Category Archives: Nature

Nature, Photography

Fraser Foreshore Park Ramble in South Burnaby

I walked the Fraser Foreshore Park riverside trail this afternoon, starting from the parking lot at Byrne Road and going all the way east to the meadow and back, and then west to Sussex Creek and back.


I never use bait for wildlife photos, but folks leave seeds along this popular trail, making for nice bird shooting opportunities.

Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park flora and fauna


Looks like a bushtit nest

Nature, Society, Streamkeeping, Sustainability

Salmon Run is Ending on Byrne Creek, Sharing Some Love

As the salmon spawning season draws to a close on urban Byrne Creek in south Burnaby, BC, I have a few thoughts. . .

Thank you to the dog walkers who ask us when the “keep your dogs out of the creek” posters will go up. You’re some of our best eyes on the creek! You’re out there every day.

Thanks to City of Burnaby Parks who approve posting the posters and oversee invasive plant removals, and thanks to City of Burnaby Engineering who follow up when volunteers report issues with water quality.

I also want to thank the increasing numbers of folks who are aware there are salmon in this urban creek, and who stop and chat with streamkeeper volunteers and ask how the run is going.

It’s emotional for me when the spawner run draws to a close. I feel bereft until I start spotting fry in the creek in the spring.

Yes, we do see alevin popping out of the gravel in the spring, and watch as they become fry.  It’s a wonder to behold and cherish.

I’m a prairie boy, Yumi is a northern Japan girl, and we have a common passion in BC salmon that started soon after we moved here some 20 years ago.

A lot of that goes to mentors like Stream of Dreams Murals Society founders Joan Carne and Louise Towell, and ZoAnn Morten of the Pacific Streamkeepers Federation, and our DFO Community Advisors over the years, Maurice and now Scott. . .

Streamkeepers in British Columbia are an amazing community.

We’ve had some hard years, and we’ve had too many low runs.

Here’s to making things better!

Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

Salmon Run Ending on Burnaby’s Byrne Creek

This pair may well be our last spawning salmon on Byrne Creek in south Burnaby this year.

spawned coho byrne creek burnaby

The run started late and is ending late.

Nice to see that the female was completely spawned, not an egg to be found. Look at her totally abraded tail — she’d been digging hard in the gravel, making a nest for her eggs and covering them up . . .

We didn’t spot any live ones today.

NOTE: Streamkeepers have training and permission to monitor spawning salmon and assess them for species, size, spawning status, etc., after they die. Please keep your dogs on leash around creeks and streams, and stay on trails. And remember that the eggs will remain hidden in the gravel until they start hatching in the spring.