Spent an hour or so over lunch at Burnaby Lake. Superb array of birds!
Category Archives: Nature
A Few Cool 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!
Winter Walk at Rice Lake
Blues skies and snowy views at Rice Lake in North Vancouver today.
Snowy Deer Lake Circumrambulation
Yumi and I enjoyed a sunny, snowy walk around Deer Lake.
Rain After Weeks of Snow Poses Fresh Challenges
Our gutters are overflowing here in SE Burnaby, BC, as a steady rain kicks in after weeks of snow.
Checking out the issue, I discovered that the gutters and downspouts on the shady side of our home are plugged solid with ice.
So today’s morning workout was to dig a trench away from the worst spot, drop a board in to help with deflection, and chip away at the gutter with a hatchet — a task I soon discovered was futile. Will simply have to redirect the flow away from the foundation as best as possible and wait for the downspouts to clear.
I suppose I could try pouring boiling water down, but that would take a loooong time : – ).
Just checked the weather and it’s supposed to reach around 8 C today, so hopefully it’ll melt soon.
UPDATE: Going on the principle of nothing ventured nothing gained, I just spent ten minutes boiling ~4 liters of water and pouring it into the gutter near the downspout, and it does seem to have helped a bit.
Celebrating Burnaby Enviro Strategy Steering Committee
Dinner and certificates tonight for folks who served on the City of Burnaby’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy Steering Committee. It was a great team!
Snowy Byrne Creek Miniatures
I can’t get enough of snowy Byrne Creek Ravine Park in SE Burnaby.
Byrne Creek Ravine Treeline Gleams in the Sun
All these shots taken from our balcony this afternoon.
Snowy Byrne Creek Walk in SE Burnaby
It was a snowy Byrne Creek ravine walk today in SE Burnaby, BC. Lots of snow on the ground, more falling, and more in the forecast.
Updated Snowy View From Our Balcony
So far we’ve had 11 cm of snow accumulate on our balcony in SE Burnaby since it began falling again yesterday morning. I know that’s not much compared to many other places, but it’s unusual for our neck of the woods.
Snow donut ready for balcony picnic
Careful on the Byrne Creek ravine trails — those trees look awfully heavy with snow