Selected Excerpts from the Vancouver Natural History Society “Bulletin”

#2 November 1943
Caulfeild Trip:

Twenty-four members of the Society and botany class, under the leadership of Prof. John Davidson studied the rocky bluff flora. It was pointed out that the flora on the south side of English Bay is different from that on the north side because of the geological formation. On rocky bluffs the soil is too shallow to support the plant species found around Vancouver, hence many different plants peculiar to exposed rocky bluffs are found to be common at Caulfeild but not on the southern side of the Bay. Plants of the area are particularly suited and thrive in this environment.
The party studied individual plants to see how they overcame the long, hot, dry summer when for a long time they seemed dried and dead. Plants included blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia), sea blush, bulbous plants such as [meadow] death camas, dogtooth lily [white fawn lily], tiger lily, and the thick leaved stonecrop (Sedum) and the small leaved springbeauty [small-leaved montia] spring beauty (Claytonia). The floral structure was studied of dogwood [Pacific], Scotch broom, bearberry [kinnikinnick], falsebox and mimulus [monkey flower]. Some practice was done in classifying flowers to their families. Last winter’s cold spell was rather hard on the plants especially those on exposed slopes. Many Collinsia and Valerianella [seablush] were killed, and arbutus trees also suffered severely. Dogwoods with their showy blooms were abundant.


#3 December 1943

Botany

Mrs. McGinn reported that in August of this year the coral root orchid grew on Hollyburn Trail in unusually large patches and with extra thick tall spikes. Among those found was a solitary pure white one that Prof. Davidson identified as Corallorhiza innata an albino form of Corallorhiza maculata, the spotted coralroot not commonly found on the Coast.

Some years ago near Cultus Lake she found a rare white orchid identified by Prof. Davidson as a Platanthera [the phantom orchid, Cephalanthera austiniae] not listed in “Henry”. [J. K. Henry, 1915, Flora of British Columbia and Vancouver Island]. It grows in tall spikes without any green and is parasitic [saprophytic].
Mrs. McGinn, a Kitsilano resident, was a staunch supporter of Prof. John Davidson. She attended camps, served in an executive capacity, helped to organize banquets and other social events. She was an amateur botanist and a good general naturalist. Her husband, Frank McGinn was a prominent Vancouver businessman not greatly interested in the V.N.H.S. Their son Wentworth McGinn, however, accompanied his mother on camps and trips including the Garibaldi camps of the 1920s. Mrs. McGinn continued to backpack into the mountain camps in her later years.

Mammalogy

Dr. [Ian]McTaggert Cowan reported that during the past year, increased field activity in the University forest and adjacent areas [U.B.C. Endowment Lands] had led to several important additions to our knowledge of local mammal fauna. An adult male weasel [ermine Mustela erminea] found dead near the Botanical Garden. by E. A. Schwantje constitutes the only known record of this species since 1923. It has been pronounced locally extinct.

After the war Prof. Davidson was able to replace the gardener (Mr. Hornby) for the UBC Botanical Garden with Ernie Schwantje– a Dutch-trained gardener-botanist. Ernie supported the V.N.H.S. well beyond his duties as gardener. On camping trips he gave informed instruction on botanical matters. When Prof. Davidson retired, Ernie moved to Victoria and became a well-known gardener there.
On October 8^th and 10^th Dean Fisher and James Hatter found the freshly amputated tails of two [Northern] flying squirrels on one of the forest trails. These two, with another tail found by G. P. Holland in 1936, are the only evidence of this elusive nocturnal squirrel at Point Grey. Owls probably killed the creatures. At about the same time Allan C. Brooks, Jr., encountered a lone chipmunk near the junction of Imperial and 29^th Avenues. It disappeared before its characteristics could be clearly observed. There has been no record of chipmunks in the Point Grey area in the last sixteen years and it is possible that this was an escaped pet.
Dr. Ian McTaggert Cowan was head of UBC’s Zoology Department and later became Dean of Graduate Studies, then Chancellor of the University of Victoria. Dean Fisher became professor of the Zoology Department at UBC. James Hatter became Head of the B.C. Wildlife Branch in Victoria. George Holland became Dominion Entomologist in Ottawa; and Allan Brooks Jr. became a wildlife biologist and high school teacher.
Black Widow Spiders are found on the lower end of Vancouver Island. During October our [V.N.H.S.] secretary found two specimens while on a ramble up Cobble Hill. These spiders were discovered under rocks on a grassy south slope near the top. They were attending nests of fine white silken threads attached to the rocks. The spiders are jet black with a red “hour glass” marking on the underside of the abdomen.
#6 April 1944
Musqueam Reserve

