Spring Bug Count on Byrne Creek
Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society volunteers sampled nine sites on the creek today for bugs — AKA aquatic invertebrates. The types and quantities of bugs found are an indicator of water quality.
After the bugs are collected using D-nets, we retire to a volunteer’s home to count in comfort, accompanied by coffee, tea, and muffins.
Caddisfly
Growing collection of mayflies
A cool aquatic snail
Red-Winged Blackbirds in Love
Or at least lust. The boy is, um, there and gone in about three seconds : -).
This girl was, er, obviously ready. . . We’d never seen this sort of display before.
Osprey, Swallows Put On a Show at Iona
Great day for “shooting” birds at Iona Beach Regional Park in Vancouver today.
Osprey
Tree swallows aplenty
Fraser Foreshore Feathered Friends Enjoy Sunshine
Lots of birds out on this gorgeous day at Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC.
American Robin
Vireo of some sort?
Golden-Crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow?
Fox Sparrow?
Black-Capped Chickadee
Ring-Necked Ducks
I watched this heron fish for nearly half an hour — it was notching a success rate upward of 80%!
Hours After Setting Up Mason Bee Station, Action!
We built this little shelter for our balcony and installed a mason-bee release box, and two containers of paper tubes that Yumi patiently rolled using bee-whisperer Joe Sadowski’s exact instructions as to proper sizing. He provided us with several dozen tubes, and a dowel to fashion our own.
Little bee station I made from scrap lumber saved in our garage. Nothing fancy, just a bit of shelter from rain. I had some old paint from painting a bedroom over ten years ago, and by chance it matches our siding :-).
Joe’s bee-release box at upper left — fashioned from a small plant container. A wooden box I made at center, and a pop-bottle tube holder Joe made on the right.
And within hours of taking cocoons out of their over-winter storage in the fridge, we’ve got action!
Yumi rolled over a hundred tubes in one evening!
Mason bees do not provide honey, but they are super pollinators, and are very docile and people-friendly.
I’d like to thank the City of Burnaby Parks Dept. for getting us started with mason bees a few years ago with their “adopt a mason bee condo” program in which volunteers were trained to monitor and maintain boxes supplied by the City and installed in municipal parks and schoolyards.
A few mason bee resources:
Suzuki Foundation How to Harvest Mason Bee Cocoons
West Coast Seeds A Year in Mason Bee Keeping
Bee Diverse — If you’re not handy and want to buy all your supplies this is a good source. Many garden shops also carry mason bee gear.
Prepping To Put Out Mason Bee Boxes
Yesterday, Yumi and I spent a wonderful evening with mason-bee whisperer and native-plant gardener Joe Sadowski. Thanks for the personal tutoring and inspiration!
We even got several plants to take home!
Today I put my basic carpentry skills to the test (earning at best a “C”), and made two additional boxes.
I’ve never been a cabinetry or finishing type of carpenter, if I may call myself a carpenter at all — more of a demolition and framing, roughing in, kinda guy.
But while not pretty, they’re functional.
Owls Highlight South Surrey Ramble
Yumi and I headed down to Stewart Heritage Farm in South Surrey, BC, today to walk the trails and were rewarded with lots of birds and other critters.
The highlight was a pair of owls that Yumi spotted in silent flight through the woods. She saw where they perched so I could get in and get some shots. Thanks!
Photographer goofing around. . . Photo by Yumi.
Birds Galore at Centennial Beach in Delta, BC
We spent several hours wandering the trails at Centennial Beach in Delta, BC, today.
Anna’s Hummingbird
Couple of tree swallows duking it out over prime real estate : -)
We saw several Northern Harriers
Crows hate raptors — when the harrier landed in the field this sentinel came to check it out
Invasive Red-Eared Slider in the pond near the playground
A handsome crow
Let’s play “spot the bunny”
Spring is in the Air at Campbell Valley Regional Park
We enjoyed fresh air and lots of signs of spring on a 2-hour ramble in Campbell Valley Regional Park today.
We’ve always enjoyed hand-feeding chickadees in the park, but this is the first time we pulled in a Red-Breasted Nuthatch.
The feeling of a wee bird’s claws clutching one’s finger is pure joy!
Doing the wormhole space-jump thing. . . : -)
A sign at a trail crossing said flooding ahead, but we had to go see for ourselves : -)
Trilliums — I think these are protected in BC
Budding salmonberries!
Busy as a . . .