News/Reports

Trout Creek ER #7 Warden’s report July 2014

Posted July 6, 2014 | Categories : 7,Invasive Species,Warden Reports |

Laurie Rockwell, Ecological reserve Warden produced this report:

  • very warm morning ; 20c at 6.30am with minimal wind,sun and clouds.
  • I saw or heard 15 species of birds including our resident Pine Siskin (Cardeulis pinus) which has been as scarce in the local forest this summer as it was last winter. I was pleased to see some juvenile birds, indicating successful fledging.
  • a few plants are in flower including the beautiful Mariposa Lily ( Calachortus macrocarpus), most are in seed, but the late blooming Columbia Goldenweed (Pyrocomma carthramoides) is only in bud and the latest blooming plant, Tarragon (Artemesia dranunculus), is still in leaf.
  • I pulled only one invasive Sulphur Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) this time around and a few Diffuse Knapweed (Centaura diffusa) on the old road. I was very puzzled to see one slope with many Toadflax (Linearia genistifolia) in flower, despite good numbers of bio-control beetles early in the year, while another slope had almost no toadflax in flower.
  • I GPSd 4 new red-listed Dalles Milk Vetch inside the reserve, near the golf course, and 7 just outside the reserve’s N-S fence for the the local ministry office. I will also have to do this for the area where I randomly counted 41 plants on June 19th.
  • I briefly saw one White-tailed Deer,my first ever on the reserve, but heard it, or another, snorting several times as usual warning signal something the Mule Deer have not done in my presence.
  • there was one very small grasshopper with a dark brown inverted pyramid on it’s back and one Bumblebee in a toadflax flower, the first one I have seen on the reserve.
  • there was no sign of human activity.
  • fence repairs are outstanding.
  • the frequent, heavy watering from the golf course at the 12th green spilling well into the reserve, is causing native and invasive plants to grow furiously.