Twenty-five members attended this outing to study woodland flora. Many interesting plants were discovered. Vine maple and Pacific dogwood were compared. Willow catkins were dissected and their pests, in the form of small worms, were brought to light. Spruce galls were cut open and examined. Mosses and ferns were studied with their relationship to each other. Mayflower, too often called wild lily-of-the-valley, [now called false lily-of-the-valley], covered the ground in patches, but few buds were showing. Other plants observed were

cascara, [slender] toothwort, Dutchman’s breeches [Pacific bleeding heart] and bitter cress [Cardamine sp.] as well as the different characteristics of spruce, fir and yew. P.L.T.
Preston L. Tait (always called “PL”) was a professional jeweler, photographer and an excellent mountaineer. A health food enthusiast, he believed very sincerely in the special curative properties of gooseberries and currants! He helped organize the V.N.H.S. camps and field trips and was also a long-time member of the B.C. Mountaineering Club and the Alpine Club of Canada.

#7 May 1944
Fresh Water Biology at Still Creek

The warm sunny afternoon of May 6^th saw ten enthusiastic members of the Society, equipped with a variety of collecting material – dip nets, pails, jars, etc. - searching the depths of Still Creek and nearby ponds for the variety of creatures that frequent these waters. This stream meanders through bottom farmland west of Burnaby Lake and is the home of many species of aquatic plant and animal life. Dipping here and there along the Creek many species were brought to the surface and the findings explained by the leader, Mr. R. W. Pillsbury.

The bullfrog tadpoles swimming about were numerous, while startled adult bullfrogs plunged from the bank to safety. In the ponds along the railway track, green egg masses of salamanders [Northwestern salamander] were in an advanced stage of development and the young were easily observed within the eggs. Another amphibian observed was the small tree toad [Pacific tree frog]. Crayfish were also found. These lobster-like crustaceae have five pairs of legs, the front pair of which are armed with conspicuous nippers used for holding and tearing apart their prey such as fish and water insects. Catfish and stickleback were caught.
Among the water forget-me-nots, yellow water [pond] lily and other plants, several species of aquatic insects were found. These included the predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae), one of which was seen attacking the larva of a damselfly, several species of water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae) and others such as the dragon fly, damselfly, mayfly and midge larvae, water scorpion (Nepidae), water-striders and water-boatmen. Snakes, snails, bloodworm and the bright red water-mites (Hydrocarina) were among other interesting life found. On the ponds large mats of the algae Spirogyra floated, a home for many lesser forms of life. Many specimens were taken to stock home and school aquariums for observation.
R. W. (Dick) Pillsbury was a biologist with a special interest in invertebrates. A graduate in Science from UBC and a M.Sc. in biology from the University of Washington, he taught biology at King Edward High School. From time to time he was an instructor at UBC’ s summer school. His enthusiasm for biology was contagious and he carried it into the V.N.H.S. He spent years “biologizing” Still Creek, Burnaby Lake, Beaver Lake and the Alouette River. His wife Tracey was also professionally trained. She and Dick were knowledgeable and eloquent people. They eventually retired to Saturna Island.
Ornithology Observations

Mr. C. Gough an enthusiastic ornithological member contributed the following notes from his recent observations of bird life in the Lower Mainland: “A very rare but unique experience a few weeks ago when a pair of bushtits were found building their nest. Seldom is a nest found and fortunate indeed is the one who has the privilege of seeing one built. These birds build a pendant nest of moss about 8 inches long and 2 inches in diameter with an entrance hole on one side near the top. This pair took about two weeks to build their nest.

