We walked around Deer Lake in Burnaby today. It was pretty quiet for wildlife, but we did see one salmon carcass in Buckingham Creek, and the highlight just as we were returning to the parking lot was a Cooper’s Hawk.
I love the patterns and construction. Amazing. . . .
Northern Flicker
Canada Geese inbound from the North Shore
I did a quick patrol for spawning salmon on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC today. Unfortunately, I came across two Coho that had died unspawned — a female and a jack (early male).
I also saw a Varied Thrush on my way down the creek, and then a Merlin in Ron McLean Park, both confirmed by iNaturalist. I think it’s only the second time I’ve seen a Merlin.
Merlin
Varied Thrush
Three days of fishy meetings near Ladysmith, BC, over the last weekend and early this week.
SEHAB (Salmon Enhancement and Habitat Advisory Board) members representing volunteer stewardship groups from across BC shared info and heard many excellent presentations from the federal Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, and BC provincial ministries.
What’s a meeting about volunteers working to protect salmon without, er, a home-smoked salmon? 
And when you’re dealing with several levels of bureaucracy, the initialisms and acronyms fly thick and fast, eh? We began keeping track of some of them for the benefit of folks newer to the table.
We did a spawner patrol today on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC. Lots of downed trees on trails, and one big one down in our townhouse complex — not sure how much damage.
Playing with low ISO, low shutter speeds
I love how this looks like a tiny bonsai. Am told it’s likely a type of fruticose lichen.
Bald Eagle high above the creek
Red-tailed Hawk above the creek
Northern Flicker at a feeder in the ‘hood
The big tree that came down overnight in our complex
Sigh. . . I have two pairs, and one pair was so worn with multiple patches that it finally bit the dust.
.Here are some scenic views of One Mile Lake near Pemberton, BC. See previous post for photos/video of Hooded Merganser taking a fish.
I came across this Hooded Merganser trying to swallow a small fish at One Mile Lake near Pemberton, BC. It was a struggle!
And a video:
We were happy to finally see a pair of Chum salmon spawning in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, today. For decades, Chum would start arriving like clockwork around Oct. 18, depending on rain, but the last few seasons we haven’t seen them until the end of the month.
You can see the pair of Chum just upstream of the redd, or depression in the gravel, that the female has been digging with her tail.
We also found a dead Coho. Unfortunately it was another female that had died without spawning. We see this a lot on Byrne Creek as the water quality is very poor in this urban area. Fingers crossed we’ll eventually find some that have spawned. . .
We went out to the Cariboo Dam, Stoney Creek, and the Brunette River to look for spawning salmon. We saw lots of Chum Salmon, and also a Belted Kingfisher and a couple of Great Blue Herons.
Belted Kingfisher
Shaking the rain off : – )
Female Chum flipping sideways to dig a redd in the gravel/cobble for her eggs
Male Chum duking it out for spawning rights
I hadn’t been down to Elgin Heritage Park in Surrey, BC, for awhile, so seeing the sunny break in the weather today, I headed down to see what I could photograph.
Steller’s Jay
Common Merganser with Starry Flounder (thanks for fish ID, Rob Alexander!)
Great Blue Heron
Bushtit
Belted Kingfisher
Red-tailed Hawk