The Wildlife Rescue Association hosted another fun Earth Day event today in Burnaby. The Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society was invited to participate, as we have for many years.
It was a lovely day with lots of kids and families attending.
MP Kennedy Stewart addresses the gathering
We had a sunny, warm day for our chum fry release in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, this morning. We arranged for a couple of classes of students from Taylor Park Elementary to come down and help with the release. Kids, teachers, parents, and streamkeeper volunteers all had a great time.
Thanks to our DFO Community Advisor Maurice, and technician Scott. They’re been doing this for years, and are always a pleasure to meet, even for an hour or two.
Thanks also to the volunteers at the Bell-Irving Hatchery out at Kanaka Creek in Maple Ridge, who put in so many hours collecting eggs in the fall, and raising them through to releasable chum fry and coho smolts. It’s a huge task, and we appreciate your ongoing efforts.
Such releases are truly joyful occasions. The kids love scrambling down from the tank to the creek with baggies full of fish, and even adults succumb to the adventure. Everyone feels good about giving back a little.
I spent nearly three hours wandering the trails in Burnaby, BC’s, Fraser Foreshore Park, at the west end estuary/wetland nature area.
Lots of birds, a few people and dogs, some work action on the river, the wooden railway bridge, and even an incinerator.
Rufous hummingbird
Song sparrow?
Varied thrush?
Northern flicker
Northern flicker
American robin
Balancing homo sapiens sapiens 🙂
Metro Vancouver incinerator
Railway bridge
Busy bee
Gorgeous fungus
I attended a birding tour around Burnaby BC’s Deer Lake today led by master birder George Clulow. It was a crisp, sunny morning, and great fun. There was plenty to see, but I ended up splitting my photography efforts between birds and blossoms, since I’d decided not to shlep the heavy artillery for the two-hour walk. It’s hard getting a decent hummingbird shot without the big lens and tripod.
The heron rookery. Here’s one carrying material for a nest
Mallard couple at the east beach
American Wigeon couple at the east beach
Snoozing mallards at the east beach
Frog in the lake, likely invasive
Turtles in the lake. They all look like invasive red-eared sliders, though one may not be
Sparrow in the gardens near the Burnaby Art Gallery
I had a great time on this glorious afternoon taking about a dozen students studying education at Simon Fraser University on a tour of Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby.
They had their own questions and activities related to community sustainability. I provided them with an overview of what volunteer streamkeepers do, and how we relate to the broader community through umbrella organizations, the municipality, and DFO.
On a ravine walk this evening, Yumi and I noticed that stones in Byrne Creek between the stairs and the footbridge had a white coating. Not all stones across the width of the creek, more like some giant gently dragged a paintbrush a few feet wide across the tops.
Didn’t see any distressed or dead fish.
I was out looking for salmon fry in Byrne Creek  in SE Burnaby today, and got some video in addition to my usual, er, focus on still photography.
In addition to photographing salmon fry, I also got lots of shots of emerging greenery along Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC.
I spent about two hours this afternoon stalking salmon fry in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC. I saw dozens of wee coho throughout the areas that I checked. So nice to have confirmation that coho spawned successfully in this urban creek last autumn, and that their eggs are hatching out.
There were several dozen fry hanging in a pool under this log in the lower ravine. There were also four or five smolt-size fish there too, either coho yearlings or resident cutthroat trout. I didn’t see them eat any fry while I was there, but I have observed that in other years.
There are several nature walks coming up over the next few months in Burnaby, BC, parks. You can sign up here.
I have been on walks with birder George Clulow (check out his excellent nature blog here), and with species-at-risk specialist Pam Zevit (South Coast Conservation Program).
