Great news, we saw lots of fry in pools in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby today. Yumi and Joan managed to dip-net both chum and coho, and of course release them unharmed.
NOTE: Streamkeepers have permission from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to ID fry.
Coho fry
Chum fry
What an amazing day in and around Boundary Bay in Delta, BC, today. Took over 1,000 shots of eagles, harriers, and herons, and came home with a few usable ones : -).
That is one big rodent, and. . .
It went down the hatch in one gulp!
A weekend gathering of the clan in Osoyoos, BC, was colder than expected, but still great to get out of town for a bit.
We saw several dozen quail on our walks
Our trusty ’98 Subaru Outback hit 300,000 kilometers today, or just over 185,000 miles. As you can see, at nearly 20 years old, we don’t put a lot of mileage on it annually. Never used it for commuting until about six months ago, and that commute is only a couple of klicks.
Our mechanic says he regularly services an Outback with over 500,000 kilometers on it. Doubt if we’ll keep ours that long — while still reliable, it’s becoming increasingly expensive to maintain. And we’d also like a hybrid. . .
Yumi found this Anna’s Hummingbird dead near her building on her way home from work today. Sigh. What a beauty.
She brought it home for a close inspection, and a wee burial.
It’s amazing how the colouration changes with different light at different angles.
Happy to see a couple of Byrne Creek Ravine Park trailwalking “elders” out and about now that the snow and ice are gone.
Ran into Dave on the creek trail today, and it was good to chat. He’s 87, and always has a good tale to tell about what it was like growing up in the area. If I recall, he was a boxer in his youth, and he keeps telling me to keep moving! 
Saw Ron the other day, too. Ron’s a retired stonemason also pushing 90, if not there already, who had a hand in some of the magnificent greystone work at the University of Saskatchewan where I did a couple of degrees. He speaks with a hint of a lovely Scottish burr, and also has tales to tell.
Good to see you, gentlemen, and hope I’m still walking the ravine 30 years from now!
We heard, and then saw this Pileated Woodpecker near the tennis courts at the top end of Byrne Creek Ravine Park. It then flew into a yard to enjoy this feeder.
After spending an hour or more shooting birds at Burnaby Lake (see previous post), I wandered off down the trails, mentally shifting gears to focus on isolating patterns with a telephoto lens.
Spent an hour or so over lunch at Burnaby Lake. Superb array of birds!
Yumi and I took Skytrain and Sea Bus to Lonsdale Quay today and wandered around the North Shore.
There were six or seven of these cool birds patrolling the pier just east of the Quay. We’d never seen them before, and once we got home figured out they were Pigeon Guillemot.
There was also the usual gang of cormorants protecting their turf near the Sea Bus terminal.
And when we got home, we spotted this gorgeous little female Downy Woodpecker just off our balcony.
First I shot through the window with my little pocket camera. Then I ran down to my office and grabbed a DSLR. I gently opened the balcony door and she just sat there, a few meters away. I talked to her in low, quiet tones — I find this sometimes seems to reassure birds that you’re not trying to sneak up on them, and sometimes I think it just makes them curious.
Forty or fifty shots later I ran downstairs and grabbed a longer telephoto zoom and took another couple dozen shots. She was still just hanging out, so I ran down again to dig out Big Bertha, my Tamron 150-600 and she was still there when I got back, so I fired off another thirty or forty shots. Thank you for your patience!