Saturday afternoon we explored the Lake Loop trail at Island Lake Lodge, identifying flowers, plants, trees and birds as we enjoyed the high mountain peaks of the Lizard Range all around.  After a busy day we relaxed around a fire and enjoyed a wonderful potluck meal and BBQ in the yard of our Fernie hosts, Bob and Linda.  Afterwards Bob took us out on a little fossil hunt.

     On Sunday, our camping trip almost over and we have three excursions yet on the agenda.  Our early morning birding trip was not quite so early, 8AM saw exploring the Anix area for the now famous Fernie, Common Grackles.  12PM the Morrissey old growth cottonwood forest,with it's missing bridge and a young Pileated Woodpecker peeking out of a nest hole.  Then finally before heading home we checked out the old Morrissey coke ovens that were covered in a tangle of trees, vines and shrubs.

A list of bird species seen can be found on our "Bird Sightings" page
http://www.rockymountainnaturalists.org/bird-sightings.html

The outskirts of Cranbrook provide many opportunities for a quick evening walk on an early June evening. Marianne and Daryl led naturalists on a mini adventure, a short distance from the north end of Wilks Road.  The first goal was an unusually dense patch of Calypso Bulbosa, (Fairyslipper, Venus-slipper or Calypso).  Although one of our smallest orchids, this is the most exquisite as well as the most elusive.  It’s favourite habitat is in Pine woods where it grows in the damp litter of the forest floor.  This true member of the orchid family, grows from a corm, or tuberous rootstock, which is all that remains after the plant flowers and seeds in early summer.  As with all orchids, this flower grows only in association with a certain type of fungus.  As a result, it is virtually impossible to transplant.  This plant suffers from over-picking by collectors. Picking of this flower will kill the plant, so it is best to remember to leave this, as well as all flowers, to mature unimpaired. Earlier, we counted over 100 orchids in an area of about 1 square meter.  This patch may be successful because of continuous shade, abundant rotting material and it’s secluded location.

Leaving the dense, north facing forest, we walked up a south aspect, grassy slope. The yellow arnica and balsam root were amazing, interspersed with numerous, fragrant, light yellow bitterbrush flowers. These small, rose-like flowers attract night flying moths which provide an important food supply for the Common Poorwill.  A small nightjar of the arid West, this Poorwill is the smallest member of it’s family in North America.  It is one of the few birds known to hibernate in the winter.  It is very well camouflaged, colored in browns, black and grey.  This medium-sized bird is large headed with a tiny bill and very tiny feet.  This bird can slow it’s metabolic rate and drop it’s temperature, going into a hibernation-like state known as torpor.  In periods of cold weather, when insects are inactive, a poorwill may stay in torpor for several weeks.  These birds hide during the day, emerging at dark to feed.  They are very difficult to see, but several were heard during the week of the outing, flying past our house on Wilks Road near midnight.

Submitted by Daryl Calder

Six of us hiked seven km from the college trail head to the big tree [150 m above our starting point], on to Mayook's lookoff, where we stopped for a look over Cranbrook, and then back. We went at a leisurely pace, pausing to look at nature, learn from each other and take pictures whenever we felt like it. We got rained on a little, but not much; it was nothing more than a cooling shower as we walked back.

The birders in our group listed 36 species. Greg submitted them to ebird, at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18656958

Excepting trees, these were the species in flower. There are lots more up there.