I spent some time a week ago wandering Beacon Hill Park and have been busy since, so the post is delayed.
The Park is a very popular destination for tourists. Even in January or February there are always non-local people wandering the park. And of course many locals do, especially dog walkers! I guess I am somewhere between tourist and local, having been here for several months now...
The only times I see fewer people in the park are during heavy rain events - of which there have been a few in the last several weeks. They have left the park soggy.
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| Surface water sitting on grass. The mallards are enjoying the muck; even a peacock wandered in to see what the attraction was. |
I talked to a Parks employee and was told that they have had drainage issues this year, exacerbated by the heavy rains of the last month. The result has been an abundance of ducks feeding on whatever it is they are finding in the muddy grass.
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| Another shot of the water pooling on grass |
There are so many ducks in the Park that the ground is trampled in many areas near the ponds, with no grass whatsoever, only bare soil, which at this time of year is simply mud.
Another consequence of the abundance of ducks (mostly Mallards, with some American Wigeons) is that the ponds get filled with their feces. When there are this many - which are encouraged by people feeding them, despite the occasional gently worded sign - the feces might overwhelm water quality.
I learned that the City regularly drains and rakes the bottom of these ponds, to remove the feces.
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| Parks workers raking the bottom of one of the ponds. The pond is drained, and duck feces which deposit on the bottom are raked off. |
I asked a City worker if he knew whether the population of ducks was increasing, but he was unaware of any count.
Apparently Canada Geese sometimes drop into the park. When that happens, the City uses dogs to scare them off, and possibly some of the other waterfowl may go elsewhere.
Nearby to the ponds is an alpine rock garden, maintained by volunteers with the Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society. It is a small area, to be savoured slowly. Some of the plants are tiny and bloom close to the ground.
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| In bloom yesterday at the rock gardens in the Park |
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| Also in bloom at the Park |
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| My favorite sleeping moss lady with some rhododendrons in bloom nearby |
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| I love the aesthetic of this little bridge; the red complements the various greens of the park so well. |
Finally I'll touch briefly on the wild areas of the Park.
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| Garry Oak in one of the Parks's wilder areas. |
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| The City is attempting to restore some of the Garry Oak meadows that were cleared and converted to grass. It's a long slow process. |
There is much more to say about Beacon Hill Park, but I will save that for future posts.
