Sector 8: Albert Head, Tower Point, WIttys Lagoon,

Aerial views courtesy of the CRD NATURAL AREAS ATLAS

1.Witty’s lagoon/estuary and 10. Beach spit ..Wittys

Witty’s beach is an accretional beach with materials supplied from long shore drift from the cliffs to the south. Behind the beach is a large tidal lagoon, and estuary fed by Bilston Creek.

: Salt pans form in the upper reaches of the lagoon where only the highest tides reach. In the fall, concentric layers of salt tolerant species form intriguing patterns in these pans.

: The edge of the lagoon. This area gets flooded at high tide. The nutrients accumulated in the marsh are important to nourish the marine ecosystem around.

: The predominant vegetation of the estuary is Salicornia sp.and Distichlis spicata

: Seabirds frequent the lagoon throughout the year but are abundant in migration periods

: The view looking north on Witty’s beach

: The view looking south on Witty’s beach

: Cobble beach forms part of the spit. Unconsolidated beach materials are essential to absorb the impact of winter storms.

: Report on Witty’s lagoon (includes Ecology, geology etc. Waterose et al.

: Behind the shore lie many layers of old shorelines, in photos taken 20 years ago this spit appears as a succession of berms. The introduced species scotch broom, Cytisus scoparius has colonized the area, suppressing the natural beach vegetation, possibly leading to instability in high storm surges.

: photos taken 20 years ago this spit appears as a succession of berms. The introduced species scotch broom, Cytisus scoparius has colonized the area, suppressing the natural beach vegetation, possibly leading to instability in high storm surges. In healthy sections of the beach which have not been heavily impacted by people lives the dune grass Leymus mollis. The underground creeping rootstocks bind the sand together and can absorb heavy wave impact

: Link to File of Anthropogenic Impacts on Habitat

: Link to File of Anthropogenic Impacts on Habitat Link to Transect Locations for Taylor Beach in the Parry Bay Drift Sector Forage Fish Sampling Project