Well yes there was, but he was quite dead .. A surprize to see this one as I don’t believe they live on Vancouver Island – yet! Maybe this one was washed up from somewhere in the US gulf islands??
iNaturalist link https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/35442439
Triglochin maritima in British Columbia
Triglochin maritima grows in the marsh of Gooch Creek
Each year I harvest last years stems of Phragmites in my estuary/marsh for mason bee tubes. It is important that this is done in the early spring only before new shoots start to emerge. I have a theory that this native Phragmites exists in this particular marsh only because the marsh was fenced in the early years to prevent grazing by cattle and sheep. It has been eliminated from most of the other marshes in BC by grazing (personal communication with Robert Prescott-Allen). The reason this marsh was fenced probably was that the plant Triglochin maritima (Sea arrow grass) grows in the marsh and it is toxic to grazers. ( see below)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Juncaginaceae
Genus: Triglochin
Species: T. maritima
Binomial name
Triglochin maritima L.
The following is a quote from the Canadian Biodiversity Information facility:
Seaside arrow-grass (Triglochin maritima) is a native plant found sporadically across Canada in saline, brackish, or fresh marshes and shores. This plant contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can release HCN during mastication by animals. Poisoning occurs primarily with ruminants, including cattle and sheep. The concentration of toxic chemicals increases during times of moisture depletion (Majak et al. 1980, Cooper and Johnson 1984, Poulton 1989).
Go to ITIS*ca for more taxonomic information on: Triglochin maritima
Cyanide poisoning from seaside arrow-grass is similar to symptoms discussed under sheep.
Cyanide poisoning of sheep by seaside arrow-grass includes the following symptoms: nervousness, trembling, erratic breathing, convulsions, recumbency, and death. Postmortem findings reveal bright red blood and the smell of bitter almonds in the stomach. Treatment, if started early enough, can be successful. Intravenous injections of an aqueous solution of sodium thiosulfate have proved to be effective (Cooper and Johnson 1984).
John Costello and James Kennerley-Aug 2013.
Four new purple martin boxes were installed on the pilings of the Pearspn College docks in Pedder Bay on August 6, 2013. The team was Fred Beinhauer, John Costello, the late Tom Gillespie, and James Kennerley , a student from Pearson College.
This is now the second year that they have inhabited the houses and raised offspring. Locally, the Rocky Point Bird Observatory has assumed responsibility for Purple Martin colonies on South Van Island. The RPBO coordinator is Wallis Moore Reid. Courtney Edwards agreed to be the PC colony steward. Her office is right on the wharf where the boxes are located.
The overall effort in BC is administered by the Purple Martin Recovery Society. Bruce Cousens out of Nanaimo is the Biologist who is the driving force behind the project.
Some websites are: http://www.georgiabasin.ca/puma.htm (the official website of Bruce Cousens mentioned above) and http://rpbo.org/
RESEARCH ARTICLE: Conserv Genet DOI 10.1007/s10592-007-9358-3
High genetic diversity in the blue-listed British Columbia population of the purple martin maintained by multiple sources of immigrants Allan J. Baker, Annette D. Greenslade, Laura M. Darling and J. Cam Finlay
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Hirundinidae
Genus: Progne
Species: P. subis
Progne subis
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Why are BC residents so concerned about what might happen to their coastline from an increase in shipping and oil tankers?
We don’t have a scene like this video portrays in Metchosin, although we do get frenzy feeding by birds and mammals in the fall at Race Rocks but we do have forage fish which live on our beaches and provide year round food for the ecosystem.
Don’t miss this video from Denman Island : https://vimeo.com/121960894?
In Mid-April, native species provide a colourful display on Tower Point next to the ocean.
Camas on the shore of Tower Point
I was also impressed with the display of a high biodiversity of Bryophytes ( mosses) on the rocky shore just above the spray zone:
In this rocky exposed area on the East side of Tower Point was also located an interesting small tuft grass with rather large heads which I had not seen before:
On January 15, 2014, The Board of Friends of Ecological reserves submitted the round 2 set of Information Requests to Kinder Morgan /TMX project . Since it has some questions related to local sensitive marine ecological areas, It is posted here:
C33-4-1_-_Information_Request_No._2_-_A4G5Q9
Other posts on our concerns about the risk of oil spills on Metchosin’s Coastline may be found here:
50 other intervenors in the NEB hearings also submitted questions.. The link to these will be added here when the National Energy Board puts up a link.
We often come across these empty shells of Tresus capax the Fat Gaper on the shores of Taylor Beach. They live buried in the sand in the shallow water offshore. Around the opening of the siphon, Tresus capax has small palps around each opening which distinguishes it from other bivalves.
Fat Gaper : ( Tresus capax)
Classification::
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Veneroida
Family: Mactridae
Genus: Tresus
Species: Tresus capax (Gould, 1850)
The Fat Gaper, Tresus capax . Note the size in comparison to a glove.
Useful References: E-fauna BC page on bivalve Molluscs:
The false pacific jingle shell, or rock oyster, often comes ashore on Taylor Beach attached to the holdfasts of kelp.
Various species of kelp have attached their holdfasts to this rock oyster shell, leading to it being detached and carried ashore on Taylor Beach.
One of the valves of Pododesmus sp.
Reference: Peter’s seashells
When she was an ecoguardian at Race Rocks in 2010, Raisa Mirza took this excellent photo of a river otter, just out of the water, eating a female kelp greenling .
River otters are fairly common along our shores. Thus an entry for our species posts. In four stretches of shoreline in particular, we can expect to find them, where they have dens and produce offspring yearly.
1. At Race Rocks
2. In Pedder Bay
3 At the entrance to Gooch Creek
4. Along the Taylor Beach blufffs.
The Pearson College Marine Science reference has several references and images available on river otters. 
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Subfamily: Lutrinae
Genus: Lontra
Species: canadensis pacifica (Schreber, 1977)
Common Name: River Otter
One should be cautioned when walking dogs on Taylor Beach to restrain them if otters are in the area. Otters have been known to attack even large dogs that have pursued them into the ocean.
Red-breasted merganser female (Mergus serrator)
Female red-breasted merganser popping up to the surface after a dive . G. Fletcher photos
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Subfamily: Merginae
Genus: Mergus
Species: M. serrator
Common name : Red-breasted Merganser
Mergansers nest in the fresh-water lakes of the north and then migrate to the Pacific Coastal waters where they feed on small forage fish in the winter. In the past few weeks a large flock of female red-breasted and possibly mixed common mergansers has been working the waters off Taylor Beach.