Violet-green swallows arrived back at Little Mountain on April 1^st, two days earlier than last year, and barn swallows arrived on May 5^th, exactly the same day as last year. In Stanley Park many species of birds are returning, among them abundant Audubon [yellow-rumped] warblers. A pair of chickadees has started housekeeping in an old tree near the Second Beach bathhouse; while on the golf course a pair of red-shafted [northern] flickers has rented the same suite in a tree. Red-breasted and American [common] mergansers are abundant along the Fraser River and on Lulu Island. [Western] meadowlarks are back in large numbers. The shy hermit thrush was seen at UBC on April 26^th. Four water ouzels, commonly known as dippers [American] were observed at Lynn Valley March 25^th.”
To these interesting notes we add that the first brood of 12 young mallards appeared on Lost Lagoon May 10^th. Prior to this, pairs of mallards were observed deep in the woods of the Park during the nesting season. A flock of ruby-crowned kinglets were observed during April in the Park. These insectivorous birds spend their time searching the twigs and boughs of trees and bushes for young insect life. They are often accompanied by chickadees.
Carl Gough and his wife were long-time members of the V.N.H.S. After Carl’s death, Mrs. Gough continued to help organize banquets and other social events. The Goughs were good birders and led many trips. They were quiet people who were always kind and helpful and kept the members living on the North Shore coming to meetings

#8 June 1944

Grouse Mountain

Climbing the slopes of Grouse Mountain on May 27^th, 38 members observed a wide variety of natural life while noting the geological formations of the area that Mr. J.J.Plommer pointed out: “In the Cascade Range, American geologists have established the levels of two peneplains, the continuance of which Dr. Burwash has endeavoured to identify in our Coast Range. In this area he placed the lower of these levels at about Grouse Plateau and further concluded that the general character of the area, except for an elevation of 2000 feet had not changed since Pliocene times. Since then, only variations caused by glaciation have taken place.

The Capilano Valley of that time was V-shaped with its bottom in the sea and its sides coming up to 1500 feet. (The present altitude of the Grouse plateau is 3500 feet.) Glaciation produced a U-shaped valley cut into the side of the V. Today the slope of the old V-shaped valley comes down some 600 feet from the Grouse plateau, and another 800 feet has been worn off by post-glacial erosion. Several rockslides are now in operation. The foot of this section is noted at the level of the B.C. Mountaineering Club cabin, in front of which the side of the U drops abruptly down to the valley floor. This valley floor is filled with glacial till and strewn with water-borne gravels.
As the old valley was along the line of the northwest trend of the mountains, this debris piled up on the present North Vancouver town site. The new Capilano River then sought the easiest outlet and found it on the west side of the terminal moraine, resulting in the cutting of the Capilano Canyon. On the west side of the valley, the U wall rises close to the Canyon. From there to Hollyburn Plateau the post glacial grading is not steep, although the same conditions as we noted on the east side are apparent further up the valley.”
Birds observed on this trip included band-tailed pigeon, owls, Townsend’s warbler, pileated and hairy woodpeckers, olive-backed [Swainson’s] thrush, winter wren and pine siskins. A jaeger was noted while crossing the Inlet. A [rufous] hummingbird’s nest was found on a hemlock bough and a small shrew created interest. Several insects were also noted, especially great numbers of large black flying ants. A white [crab] spider blended perfectly with the white scales of a [Pacific] dogwood blossom on which it was found. Twinflower vine, rattlesnake plantain orchid’s leafy rosette and yellow wood [stream] violet were among plants seen. The party assembled for tea at the B.C.M.C. cabin where Mrs. Dodds welcomed us. J.J.P
J.J.Plommer was British born. He and his wife, a Chartered Accountant, came to Canada and their two daughters were born here. Mrs. Plommer was only marginally interested in the V.N.H.S., but “JJ” was an ardent supporter and both daughters became good naturalists. JJ developed a deep interest in geology and headed the section at UBC until Dr. John Armstrong of the Geological Survey of Canada took over. John Armstrong had great respect for JJ’s amateur knowledge. With his pipe, his blackened billypot for tea kept in an old haversack, JJ was a striking, tall, craggy man who led many strenuous geology and other natural history field trips. He was a good bushwhacker often going where there were no trails. He led camps, including two to Forbidden Plateau. Even in his advanced years he continued to come to camps. He published articles on summer camp areas (e.g. Tenquille Lake) in the Canadian Geographic Journal. JJ was a great gentleman - and a mighty snorer! In camp he usually had a tent to himself.
Mr. and Mrs. “Mickey” Dodds were both active in the V.N.H.S. and the B.C.M.C. They were amateurs with lots of curiosity. On demonstration nights you could count on them to bring in something of interest .One of their exhibits was wood from the dead trees exposed as the Helm and Warren Glaciers retreated in Garibaldi Park. This wood originated from forests present before the “little ice age” which started retreating about 1850.
Burnaby Lake

