Sun on the Sunshine Coast

Rain on Vancouver Island

Sun May 8th
 
Vancouver Area Rainfall
Chatting to some local friends yesterday they said, 'of course you know the area around the Sunshine Coast has a lot of micro-climates, the further south/east, the wetter it gets'.  

Thinking about it and recalling how it could be raining in Marlborugh and sunny in Burbage I can understand how, with the prevalence of multiple mountain ranges here, this could be possible.  

The prevailing winds are generally easterly, unlike Wiltshire's windy westerly's.  Similarly, the mountains behind us are often covered in cloud and rain, while the coast is bathed in sun. 

The high mountain range on Vancouver Island usually has a bank of cloud above it, as the easterly's blow in diagonally across the Strait of Georgia, the water that separates the Sunshine Coast from Van Island, cools the air which forms cloud, rain and snow on 'them there hills'.  

Interest piqued, what I found striking, was the significant variation in rainfall around the area.  The forests of North Van and the trees around the West coast of Van Island are covered in moss and lichens.  As I delved into it, I find a forest with more than 140cm of rainfall is classified as a Temperate Rainforest.  One of the definitions of a desert is a rainfall of less than 25cm, a little less than the Okanagan wine region receives.  As we walked up through our local woodland around us, we found the absence of mosses and lichens on the tress quite a contrast to North Van and our past visits to the Tofino area - both temperate rainforests where trees were laden with mosses and lichens.

After a morning/early evening Zoom call with friends in the UK, we did some further 'drive-by's' of the local area along the coast up to Roberts Creek.  A quick stop for supplies at Canadian Tire and the local supermarket, it was back for a leisurely afternoon in the sun and stroll along the beach.  Oh - and I cleaned the car. How very Sunday!

A sunset walk on the beach.  The camp fires were bring doused, the beachcombers heading home.  The foreshore was being returned to the local wildlife.  The seals, sea lions, otters and others  who come down to enjoy the peace, after the daytime visitors have departed.  

Publisher's Correction
 
I've been doing some further research on the display of birds of prey that we enjoyed yesterday morning.  Whilst we have had a Golden Eagle flying over us along the coast, I am less convinced it was what we saw flying over and fishing yesterday.  I'm not sure they have the requisite skills!   It is more likely they were year-old Bald Eagles, that don't have the striking white heads and dark plumage of the older birds, or possibly Ospreys.   I'll have to check more closely next time they put on a flying display!  Watch this space.




 

Comments

  1. BrockersMay 10, 2021 at 9:46 AM

    Mike, really enjoying your daily (mostly) updates and you won't be surprised to hear I'm particularly interested in the wildlife sightings. Pleased you've got your seals and sea lions sorted. Also that you've found the answer to the fishing eagles, I'm sure you are correct the dark eagles are immature bald eagles, I don't think they attain full breeding plumage (white head) until three possibly four years old. All I'd ask now is to sort out your gulls - look in your Sibley guide under S and you won't find seagull (one of my irritations with the BBC news department always going for the easy option of "seagull" - no such species). If I recall from my visits the gulls you are most likely to see will be Mew Gull (our Common Gull), Glaucous Winged Gull (a white winged gull) but I'll be interested in learning more. So pleased you are discovering such great places and good luck with the house hunting. Ralph

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MikeT67MMay 10, 2021 at 9:55 AM

      Yup - I've been really lazy with my 'seagull' descriptions and do need to get my Gull taxonomy sorted out - there are just so many of them! Will do better! I've emailed you a couple of other images, that I haven't been able to classify with my Sibley, though am beginning to think the small wader maybe a Dunlin, just not as bright and coloured as the Sibley version.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Frustrations of Canadian Immigration Services

Image
And other things  Sat June 1st The pause in blogs was due to Immigration Canada announcing at the beginning of May that a further draw would be made from the remaining pool of the 2020 Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Parent and Grandparent sponsored Permanent Residency.    Friday was the last day and again we did not get through.  The fifth year running.  I suspect that later in the year they will invite a new round of EOI's which probably means we will be a small fish back in a very large pool.  On the grand scale of all suffering and instability in the world, it is insignificant  (I keep telling myself),  but it is hugely, bloody frustrating.  Our tenure continues under the Super Visa scheme, which runs until our passports expire in 5 and 8 years time respectively. Other news ...  on Sunday 27th w e went to a wedding reception. It is the first time I have worn a jacket in over three years.  My boarding pass from our Air Can...
Read more

Trans Canada Trial Run

Image
Cronks Go Camping Earl's Cove RV Campground Greetings from a sunny Earl’s Cove at the northern end of BC’s Sunshine Coast. Almost the most northerly part unless you get the ferry across to Powell River.   We’re on a "shake-down" trip with the new 25' RV (caravan to the Brits), checking out how it all works, which buttons to press to turn on lights, heating (still haven’t worked out the hot air system yet) etc etc.  So far we’re still talking to one another crammed into a 200 sq ft shoe box, but it’s early days :-)   Earl’s Cove has the ferry terminal for Saltery Bay/Powell River and, close to Egmont, a small hamlet at the top of the trail that takes you past Brown Lake to the Skookumchuck rapids.  Egmont is worth a visit as the views across the top of the Sechelt Inlet are lovely.  We first came to Back Eddy’s pub and restaurant during our initial 6 weeks living at this end of the Coast in 2021.  It’s the kind of place where you want to leap into ...
Read more

End of week 1

Image
Not the Start Expected  Sunday June 8th Begbie Mtn, Revelstoke, from the dyke walk Seven days in and over 1200 km into our 20,000 km expedition.   I was going to start with the first two challenges of the trip.  That would be a distraction and disingenuous given the stunning scenery and landscapes we have enjoyed to Revelstoke, and the journey since our 4 night stay in Manning Park.  Man ning Park. was a beautiful setting.  Loads of walks, mountains, lakes and creeks and the new Skyview RV park had moder n well maintained washroom facilities and was only at 10% capacity.  The alpine trails were still closed due to snow, but lower levels were open.  We hiked around Lightning Lake (9km) and a number of other trails and would certainly go back.  Revelstoke, our second stop, is now running a close second as a place to live after the Sunshine Coast.  We would have stayed longer.  The campground was spotless with new, well designed and fi...
Read more