We hadn’t been to Minnekhada Regional Park in a long time, so we took advantage of the superb sunny weather to ramble around for a couple of hours.
We didn’t see a heck of a lot of wildlife, but did run across a garter snake and a frog.
Yumi at a lookout near the lodge
Yumi spotted this frog
This garter snake crossed the trail to our delight, and that of a couple of other walkers
We walked around Deer Lake in Burnaby, BC, today, spending half an hour or so observing the heron colony. It’s busy season, with herons building nests, flying in and out collecting branches.
Making adjustments
Standing guard as others focus on building
Making a ruckus
Selecting a branch to break off for nest building
Taking off with branch
In flight with nest material
And a bonus — a rufous hummingbird
It’s time to bring back laws to protect fish habitat. Read the new report released today – supported by 47 First Nations, scientists, anglers and conservation groups across Canada. Help share the news! http://wcel.org/resources/
I took the cameras for a walk along Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC, over an extended lunch today.
Sparrow
Junco
Golden-Crowned Sparrow
Great Blue Heron taking aim
Great Blue Heron whack!
Great Blue Heron coming up empty
American Robin
Rufous Hummingbird
Hawk – Sharp-Shinned? Cooper’s? Goshawk?
Took my old manual-everything Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 lens for a blossom walk today in Ron McLean Park and Byrne Creek Ravine Park in SE Burnaby, BC.
I patrolled Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, today looking for salmon fry. I spotted coho a couple of weeks ago, and today there were schools of wee chum salmon out and about.
It’s great to see them! Now we know that both coho and chum salmon successfully spawned in this urban creek, and that their progeny are appearing.
Shot from the upstream side of the Meadow Ave. bridge
A few meters d/s of the wooden footbridge in the ravine.
My wife has since pointed out that these are likely a mix of coho and chum, since several have orange tails and large parr marks.
As I entered the spawning habitat this heron spooked from the overflow pond, and landed in a tree overlooking the sediment pond
I’m certain it’s been chowing down on chum fry! But that’s nature…
Giving me the “get out and leave me alone” look
I enjoyed a birding tour in Fraser Foreshore Park in SE Burnaby, BC, this morning, led by George Clulow. I’ve taken a number of tours with George, who has a wealth of knowledge. The tour was part of a series organized by Burnaby Parks.
The mighty Fraser’s north arm as viewed from Fraser Foreshore Park
Selfie at the start of the tour
One of the highlights was hearing and spotting several sandhill cranes in flight
George answers lots of questions!
Checking out the viewpoint east of Byrne Rd.
It was fun to see a beaver!
It was a good morning, and George always emails a list of all the birds seen or heard.
Day two in Osoyoos was windy, sunny, and with spectacular clouds over the lake and mountains. We took a walk in between lots of chowing down : -).
The “boys” propping up a fence
We didn’t sit long — it was chilly. Just for this shot taken by Yumi
We took a three-day weekend for a trip to Kamloops and then down the Okanagan valley to Osoyoos, where we met some relatives.
View from the Merritt, BC, tourist information centre
Peterson Creek Park in Kamloops
A brooding, choppy Okanagan Lake
Several large trees came down in Byrne Creek Ravine Park in southeast Burnaby in the windstorm today.
These toppled just a few meters from our townhouse complex. Sure glad the wind wasn’t blowing the other way!
Just by chance I saw the one that landed on the trail come down (the one with my foot for size reference). I’d just peeked out the front door this morning, and saw it come crashing down.
City crews cleaned up fast!
