Bear Flat Dispatch. July 4, 2024
Photo by Ken Boone
Prickly Pear Cactus: After helping with activities at the North Peace Museum on Canada Day, Arlene and I headed home and did our semi-regular July 1st tradition of checking out the south facing river-break hills for prickly pear cactus in flower. Usually this is about when they flower, and this year was no exception with flowers starting to show. Cactus at 56 degrees latitude is unique, and I suppose that speaks both to the unique characteristics of the low elevation Peace River country and how hardy this plant is. Prickly pear cactus require arid sunny locations, and the southwest facing river-breaks of the Peace and its tributaries offer such a habitat with a suitable micro-climate.
Yellow Salsify: This invasive weed which is often referred to as Goatsbeard seems to be on the increase in this region. Unlike many other weeds, it seems very capable of getting established in areas already well sodded up such as native grasslands or pastures. Plants grow multiple stems that often will flower at different times during the summer before going to seed like a giant dandelion head. Close to our home we keep a constant lookout and pull plants as we see them, which is often in the mornings when the yellow flower will open before closing in the afternoons. On a small scale they can be managed simply by pulling, but I am not aware of any effective control options for large native grassland type areas.
Common Nighthawk: Every year we have Nighthawks that spend the summer mostly just west of Cache Creek here at Bear Flat. They are an interesting insect catching bird that doesn’t really resemble a hawk when seen closeup. In fact, they are more like a giant swallow with a similar mouth. They are most often observed in the evening before dark flying erratically somewhat like a bat and making weird vocalizations as they hunt. Over the years we have occasionally stumbled upon their nest which are located simply on the bare ground. They are masters of camouflage and usually we only discover a nest because the parent will reluctantly fly up but hang around nearby. Nighthawks have a very long migration as they winter in South America. Their summer season spent here is less than three months running from about June 1st to mid or late August.
Young Ravens: There is a family of ravens hanging around our home at Bear Flat, and for about a month now the fledged young have been literally hanging around close to the ground or perched on anything handy while their parents are out gathering food or whatever it is ravens do. The young seem to do a lot of complaining about their situation with high pitch cawing. They look full-grown and can fly but seem most content just hanging out while the parents do the heavy lifting. They are act ‘tame’ and occasionally while walking past them I find myself making somewhat derogatory remarks such as “get a life and quit crapping on my truck”, but they don’t seem to listen. But hey, we all remember going through that awkward stage in life, so I just let them be. I do appreciate that the parents are comfortable with leaving us to babysit while they are out.
Ken Boon
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