I had a rewarding photo shoot at Iona Beach Regional Park near YVR today. It’s part of Metro Vancouver’s amazing regional parks system.
The previous post was of the lush blue skies and mountains, while this one focusses on some of the bird life I encountered today.
I spotted this gorgeous hawk as I was leaving.
Bald Eagles
There were hundreds of Snow Geese
Anna’s Hummingbird
Golden-Crowned Sparrow doing a fan dance. . .
I spent several hours at Iona Beach Regional Park near YVR today. The parking lot was overflowing with people out enjoying a rare sunny day. But you didn’t have to walk far on the trails to find yourself almost completely alone.
I had some errands to run today, and I have to admit that I took the long route. A very long route. Sigh.
Sorry!
Yes, I know, driving is not environmentally sound. I’ve always loved to drive, and did numerous multi-thousand kilometer trips in my teens and early 20s.
When I lived in Saskatchewan I drove to Toronto and Montreal several times to visit family. Also drove to BC to visit family many times.
Back in the mid-80s I got a degree at Carleton University in Ottawa, and did a year of writing at the University of Victoria. Both those adventures entailed long-distance driving – – in opposite directions from Saskatchewan.
And to be honest, I’d like to do a few more road trips as I approach my silver years.
Yukon trip. . . Cross-Canada trip. . .
We have a hybrid vehicle, but there’s still environmental impact. We have friends who have an electric car that they power with solar panels to a great extent. That would be great, but not in our budget now.
Ever since the “stay home” recommendations came into force in BC we’ve stayed within about a 45-minute radius of home, and limit stops and interactions.
Looking forward to more extended road trips if and when restrictions ease. . .
If they had heeded public health advice, they would never have left the country for a vacation.
In this time of fake news, Covid, societal troubles and tribulations, and rampant social media wildness, I remember the words of Ukraine’s greatest poet, Taras Shevchenko, from some 150 years ago:
Думайте, читайте,
Think, read. . .
Translation mine.
Don’t just mindlessly click. Read and think.
When a dictatorship fears words, they must carry meaning. . .
People in Ukraine, Russia, and beyond, have been subjugated for centuries, let the flowers blossom.
During my pre-lunch south Burnaby ramble, I noticed that Byrne Creek was running milky blue again. I called it in to City of Burnaby Environmental. This has happened several times over the last couple of months. Sigh. . .
UPDATE: Staff traced to construction site. It is illegal to pump out construction sites into street drains without remediation/filtration. Thank you for the swift response, and thanks to others who apparently reported this, too!
All Drains Lead to Habitat!
Lots of bird viewing opportunities at Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC, today.
Northern Flicker
Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Blue Heron
Spotted Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
Hairy Woodpecker?
Bufflehead couple
Rich colours at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby late this afternoon.
There’s always lots of action at Piper Spit on Burnaby Lake. And lots of people out enjoying the sunshine.
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Mallard
Mandarin Duck
Northern Pintail
Wood Duck
Scaup
Scaup
Hairy Woodpecker
Spotted Towhee
Unfortunately we found another dead Pine Siskin. Samonellosis is spreading among these cute wee birds. Yumi picked it up using some sticks so as not to touch it, and buried it, hopefully to help contain the spread.