Nature, Pets, Photography, Streamkeeping

Streamkeepers Install Dog Posters on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby

Volunteer streamkeepers make dog posters that the City of Burnaby’s Parks Department gives us permission to zap-strap to trees to remind dogs to stay out of the creek during the salmon spawning season, and until salmon eggs hatch in the spring.

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers volunteers Maho and Yumi have created several whimsical posters that impart the information with humour.

We’ve been doing this so long on Byrne Creek that dog walkers start asking us in the fall when the posters will be up!

They’re also a conversation piece, and we chatted with several walkers about them today.

dog posters creeks spawning salmon

Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

Byrne Creek Spawner Patrol, No Fish, Fishing Heron

Yumi and I did a two-hour patrol of Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, today, looking for spawning salmon. We were skunked again. With the recent rains, chum and coho should be moving up the creek from the Fraser River any day now.

But it was still a lovely ramble, and we spotted a Great Blue Heron successfully fishing in the creek.

great blue heron fishing Byrne Creek Burnaby

byrne creek autumn colours burnaby bc


Tagged tree down! Many years ago, volunteer streamkeepers laid out a system of numbered tags along the creek to which we reference data collection and activities. This tree has toppled, so we’ll move the tag to another nearby.

Let’s play Spot the Streamkeeper : – ).

Even with hi-viz vests on, you can lose your patrol partners even on this urban creek in the middle of the city.

streamkeeper high visibility vests


OK, here’s an easier one!

Nature, Photography, Society, Streamkeeping

Byrne Creek Autumn – Bring on the Salmon!

I love autumn, and while the colours are starting to diminish, next up will be spawning salmon. We volunteer with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers in SE Burnaby, BC, and for us this is the most exciting part of the year when salmon start returning to spawn and die.

There’s so much anticipation to see how many fish we’ll get as our numbers vary considerably over the years. Some years have been very poor with only a few dozen spawners counted, but last year we had over 100.

byrne creek dog posters


We have permission from Burnaby Parks to zapstrap two or three funny dog posters to trees in the lower ravine during the spawning season. We’ve had excellent responses to them, with dog walkers asking us when they’ll be up.

salmon redd nest byrne creek burnaby
While we haven’t seen any salmon yet, they should start arriving any day now. Yumi spotted this disturbance which is likely a redd, or nest of eggs, so they may be here and hiding. That could mean coho, as they are very secretive, while chum, the other species in our creek, is readily observable.

byrne creek garbage
Unfortunately the creek also attracts irresponsible types and we often find garbage dumped in it. This speaker was tossed off of the Meadow Ave. bridge.

Streamkeeping, sustainability, community, business, photography, books, and animals, with occasional forays into social commentary. Text and Photos © Paul Cipywnyk