Browsed by
Author: Harvey Dueck

Birding at Ambleside – Jan 4, 2025

Birding at Ambleside – Jan 4, 2025

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…

Read More Read More

Field Trip to Hastings Park, Saturday Nov 9

Field Trip to Hastings Park, Saturday Nov 9

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…

Read More Read More

Field Trip to OWL – 26-09-2024

Field Trip to OWL – 26-09-2024

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…

Read More Read More

Birding at Trout Lake – Oct 13th Meetup Edition

Birding at Trout Lake – Oct 13th Meetup Edition

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…

Read More Read More

Trip Report: Cypress Provincial Park Picnic Area Hawkwatch Sit October 3, 2024 1-4 pm

Trip Report: Cypress Provincial Park Picnic Area Hawkwatch Sit October 3, 2024 1-4 pm

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…

Read More Read More

Birding at Iona Beach Regional Park – 2024-09-28

Birding at Iona Beach Regional Park – 2024-09-28

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…

Read More Read More

Birding at Queen Elizabeth Park

Birding at Queen Elizabeth Park

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…

Read More Read More

Birding Field Trip to Burnaby Lake – June 23, 2024

Birding Field Trip to Burnaby Lake – June 23, 2024

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…

Read More Read More

Colombian Hummingbird Feeder Livestream

Colombian Hummingbird Feeder Livestream

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…

Read More Read More

Birding at Tsawwassen Jetty, Nov 18, 2023

Birding at Tsawwassen Jetty, Nov 18, 2023

It didn’t rain!  The better-than-forecast weather was the first natural gift that we collectively received on Saturday November 18th when a group of (eventually) twelve Nature Vancouver members and one non-member met trip leaders Harvey Dueck and Michelle Baudais for a morning of birding along Tsawwassen Jetty. The group convened at the very bumpy parking lot at the base of the jetty at 9am.  After taking a quick look at the birds visible from the beach (most notably the group…

Read More Read More

Nature Vancouver