Common Raven, Varied Thrush, Snowy scenes on Byrne Creek in Burnaby.
Monthly Archives: November 2022
Heron, Finch, Robin at Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC
A chilly stroll at Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC, today.
A Great Blue Heron patiently let me take over a hundred shots from a few meters away, American Robins were eating berries, and there were several House Finches. There was also a variety of ducks in the pond, will get to those photos later. . .
Super Salmon Spawner Patrol on Byrne Creek in Burnaby
Had my best spawner patrol of the year so far on Byrne Creek, with a total of 6 live Coho and 1 live Chum salmon. I also processed (species, sex, length, spawning status) 5 dead Coho and 1 dead Chum.
I also got to watch a pair of Coho spawning. They tend to by shy, and I don’t get to see this that often!
Some photos and a video:
Chum
Coho
Four Coho and a Chum ready for processing
Coho
Coho at the gate in the sediment trap
Video of Coho spawning in the lower ravine:
NOTE: Volunteer Streamkeepers have training and permission to monitor spawning salmon, and to process them after they die. We cut carcasses in half after we’ve gathered the data so that we know they’ve been assessed, and return them to the stream to provide nutrients to the ecosystem.
Remembering Mom on Her Birthday
Lit a candle for my Mom on her birthday.
She would have been 89 today if cancer hadn’t taken her. She had the genes and lifestyle to make that number, but not the luck in the cancer draw. . .
Hard to believe we said goodbye 15 years ago.
Small personal rituals and remembrances.
A wee glass of Jackson-Triggs Cabernet Sauvignon, her fave reasonbly priced wine.
And a wee glass of fresh water. . .
Wonderful Memory from NYC – Teacher’s College, Columbia Uni
OMG. . . This is likely one of the earliest photos that I shot, developed the film, and printed and mounted the photo.
Just found it spilling out of a storage box in my office.
Circa 1970. Teacher’s College, Columbia University, New York.
This was while my late Mom was doing graduate work at Columbia, and my late Dad was doing his psychiatry residency at Bronx State Hospital.
I remember several faces in this photo. It was an experimental “free school” where kids pretty much ran rampant.
I got leave to spend hours in the school darkroom to learn photography, and I’d also beg my teachers to let me go explore the gorgeous libraries at Columbia.
I love libraries and librarians to this day. The research staff at Columbia libraries were wonderful with an early teen who absorbed text and info at a prodigious rate 
.
We ordered textbooks from Canada so that my sister and I wouldn’t be behind when we returned to public school after a couple of years.
Kinglet, Steller’s Jay, Flicker at Deer Lake, Burnaby, BC
I had a good walk around Deer Lake in Burnaby, BC, this morning. There were flocks of munching American Robins, a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets, some Northern Flickers, and a Steller’s Jay.
American Robin
I took over a hundred shots of this flitty Ruby-crowned Kinglet and this was the best I could get of the ruby today. : – )
Northern Flicker
Steller’s Jay
Pied-billed Grebe
Kinglet Kuteness in Burnaby, BC
While we were patrolling for salmon spawning in Byrne Creek today, I noticed a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitting around the fence in the spawning habitat.
So cute!
Coyote, Heron near Byrne Creek, Burnaby, BC
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner near Byrne Creek in Burnaby, BC, today. Well, OK, a Great Blue Heron .
The heron stood its ground and the coyote passed it by. . . .
Red-tailed Hawk in SE Burnaby, BC
I love it when you go for a walk in the ‘hood, check out some regular wildlife hangouts, and come upon an old friend.
Well, dunno if we’re on a first-name basis, but I’ve shot this Red-tailed Hawk, or a Red-tailed Hawk, at or near this spot in SE Burnaby, BC, a dozen or more times over the last couple of years.
Berry Happy Robin, Flicker, Burnaby, BC
I came upon an American Robin eating berries on a walk encompassing Byrne Creek Ravine Park and Taylor Park in SE Burnaby, BC. Also a Northern Flicker, and still some remaining autumn colours.
Downt the hatch!
