I took a walk along Byrne Creek all the way from Rumble St. down to Marine Way. A lovely oasis in SE Burnaby, BC.
Monthly Archives: October 2016
Aging Cat Still Displays Amazing Sensory Skills
The sensitivity and prescience of the average house cat boggles the mind.
I just spent 45 minutes banging around in the kitchen making oatmeal, choco chip, sesame cookies, while the cat slept in my office in the basement. She did not stir.
Last batch of cookies out of the oven, I fed the turtle in her sun lamp-lit corner of the living room, turned around, and there’s the cat sitting by her dish. Sheesh.
You know the rule, Daddy, feed one, gotta feed the other!
Dozen+ Chum Salmon Seen in Byrne Ck
Despite the rain and somewhat poor visibility, I went on a spawner patrol on Byrne Creek in SE #Burnaby, and was rewarded by seeing over a dozen chum. It was also exciting to see them moving up into the lower ravine.
One of a pair seen in the lower ravine
The other chum in the lower ravine
Near the stop log in the sediment pond. The area looks like a huge extended redd from the upper end of the pond into the lower end of the culvert
Three or four in this shot
You can see the huge area of disturbed gravel and cobble. Lots of spawning action!
Chum Salmon Spawning in Stoney Creek, Burnaby, BC
I’d hoped to attend a celebration of life today for the late Eric Carlisle, SEHAB member and salmon whisperer extraordinaire. However, an oncoming cold kept me closer to home, though Yumi convinced me to get out in the fresh air for an hour and check out the spawners on Stoney Creek.
Cariboo Dam fish ladder
Stoney Creek chum in full spawning colours
Dippers appear with the salmon — they dive for loose eggs
Rivalry results in explosive action
Byrne Creek Spawner Patrol as Autumn Colours Fade
Yumi and I did a spawner patrol on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby this afternoon. Saw a few chum, and enjoyed the fading autumn colours.
Byrne Creek Dike Clearcut Well Underway
Provincial dike regulations are forcing the City of Burnaby to clearcut the habitat along lower Byrne Creek that shades the creek and is home to dozens of species of birds and other wildlife.
You can see in these photos how this stretch is going from lush mixed trees, bush, and other vegetation, to wasteland. I understand the need to inspect dikes for safety reasons, but is it really necessary to clearcut everything?
I know that Burnaby protested, to no avail, but I wonder why the work is going ahead just as salmon are returning to spawn.
And I’m sure that summer water temperature in this lower part of the creek will become lethal to trout and salmon with all the cover gone.
UPDATE: Over the course of the day I was in touch with both DFO and City of Burnaby Environmental staff. DFO will be looking into this, and enviro staff sounded surprised at the extent of plant removal, saying they thought only trees that were impeding vehicle movement along the top of the dike were supposed to be targeted at this time.
However, this still comes down to unbending provincial regulations. Cannot a happy medium be found that allows for inspection and assurance of safety, yet retains critical suburban salmon and other wildlife habitat?
Fishy Forecast
Now that’s what I call a salmon-returning-to-spawn forecast for BC’s lower mainland!
Byrne Creek Fall Colours
I took advantage of a sunny afternoon to catch some fall colours on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby.
Chum Salmon Spawners Spotted in Burnaby’s Byrne Creek
Yumi and I were eager to check out reports of chum back to spawn in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby after streamkeeper volunteers Rob and Joan’s sighting yesterday.
We saw 3 live chum today, and up to 3 redds (nests of eggs in the gravel). Yumi pegged the three as a male and 2 females (one larger chum kept bumping and bothering two lightly smaller ones…).
This is about a week earlier than they “usually” start showing up in the creek.
