The main commons on Galankin island looks like a place recovering from intense industrial activity. In fact the land is more the equivalent of newly deglaciated as most of the area is fill related to the quarrying of rock for runway expansion in the 1960s. I'm not positive if the fill changed the shoreline of the island significantly or if the fill was just to even out the access to the quarry.
The vegetation is mixture of native and non-native pioneer species: Alnus rubra, A. viride var sinuata, Salix sitchensis, Rubus spectabilis and a few very sad looking Picea sitchensis and Tsuga heterophylla. The herbs include: Ranunuculus repens, Veronica americana, Aruncus diocus, Equisetum varigatum, Heracleum maximum and several species of Carex.
There is a pretty wide footpath through the commons that is part of the trail system connecting the common dock to most of the island lots. There are also 2 large, functional but ramshackle sort of buildings, and a couple of sheds filled with semi-abandoned long-line gear and outboards.
There is a small creeklet from the lake that enters the ocean via the lot on the south end of the commons.
Besides being an interesting place to look at plant succession, the commons has been a great place to see a good variety of birds. The mixture of vegetation, open ground, puddles and the small creek draining the lake seem to provide a variety of food sources and cover. Last fall I stalked Western Screech owl(s) in the commons, but this year I'm seeking Common snipe.
This isn't the first year I've seen snipe in the commons, the creek and brush seem to be to their liking. Typically I see a single bird that disappears mid fall, but this year I've seen multiple birds and they seem to be sticking around (or surviving?) longer. The high count was 4 birds on the 5th of November. The last time I saw a single snipe was the 30th of December.
I found the snipe in the typical fashion, that is getting very close without seeing them, snipe exploding into the air, and me jumping out of my socks. I have tried walking slowly and quietly while watching/looking carefully while I walked through the commons to see if I could manage to get a bit closer before they flushed. These efforts have met with a variable amount of success. Snipe are really hard to see for those of us that rely on a bit of movement to see well camouflaged birds. They also are really good at holding still until the last second. The best I've done is when a flock of juncos were working the ground. The juncos weren't spooked or were at least more tolerant of my walking. This time the snipe walked out of view behind the brush. Trying to get closer was not so successful.
I was kind of hoping to get a photo of a snipe, so I've taken to walking with my camera ready through the commons. No photos of snipe yet, but some great blurry "art" photos of shrubs.
