I'd been down there before, searching for a way to the river bank, and gave up, feeling as if I were intruding. But I persisted this time, and at the end there's a parking spot, and two big parks' board signs.

It was raining when I parked, but not too heavily. I grabbed my pocket camera and headed down the main trail, hiding the camera under my jacket to keep the rain off.

"The Mill Pond Now". Not quite. The Mill Pond as it is in the summer. On the back side of the sign is the mill pond, before the restoration. Not pretty.

A bridge leading onto the island provides a view of the pond. On the far side, mallards slept in the rain; out in the water, buffleheads, coots, and goldeneyes were diving. Chickadees and other small birds poked around in the wet grasses.

The island still has a few signs of its industrial past; bits of metal and plastic embedded in the soil, a roll of rubber sheeting, a log ramp of sorts at the outer edge. And many old, greasy, mangled, and blackened snags and stumps, left as is, standing out against the wet greenery.

Tortured wood

There were several stumps inverted and jammed into the ground like this, with the roots upward and grass growing on top. I'm having trouble imagining why.

At the far end, there's a small beach. A mere stone's throw away, on the other side of the channel, there's the exiled machinery, piled high on the shore.

A large, rusty ramp, big enough for loaded logging trucks. And on the tip, a belted kingfisher. Treetop or ramp; whatever gives a good view of the fish in the water is ok with her.

Female belted kingfisher. The male doesn't have the rusty belt.

Callling, calling. She kept this up as long as I was in hearing distance.

Her rattle fitted right in with the industrial setting; she sounded like metal cables grating on their pulleys as they unwind. (Listen: Cornell All About Birds)

View from the tip. With raindrops on the water.

I was wet and cold, and worried about the rain on the camera. I hurried back to the car, but I'll be back, when the sun shines.