I walked the Still Creek corridor near Willingdon Ave. in Burnaby, BC, this morning while the car was being serviced. While the creek is basically a fairly stagnant ditch in this area, there’s still lots to be seen!
Salmonberry blossom
Green-winged Teal
Bumblebee
Mourning Cloak butterfly
Northern Flicker. It was drumming on the light standard.
I took a slow lap around Garry Point Park in Steveston, BC, today, and then walked the dyke a bit before the chill and increasing drizzle pushed me back to the car.
Several SEHAB (Salmonid Enhancement & Habitat Advisory Board) members had a productive meeting today with 2 Department of Fisheries Directors, 2 Regional Managers, and the Stewardship Planning Coordinator.
We met via Teams to report out on the last SEHAB meeting, bringing forward concerns from BC’s streamkeeper and stewardship volunteer community on issues such as groundwater access for volunteer hatcheries, the salmonid fry salvage policy and adult salvage (fish stranding when drought affects watersheds), enhanced networking opportunities, DFO research into the 6PPD-Q chemical in vehicle tires that is known to be lethal to Coho salmon, and some planning looking forward to the province-wide streamkeeper/stewardship conference in 2025, etc. Whew!
One of the key issues was the likelihood of drought affecting watersheds across BC again this year. The outlook is not good for fish, for agriculture, for forestry, for fires. . .
Despite the cold, windy weather, I got lots of bird photos at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby, BC, today.
Anna’s Hummingbird
Nice to see Bald Eagles hanging out at last year’s nest.
Girls are attracting a lot of attention at the Fraser Foreshore Park ponds. Two Wood Duck males and a female, and two Ring-necked Duck males and a female.
My first ramble with my new (to me) Nikon D500 DSLR body.
I’ve always wanted one of these tanks that are great for wildlife/action photography. Yes, the D500 is old, but it’s still a superb performer that got a Gold rating from DP Review.
Got the body, two batteries, charger, manual, and original strap for less than half of what a D500 body cost new at its introduction.
Oh, yes, and 81,000 shutter activations, with a rating of 200,000, so lots of life in it yet. . .
Byrne Creek blossoms
Varied Thrush in Byrne Creek Ravine Park
Kinglet in Taylor Park
Wind-blown clouds viewed from Taylor Park
And later. . . Sora the Cat asking if I’m ready for cuddly/sleep yet . . .
We’re sad that TV Japan will no longer be available via cable. We’ve had a subscription here in Canada for many years at around C$18/month.
It’s the channel we watch together the most (my partner is Japanese), and it likely takes up the most PVR recordings.
It’s got amazingly photographed documentaries and nature shows.
Heart-warming family shows like Kazoku ni Kampai with Tsurube, and travel/history/geography/geology fave Tamori.
Morning talk show Asaichi that explores interesting places in Japan, good food, and social and health issues.
The quirky Instruction Manual Theatre.
Natural Grandeur of the East with its mind-blowing nature videos.
Somewhere Street that travels the world to document cities and their historical sites and local food. . .
Kokoro no Tabi in which we follow a crusty old dude who cycles around Japan to visit sites suggested by letters from viewers for sentimental reasons. . .
“My late mother loved walking a path to a beach near . . . .”
“The best years of my life were in elementary school in . . . where we’d climb a hill . . . ”
They are moving to an online streaming service — at US$25/month, or nearly C$40/month. Sigh. That’s over double. . .
We’ll probably cough it up, but sometimes “progress” sucks, eh?