Checking out Pamela’s bags of goodies — snail shells, feathers, and other cool stuff.
I’ve been volunteering with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers for over a decade, and I always enjoy getting out in the park and down in the ravine with knowledgeable folks, be they biologists, or birders, or geologists… There is always something to learn!
It was a lovely afternoon for a tour of the working Fraser River with the Burnaby Board of Trade and Port Metro Vancouver. It was sunny and warm, and in addition to the tugs, barges, cranes, containers, and ships, nature put on a bit of a show, too.
I saw several salmon jumping, and a sturgeon rolled just at the surface of the water. An inquisitive harbour seal also put in a brief appearance, not to mention herons, cormorants, seagulls, and more.
Taking the compost out to the bin this evening I saw this lovely sight. Sure looks like rain, it smells like rain, and I hope it rains. A lot. We need it.
There have been some questions about lamprey on the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers mailing list.
Here’s one that I shot just below the stop log in the sediment pond on July 30 this summer. It was about 15 cm long, give or take a few.
They may seem icky for their snake-like appearance and because many are by nature parasitic, but they are part of the great scheme of things, and have coexisted with salmon, trout and other fish for millennia.
We have observed them spawning in Byrne Creek, in the lower ravine, and in the sediment pond. They are actually quite beautiful to watch when they are mating for they dance and twine together.
Cool! One of my photos appeared in the summer 2015 InfoBurnaby.
Not so cool, they forgot to credit… Sigh.
City of Burnaby staff asked if they could use photos from my blog post from a few months back to promote Parks-organized nature tours. I said sure, but that it would be great to be given credit.
Giving credit is easy, so I wonder why it seems so hard to remember to do.
UPDATE: Aug. 13, 2015. Thank you! In a new brochure, the City used five of my photos — and there were five photo credits!
I now have my main computer set up with a stereo dual-output adapter on the audio output.
One signal is running to my Logitech THX-certified speakers/woofer that can greatly annoy the neighbours if turned up to even a third of their potential, and the other signal is running to the dock for my relatively new Sony wireless headphones.
No more plugging and unplugging. The Logitech speaker setup has a remote volume/on-off switch, and the headphones have their own built-in on/off and volume controls.