Few areas in the vicinity produce such a wealth of bog flora as that visited on May 13^th by twenty-seven members with Prof. Davidson. Bogs are built of layers of succeeding vegetation commencing with aquatic plants, rushes, cattails etc. followed by layers of sphagnum moss forming a floating mass upon which grow plants of the heath family such as Labrador tea (Ledum) and bog-laurel (Kalmia). This peat bog has a depth of 22 feet. Of the 22 species of sphagnum found in B.C., six have found use in First Aid dressings. It is of interest to know that one ounce of dry sphagnum absorbs 15 ounces of water. In the plant scale, it is intermediate between liverworts and true mosses.

Here between the Ledum and pink-flowered Kalmia were found the Canadian [velvet-leaved] blueberry in flower, the small, white-flowered cloudberry and true [bog] cranberry trailing over the surface. In moist spots grew Marchantia, sundew (Drosera) that catches and devours insects, hair moss, cotton grass, rushes and sedges.
The ovulate and staminate parts of the lodge pole pine were studied. Cascara, western birch, Juneberry [Saskatoon], involucred bush honeysuckle or [black] twinberry were all noted. Other plants included Nepeta [Glechoma] or ground ivy, wild lettuce the whitish fluid of which contains rubber, and the field thistle often called Canada thistle, which it is not. This plant is the host of a rust. At the Lake’s edge manna grass and duckweed were found, the latter a small floating plant that is a degenerate, having become aquatic from the land.
A [ring-necked] pheasant’s nest containing 8 eggs, a killdeer and American coots were also observed.


#9 August 1944

Hollyburn Ridge

A most successful trip was that taken by twelve members and three Air Force guests to Hollyburn Ridge during the weekend of June 24^th – 25^th led by Mr. Farley. Taking the West Lake trail in the cool of the evening, the party observed stages of plant development at various elevations. Saxifrage, coralroot orchid, bunchberry, [broad-leaved] starflower and twinflower were among those seen on the up-trail. Reaching the lodge about 9 p.m. arrangements were made for the night and a social evening enjoyed before turning in.

Sunday morning the party set out along the trail to First and Fourth Lakes. A wealth of flowers greeted the eye as we rambled along the trail: fairybell, green orchid, rattlesnake- [plantain] orchid, queen’s cup, marsh violet, oak fern, false [Indian] hellebore, two species of starflower [broad-leaved and northern], copper bush, pink and white [mountain] heather, [false] azalea, [white-flowered] rhododendron, bog-laurel, gentian, saxifrage, pyrolas, [white] marsh-marigold, [sitka] mountain ash, bogbean [buckbean], [subalpine] spirea, fringecup, single delight, water [yellow pond] lily and aster were among the plants noted.
Grouse and hermit thrush were seen. A bat caught by the local ranger was brought back for identification.

At First Lake several water insects were obtained. These included two species of diving beetle (Dytiscidae), whirligig beetle (Gyrinidae), ground (Carabidae), tiger (Cicindelidae), [click beetle] (Elateridae), burying [carrion] (Silphidae), and longhorn [long-horned] beetles (Cerambycidae), water-striders, water-boatmen, mayflies, sawflies, crickets and flying ants. Small paper nests of wasps in the course of construction were found on heather. The party returned via 22^nd trail completing the weekend outing. Owing to water reserve restrictions the party were confined to the trail between the 1^st and 4^th Lakes, beyond which they were unable to proceed. The best areas on Hollyburn for nature observation are now within the restricted area.

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Farley were strong supporters of John Davidson’s evening courses in botany, which were part of the courses taken by those hoping to become registered pharmacists. At the time there was no Faculty of Pharmacy at UBC. Both Mr. and Mrs. Farley were good hikers, attended many of the summer camps, and led field trips. They were hospitable people and many committee meetings were held in their home on Laburnam Street. They came from England. Frank was a World War I veteran. The Vancouver School Board employed him for many years as a skilled carpenter. Their three children were all involved in one way or another with the V.N.H.S. and all graduated from UBC with interests in biological sciences.

