Trip Report by Christine Balkwill. Photos by Christine Balkwill and Michel Crepeau Our group of 10 birders were treated to a wonderful sunny day for this outing. We started out from the east end of the park where we heard a few high up warblers and many Black-capped Chickadees starting their day. Nigel spotted a tree frog. We stopped at the bridge to visit with the local Barn Swallow flock and check the pond for ducks. A couple of Green-winged…
14 intrepid birders joined leaders Harvey Dueck and Michelle Baudais for a morning of birding in Ambleside Park. The weather was much better than forecast: calm with no rain until 10:30am and then only a light mist. The birds were much more cooperative than they had been for the 2024 Christmas Bird Count a few weeks earlier. We found 31 species (eBird checklist) including a female Pileated Woodpecker, two Belted Kingfishers and a flock of pretty Bonaparte’s Gulls. The gulls…
Thirteen waterproofed cheerful and enthusiastic naturalists spend two pleasant hours touring the nature sanctuary at Hastings Park the rainy morning of Saturday, November 9th. A good variety of the expected winter birds were seen. A Red-tailed Hawk solemnly surveyed the construction site of the new PNE Amphitheatre from the tower of one of the construction cranes. An encounter with a female gingko tree that had produced a bumper crop of fruit led to a spontaneous discourse by one of the…
Leaders: Alice Rose & Sylvia Smallman, long time OWL volunteersand Nature Vancouver members. Since the previous weekend had been an Atmospheric River, the 12 confirmed participants were asked to check their email at 8:00 am the morning of the event for confirmation. Fortunately, the weather was fine, so the message was positive. Everyone arrived on time for a prompt start at 10:00 am. It was everyone’s first visit to OWL! (Except Cynthia!) While we were gathering, we were delighted by…
14 birders joined leaders Harvey Dueck and Michelle Baudais for a morning of birding at Trout Lake on a beautiful sunny autumn Sunday. We were pleased to have a mix of familiar faces and new birders joining us for the first time. As we started the walk, the lake was covered with Canada Geese. Surprisingly many wood ducks (45+) were hiding among the lily pads. The Northern Shovelers and other ducks kept to the margins of the lake, out of…
This Hawkwatch was part of a series of Nature Vancouver’s Welcome Events and intentionally designed with access and accessibility in mind. Joanna Chin and Neill Vanhinsberg were the co-leaders for this Hawkwatch Sit. Participants were a diverse group of people that came from different communities in Metro Vancouver including: downtown Vancouver, Ladner, Richmond, Vancouver, and West Vancouver. We even had a participant as young as nine years old that had the day-off from school! We started off with a land…
Dry conditions with a mix of sun and cloud greeted the Nature Vancouver Birding field trip at Iona Beach Regional Park on September 28. Fifteen birders joined Neill Vanhinsberg and Jan Lowcock for a morning outing covering the accessible outer ponds, adjacent beach area and woodland trails. We identified 31 species including the Glossy/White-faced Ibis which had been reported previously by Neill. Our quest for the Gray Catbird, seen on each of the previous two days, wasn’t successful, but we…
Fifteen folks joined Kelvin and Neill on a cloudy, cool morning at Queen Elizabeth Park. As folks were arriving a Purple Finch sang from the cedars beside the parking lot. A reminder to always bird the parking lot before you head out. We started off and the first birds we encountered were on the west side of the pitch and putt. A flock of Black-Capped Chickadees were joined by at least 2 Golden-Crowned Kinglets, a few Orange-Crowned Warblers and several…
Eight participants joined trip leader Harvey Dueck for a morning of birding the southwest corner of Burnaby Lake. We were able to find 32 species, two more than were seen on Saturday! Here’s the ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S183369988 We met in the parking lot near the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club, where we could watch a Tree Swallow go in and out of its nest box as we did introductions. From there we headed to the rowing club’s dock. Barn Swallows nest…
Nature Vancouver closed out 2023 with an experiment: a livestream of birds (mostly hummingbirds) from a bird-friendly coffee plantation located in the mountains of Colombia near the town of Jardin. Rene Montero now lives in Vancouver, but he is originally from Colombia where he has 15 years experience as a birding guide. Rene operates Jaguarundi Travel, a business he created to offer superb nature and cultural experiences in a sustainable way. Rene’s family operates an organic coffee plantation near the…