Swans, Geese, Ducks, Eagles and Beavers

I spend a lot of time walking through Yellow Point Park and EcoReserve enjoying the wonderful wilderness right here in our neighbourhood. I am awestruck by the ancient trees, inspired by the tenacious lichens, ferns and mosses, delighted by the wild flowers. The Park and EcoReserve are home to so many interesting species.

I love watching the swans land on Long Lake, and the pairs of geese protecting their nests. I enjoy the raucous duck wars during breeding season and the parade of ducklings following their parents through the marsh. The purple martins are beautiful swooping across the water to snatch bugs midair. When the red winged blackbirds return in the spring, their calls echo across the water. Blue herons stalk through the shallows, then strike with lightening speed to capture prey in their long beaks.

Screech Owls and Great Horned Owls

I’ve watched eagles teach their young to fly, performing short awkward flights between huge trees. I’ve listened to Screech owls calling through the forest, been dive-bombed by a barred owl, and seen Great horned owls perched high in sturdy branches of enormous fir trees.

Beavers, Cougars, Bears, Deer, and the little Sundew

The beavers work diligently to reinforce their dams and adapt the habitat to suit their needs, thereby ensuring continued diversity in the forest. Deer and bear feast on leaves and wild berries. The occasional cougar prowls silently through the forest. On the marsh, sundews (little Venus fly traps) capture insects in their tiny maws. The frog chorus is so loud in the spring that it is difficult to sleep.

All of this is possible because our community had the foresight to fight for the preservation of this beautiful Park and EcoReserve. The EcoReserve was created in 1996 “to protect a highly diverse mosaic of ecosystem types, from aquatic, peat bog and forest to dry site ecosystems”. Many of the plants and animals are red-listed and blue-listed species at risk, including the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem. This habitat should be protected.

It’s very fragile – and ours to lose

We could easily lose the unique features and diversity of this beautiful park and wetland if we don’t protect our forest and watershed. The Yellow Point watershed is very fragile, and officially one of the most stressed aquifers in the province. Yellow Point rests on fractured bedrock, which has limited ability to retain water. Our only water source is rain. We don’t have any rivers, or any connection to the Cassidy aquifer or other water sources. The rain falls on our forest and seeps into our shallow soil. It is caught in many small ponds and catchment basins that feed the streams that flow to the sea. Our forests, mosses and other vegetation hold the water, enabling it to sink into the earth. This groundwater distributes itself through small fissures in the bedrock to our wells.

During the dry months there is no recharge of the watershed. We rely on the ability of our forests and wetlands to retain water. Without our forests and ground cover, the rain would flow rapidly away causing erosion, filling our creeks and wetlands with silt and depleting our watershed. The sun would bake our wetlands and the complex ecosystem would be destroyed.

Disruption, contamination and depletion of the Yellow Point aquifer is a legitimate concern for local residents. Destruction of our wetlands will make us all poorer.

We must protect our forests and watershed to preserve our beautiful Park and EcoReserve, and the wonderful community of plants and animals that live there.

Diane Coussens is a 40-years resident who raised her two children in their home on Long Lake Road.

Author: yellowpointecologicalsociety

We are a non-profit society. We work to understand, appreciate, protect and restore the ecosystems and watersheds in the Yellow Point area of Vancouver Island and to inspire and support local residents and visitors to do the same. View all posts by yellowpointecologicalsociety