Volunteers processed one dead Chum male, saw two live Chum females, and noted two redds (nests of eggs in the gravel/cobble) on a spawner patrol today.
Chum numbers are very low this year.
Volunteers have training and permission to process dead salmon for species, size, and spawning status.
This chum female was just downstream of the footbridge in the lower ravine
Same fish viewed from the bridge
A big male chum
It can be tough getting at dead fish at times!
Cooper’s Hawk trying to catch an Eastern Grey Squirrel at Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC, this morning. The hawk dove a couple of times but the squirrel got away.
(Correct: I’d previously posted that I thought this was a Sharp-shinned Hawk, but now have a “Research Grade” confirmation from iNaturalist of a Cooper’s.)
I got out today for a Byrne Creek ravine walk in Burnaby, BC, before the rain hit. The colors are gorgeous though many leaves are already on the ground.
Bald Eagles were adding sticks to two existing nests at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby, BC, today. There were also several hawks.
Balancing on left talon while right talon carries a stick
The Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society had a tour of the creek in SE Burnaby, BC, today to orient new volunteers to monitoring spawning salmon.
We had a great turnout, lovely weather, and YAY, saw a male and a female chum salmon. The fish have been late this year, to the point that we were getting concerned if they’d show at all . . .
Here are a few photos and a short video.
Byrne Creek Streamkeeper volunteers will be leading orientation salmon spawner patrols both this Saturday and this Sunday, Oct. 30/31, starting at 10:00 am at Ron McLean Park.
The weather appears to be shaping up nicely with sun in the forecast both days.
The tours will start from the playground/washroom at Ron McLean Park just south of Rumble St. on Hedley Ave. There’s plenty of parking around there, and Edmonds Skytrain Station is a ten-minute walk to the east.
We will head past the tennis courts, and down the long stairs into the ravine. We will walk the dike past the stoneworks place to the confluence with John Mathews Creek.
Then we’ll backtrack to the spawning habitat and spawning channel at the corner of Byrne and Meadow. Then back up the ravine.
The screenshot shows the area.
Depending on whether or not we see spawners, the tours should take 2 to 3 hours.
We have reports of just one spawner seen so far this year in Byrne Creek, but Yumi and I have seen chum in Stoney Creek in NE Burnaby and Scott Creek in Coquitlam, and hear that chum are back at Kanaka Creek in Maple Ridge, so they are out there! Fingers crossed more will be in Byrne any day now.
Outdoor clothing suitable for the weather and sturdy footwear recommended.
Byrne Creek was high and dirty from the recent rain so I didn’t see any salmon spawning today, but I did catch this Great Blue Heron checking out the dike upgrades just south of the bridge at Byrne Road in SE Burnaby.
This Red-tailed Hawk was quite patient with me for awhile, but eventually it had enough of being stared at and took off in a huff.
This is a regular at Fraser Foreshore Park in SE Burnaby, BC. It nests not too far away.
Fierce competion at Scott Creek in Coquitlam, BC!
Chum males duking it out for spawning rights.
We checked out Stoney Creek in NE Burnaby, BC, hearing chum salmon were back and spawning. We were delighted to see several.