Wow, thanks to everyone who helped with the bug count on Byrne Creek in southeast Burnaby, BC, today. We went full out (10 volunteers for a total of 35 volunteer hours) and got all nine sites sampled and counted in one day — something that usually takes three days to do!
While the totals haven’t been tallied yet, as we surmised, it was pretty slim pickings.
Using a D-net to take a sample. The variety and quantity of aquatic bugs is a good indication of water quality. Unfortunately, Byrne Creek regularly runs poor to marginal, or 1.5 – 2 on a scale of 4, using the methodology in module 4 of The Streamkeepers Handbook.
And here’s why we have poor water quality in the creek. As we were taking our last sample today just upstream of Edmonds Skytrain Station, a slug of milky blue stuff came down the creek. We immediately reported it to City of Burnaby Environmental and they sent a tech out to try to find where it was coming from.
Years ago we learned how to count in comfort. Here we are in a volunteer’s kitchen with coffee and muffins.
It was a lovely afternoon for a tour of the working Fraser River with the Burnaby Board of Trade and Port Metro Vancouver. It was sunny and warm, and in addition to the tugs, barges, cranes, containers, and ships, nature put on a bit of a show, too.
I saw several salmon jumping, and a sturgeon rolled just at the surface of the water. An inquisitive harbour seal also put in a brief appearance, not to mention herons, cormorants, seagulls, and more.
Taking the compost out to the bin this evening I saw this lovely sight. Sure looks like rain, it smells like rain, and I hope it rains. A lot. We need it.
There have been some questions about lamprey on the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers mailing list.
Here’s one that I shot just below the stop log in the sediment pond on July 30 this summer. It was about 15 cm long, give or take a few.
They may seem icky for their snake-like appearance and because many are by nature parasitic, but they are part of the great scheme of things, and have coexisted with salmon, trout and other fish for millennia.
We have observed them spawning in Byrne Creek, in the lower ravine, and in the sediment pond. They are actually quite beautiful to watch when they are mating for they dance and twine together.
Cool! One of my photos appeared in the summer 2015 InfoBurnaby.
Not so cool, they forgot to credit… Sigh.
City of Burnaby staff asked if they could use photos from my blog post from a few months back to promote Parks-organized nature tours. I said sure, but that it would be great to be given credit.
Giving credit is easy, so I wonder why it seems so hard to remember to do.
UPDATE: Aug. 13, 2015. Thank you! In a new brochure, the City used five of my photos — and there were five photo credits!
