I took advantage of a late work shift to do a Byrne Creek Ravine Park ramble in SE Burnaby, BC, this morning. Lots of birds and assorted blossoms. . .
Anna’s Hummingbird
Varied Thrush
Downy Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Spotted Towhee
Salmonberry blossom
Skunk cabbage
A gorgeous sunny day to take in the Sea to Sky gondola near Squamish, BC, and walk some trails at the top.
Steller’s Jay
Will get around to sharing some GoPro video another day. . .
I walked the Still Creek corridor near Willingdon Ave. in Burnaby, BC, this morning while the car was being serviced. While the creek is basically a fairly stagnant ditch in this area, there’s still lots to be seen!
Salmonberry blossom
Green-winged Teal
Bumblebee
Mourning Cloak butterfly
Northern Flicker. It was drumming on the light standard.
Spring is here!
American Robin
We spent a couple of lovely hours in the spring sunshine today at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver.
Best nameplate spotted today 🙂
I spent several hours this morning wandering Iona Beach Regional Park near YVR.
Bald Eagle
Anna’s Hummingbird
Tongue sticking out
Incoming Red-winged Blackbird
I took a slow lap around Garry Point Park in Steveston, BC, today, and then walked the dyke a bit before the chill and increasing drizzle pushed me back to the car.
Anna’s Hummingbird
Great Blue Heron
American Wigeon couple
There were lots of Starlings
Aerial duel reduced to black and white.
We saw several Anna’s Hummingbirds on a walk along the Fraser River in New Westminster, BC, today.
I love how water, be it rain or snow, brings out the colours of nature. A walk around Byrne Creek Ravine Park in south Burnaby, BC, this morning.
Salmonberry blossoms
Several SEHAB (Salmonid Enhancement & Habitat Advisory Board) members had a productive meeting today with 2 Department of Fisheries Directors, 2 Regional Managers, and the Stewardship Planning Coordinator.
We met via Teams to report out on the last SEHAB meeting, bringing forward concerns from BC’s streamkeeper and stewardship volunteer community on issues such as groundwater access for volunteer hatcheries, the salmonid fry salvage policy and adult salvage (fish stranding when drought affects watersheds), enhanced networking opportunities, DFO research into the 6PPD-Q chemical in vehicle tires that is known to be lethal to Coho salmon, and some planning looking forward to the province-wide streamkeeper/stewardship conference in 2025, etc. Whew!
One of the key issues was the likelihood of drought affecting watersheds across BC again this year. The outlook is not good for fish, for agriculture, for forestry, for fires. . .
Despite the cold, windy weather, I got lots of bird photos at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby, BC, today.
Anna’s Hummingbird
Nice to see Bald Eagles hanging out at last year’s nest.
Girls are attracting a lot of attention at the Fraser Foreshore Park ponds. Two Wood Duck males and a female, and two Ring-necked Duck males and a female.
Hooded Merganser