Sumallo July 24

[Gord]

I have been meaning to share this report for sometime. Summer is such a busy time!

I have wanted to see this location for some time and finally made time to do it. This area is in behind Sunshine Valley just outside of Hope. It takes you up into the mountains a little bit.

The first bird I got, which would be a fairly common sight was MacGillvray's Warbler. Townsend's Warbler were also quite common. A Cassin's Vireo was a very brief sighting.

A family of very cute Red-breasted Nuthatches were worth sitting quietly to watch.



While here, a Chestnut-backed Chickadee, also with a family, paused to preen in the sun.



Right before I stood up, a Townsend's Chipmunk (I think) peeked out.



Lots of butterflies up here! I saw several species.





Also lots of nice flowers.











Further along a bunch of scolding robins alerted me to an owl. I had wild dreams of possibly a Spotted Owl but it turned out to be a small Great Horned Owl. It may have been watching some of the many Sooty Grouse and their chicks I would see today.



This little guy flew up when I came around the corner. They sure can fly young.



At a stop later in the morning I heard a Grey Jay having a problem that suggested a predator was in the area. Turned out to be a Northern Pygmy-owl.





I whistled a couple toots for practice but got a reply behind me! A second little one was up near the top of a tree and was soon after joined by the first one. I talked with Janne recently and she shared a great story about a family of pygmy-owls they saw not far from here. A nice breeding record.



There was lots of bear sign in the area but I did not see any. Also plenty of deer tracks but the biggest mammal I saw were Douglas Squirrels. A very birdy area with some nice scenery. I hope to check the area again soon. The road is not very rough at all and a car can make most of it no problem. There are several side roads though that lead into cutblocks. These roads are a little more rough. Surprisingly with the good road it was very quiet up there; I saw no other people, and there was little to no dumped garbage, vandalism and bonfires and other kinds of abuse to be seen either which is sadly fairly typical for such areas.

[Deleted]

Wow! Thanks, Gord. So many beautiful and interesting places in our own backyard, and so little time!

Is this at Sumallo Grove, at the lower end of Manning Park? Or somewhere closer to Sunshine Valley?

Your first butterfly is a Parnassian, probably Clodius Apollo (Parnassius clodius) but possibly Rocky Mountain Apollo (Parnassius smintheus). I don't see any black and white bands on the antennae, hence not likely smintheus.

Your second one is a fritillary. Probably a Speyeria species. Without a view of the underside and a size indicator (I'm not sure what species of plant those leaves belong to), that's about as far as I can get. Even with those, I probably wouldn't get much farther.

On a second look, I wonder if those are wild strawberry leaves. If so, it looks too small to be a Speyeria species. Still doesn't get me much closer, except it would be one of a group put in the genus Clossiana by some field guides but in the genus Boloria by others.

You think Empidonax flycatchers are a challenge, try the Nymphalidae family of butterflies, which includes (among others) commas, fritillaries and checkerspots. Lots of fun.

Maybe Denis can shed further light?

Stan

[tmanson]

Gord: A nice trip, Gord. Good to see those N. Pygmy Owls. I am presuming Dave wasn't with you; otherwise I'm sure he would be jumping up and down to get this bird!!
To answer Stan's question, in case Gord is away for the weekend, Sumallo is Sumallo Grove. It is directly accessible from highway 3 at the beginning of Manning Park, but past Sunshine Valley. There is a sign advertising its presence. In the off-season, it is gated at the highway, and you have to walk in from there. This can leave your car kind of exposed, as another member of this listserve found out the hard way.
This time of year, you can drive in to the picnic area, and hike in from there. You can hike the length of the Skagit trail from here, and it is about 16 km. It's possible to be picked up at the other end on the Silver-Skagit road which ends close to the American border. Anyone wanting to know the details on this hike, can contact me. Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[tmanson]

Oh-Oh: I think I misread Gord's e-mail. I think he was hiking in behind Sunshine Valley. I always thought this was called the road to Silver Tip. Sorry about that. The description of the Sumallo Grove is accurate, just not the place Gord went to; ( I think ). Cheers, Thor

Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.

[Gord]

Thor, you are right. Thanks for pointing that out!

My naming of the location was very misleading. I think it would be more accurate to call it Silver Tip even though Ive heard many call it Sumallo/Silver Tip for some reason.

Stan, thanks for the insight on the butterflies. I would have benefited from your presence! I know I have a little booklet Denis put out some years ago about local butterflies and have found it very useful. I thought I knew the name of the 'big white one'. Dragonflies and Damselflies have sort of caught my eye of late. I would not be surprised if butterflies are not too far behind in becoming even more interesting. I dont know if my poor eyes can take it though...where to look next??!!?? Birds overhead, dragonflies blasting past, butterflies feeding on flowers... ;D

[butterfly]

Amazing photos; what a great day you had!