Here are some scenic views of One Mile Lake near Pemberton, BC. See previous post for photos/video of Hooded Merganser taking a fish.
Category Archives: Nature
Hooded Merganser Tries to Swallow 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:
Chum Salmon Arrive on Byrne Creek in Burnaby
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. . .
Kingfisher, Herons, Salmon on Brunette River in Burnaby
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
Birding Photo Safari in South Surrey, BC
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
Coho Return to Spawn in Byrne Creek in Burnaby, BC
I was happy to see a Coho salmon on a Byrne Creek walk in Burnaby, BC, today.
And I was unhappy that it had died before even colouring up, and that it was a female full of eggs.
We have had problems with Coho pre-spawn mortality on Byrne Creek for many years, and also with released Coho smolts in the spring.
Research in Washington State by Dr. Jenifer McIntyre has linked such Coho deaths to a chemical found in tires that washes off roads and into creeks.
NOTE: Streamkeepers have training and permission to assess salmon after they have spawned and died for species, sex, size, and spawning status. Is is illegal to interfere with spawning salmon.
Salmon Spawner Patrol Training on Byrne Creek, Burnaby
We had a good spawner-monitoring orientation tour this morning on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC. We didn’t see any fish aside from a few coho/cutthroat in the smolt-size range.
I hope that with the rains coming this week, the salmon will respond to rising water in the creek and start moving upstream to spawn. Fingers crossed for exciting days ahead.
It was great to get some new volunteers out!
On the dyke south of Byrne Road/Southridge Dr.
Welcome Sound of Rain in Burnaby, BC
I hadn’t heard the sound of what woke me this morning in so long that for a moment I was confused.
Ahh. . . Rain!
What a sweet sound and smell.
And not too much rain that would have pounded off the baked ground and gushed into drains and into pipes to blast through the creek, but a nice, gentle, steady drizzle.
Exactly what we need to revive the forest, slowly swell the creeks, recharge groundwater, and welcome the salmon back to spawn in Burnaby, BC, creeks.
It has been scary dry for so long all over BC.
Hope to see you soon, chum and coho!
More Sediment Dumped Into Byrne Creek in Burnaby
I saw another dump of sediment into Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, on a pre-dinner walk today. Reported it to the City of Burnaby and they asked for photos.
The creek was running clear around 3:30pm, but Griffiths Pond near Edmonds Skytrain Station was murky, there was fresh sediment visible all along the bottom of creek from the bottom of the ravine stairs to the footbridge near Southridge Dr., and both ponds in the artificial spawning habitat were cloudy.
Likely a construction site pumpout in the upper watershed somewhere.
Sigh. . . This was happening repeatedly earlier in the year and the City finally tracked it down and shut it down, and here we go again. . . .
Construction sites are not allowed to pump out into storm drains! All dirty water from construction sites is to be remediated on site.
Mug of Green Tea Saves Hundreds of Spiders
How a mug of green tea saved hundreds of baby spiders.
A true story. . . by me. . .
Late this afternoon I made myself a large mug of green tea and went out on the balcony to enjoy it.
The sun was sinking behind the tree line and it was pleasantly warm for mid-October.
As I took a steaming sip, a small cloud drifted down in front of my face. I glanced down to see dozens, if not hundreds, of baby spiders on my lap.
Now I like spiders for the most part, and appreciate the role they play in nature taking care of even less likable things like mosquitos, but as with many folks, I tend to react reflexively if a spider, or a mess of them, drops in unexpectedly.
I credit my Zen state of sipping green tea from a heavy stone mug for not swatting, but simply sighing, and wondering how I was to remove the wriggling mass while causing the least amount of injury.
The babes were teeny tiny, each not much larger than a sesame seed.
I slowly got up, took a step to the table, and gently shook them off, one area of my clothing at a time.
Then I bent over and did a full body shake, and after nothing more dropped off, I ran my hands over myself from top to bottom.
I was free, and so were the babes.