#10 August 1944
Dr. Ian McTaggert Cowan informs us that the specimen of bat found on Hollyburn Ridge was the Miller brown bat – Myotis yumanensis saturatus – [Yuma myotis], a fairly common species in these parts.
Mount Seymour
Our geology section has not yet recovered from the publicity that the press gave us in connection with the Seymour Mountain trip in August. It was reported that our party ‘encountered’ a lava flow that suggested the presence of an active volcano on the middle peak of Seymour centuries ago, and that ‘the rush of lava down the slope’ had picked up many stones and a great deal of rubble still visible ‘in the agglomeration’.
No doubt an enthusiastic reporter wanted to give us a good write up but the fact is there is no evidence of a volcano on Seymour Mountain. There are three lava flows and the middle one is an agglomerate. An agglomerate does suggest a volcanic flow that picked up loose stones in its path. However, these lava flows are older than the mountain in its present form, and there is nothing to suggest from whence the lava came; it is a remnant of a time when the area probably bore no resemblance to the present topography.
One of the most interesting things on that excursion was the saxifrage studied on the main peak of [Mount] Seymour.
#11 December 1944
The V.N.H.S. Camp

At the time of this camp, very few people in British Columbia had ever visited Pavilion Lake. The Trans Canada Highway was rough, to put it mildly, and the side road into Pavilion was not fully graveled. Often there were places difficult to negotiate or use during periods of heavy rain or snow.
The Society’s 1944 Camp at Pavilion Lake in Marble Canyon, under the leadership of Mr. Bain, proved to be most interesting and profitable for naturalists, for here we found dry belt, coastal and alpine flora and fauna in close relationship. Marble Canyon lies between the Cariboo highway to the east and the Fraser River to the west. Leaving the main highway at Hat Creek the Canyon road winds through a colourful valley where limestone cliffs of the carboniferous period rise 1000 feet and in all hues of the spectrum – reds, blues, grays and whites being predominant. The valley floor and lakes of emerald and azure, nestle at the foot of the tree-clad mountain slopes. The road follows the lakeshore and along the valley to Pavilion Lake where it connects with the Fraser River Highway.
Our campsite, the Sky Blue Water Resort, was on a point of land that sloped from the road to the shore of the Lake. Here comfortable cabins were surrounded by mountain [Douglas] maple, cottonwood, [trembling] aspen, birch, pine, willows and several shrubs such as soapberry [common snowberry], mock-orange, Juneberry [Saskatoon], and others. An oasis in an otherwise semi-dry region.
The woodland was frequented by several species of birds, the most interesting being the red-eyed vireo, its pendant silvery nest hung from a branch of an aspen. The young birds were hidden amid the foliage, camouflaged by their white breasts against the upturned silvery leaves rustling in the sunny breeze. The parents darted about with incessant twitters and angry shrieks at some catbirds annoying their young. American robins, cedar waxwings, wrens, western tanager, ruby-crowned kinglets, Audubon [yellow-rumped] warbler, yellow, and MacGillivray’s warblers, mountain chickadees, hummingbirds and blue birds were also observed. A family of grebes, and loons drifted on the Lake.
Behind the Lodge a sparsely wooded slope rises steeply to the walls of limestone above. A number of drybelt plants grow on this slope with their accompanying insect visitors. Plants found in the Canyon included gaillardia [brown-eyed Susan], erigeron, wild geranium, anemone, bedstraw, nodding onion, [arrowleaf] balsamroot, [prickly pear] cactus sage brush, flax, rose of sharon [St. John’s-wort], saxifrage, fairybell, pyrola, mitrewort, twinflower, penstemon, salsify, goldenrod and many others.
An outstanding trip was to Pictograph Hill where we followed an old Indian trail up through a draw in the Canyon wall. Here we viewed ancient Indian signs painted on the rock face. The top and slopes of the hill were open pine grassland where there were Indian paintbrush, columbine, grass-of-Parnassus, pedicularis [lousewort], hellebore, valerian, arnica, fleabane, and Ceanothus velutinus [snowbrush]. A lake and a sphagnum bog found on this ridge also
contained many interesting plants: clumps of white [mountain] lady’s-slippers, parviflorum [yellow] lady’s-slipper, butterwort, pyrolas, P. picta [white-veined] wintergreen and P. bracteata [pink wintergreen] and [round-leaved] orchid – a lovely mauve and white flower with dark purple spots – as well as columbine, pedicularis and tiger lily. Here we also found the fossil fusilina, about the size of a wheat grain and typical of the district’s limestone formation.

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