Help Wanted! – Friday March 22nd & Saturday March 23rd. Night Quest, hosted by Metro Vancouver Parks, a tradition of, what is now two evenings, to celebrate Nature at Night in Pacific Spirit Park is coming again this March. Nature Vancouver has hosted at table there since 2015 – nine years – and will be back this year. It is a wonderful night for volunteers but very busy so we need more volunteers. Last year we had seven people on Friday…
Submitted by Nigel Peck I have been working more or less full time to do my part to try to save the Vancouver Park Board since December 13th, 2023. You can get more information about that effort through links at the bottom. Overall the effectiveness of those seven weeks of work feels pretty marginal. In particular, it feels challenging that talking to people who I expected to know more about the issue, constantly illustrates that people are not aware of…
Trip Report by Thomas Plath Rain and wind did not deter the five members that showed for birding at White Rock Pier. We stood under the shelter/shop at the base and scoped the birds out of the rain. The two common scoters White-winged and Surf were busy feeding in front of us and with patience the group able to view a female Black Scoter feeding in front of us. Further out a large flock of about 80 Red-breasted Mergansers flew…
Trip Report by Thomas Plath Despite the bad weather, six participants showed up to bird Reifel Bird Sanctuary in the rain. The recent cold spell and snow had pushed out most of the birds so the refuge was quieter than usual. An adult Black-crowned Night-Heron was roosting at the usual location at the entrance slough and nice male Anna’s Hummingbirds at the feeders. A thorough search for Saw-whet Owls along the east dike was unsuccessful but did produce several Wood…
Trip Report by Stephen Partington A mass of people gathered at Garry Point around 10 am to embark upon the 2024 incarnation of the now legendary, New Year’s Day Walk, led by Kelly Sekhon. Among the more than thirty participants were faces old & new, members old, new & prospective, plus guests. The day’s weather was benignly warm with little wind. Fog infrequently nudged a cloud cover over the walkers but otherwise the sun shone with views extending westward to…
Report by Peter Candido The 2023 Vancouver Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday December 16th. Volunteers were very pleased to have a dry day for the count this year, with partly sunny conditions and temperatures from 7-9 °C. Winds were light and seas were calm. The tide was very high for the first half of the day and dropped only slightly in the afternoon. As was the case last year, winter finches and grosbeaks were in short supply, with very few Pine Siskins…
by Sheila Byers Bernie Hanby was a wonderful, knowledgeable, fun-loving, quick-witted and energetic man. He befriended many people who, like himself, enjoyed fishing, SCUBA-diving, photography and those who strived for better conservation efforts to protect fish and their habitats in the ocean. We need action to ensure the long-term sustainability of a marine food source on which we greatly depend. From fisherman to informed activist, Bernie was a driving force for MLSS, Vancouver Aquarium, Pacific Salmon Foundation and many other…
Trip Report by Janet Snell On December 3, 2023, our first Welcome Walk led by Melissa Hafting took place at Reifel Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island. As part of our Diversity and Inclusion outreach initiative, this walk was by a special invitation to BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and women who may not have participated in our activities before. Over half the participants in the group of twenty, were non-members and many of the others were newer members. Melissa Hafting provided excellent leadership as we…
Trip Report by Nina Shoroplova Five intrepid tree enthusiasts joined Nina Shoroplova on a Nature Vancouver tree-identification walk in Grand Boulevard, North Vancouver, on December 1, 2023, despite the temperature (3 degrees C) and precipitation (enough for umbrellas to be up the whole time). Grand Boulevard is one of Canada’s Historic Places, with the oldest of the planted trees—both native and imported—being no older than 117 years of age. And some are a whole lot younger. Check out the history…
Trip Report by Naomi Ross Sunday, November 13, was a brisk sunny day, which was a real treat having had rain the preceding few days. The group of seven hikers met at 9am at the base of Burnaby Mountain. A welcome surprise was that two birders and a grade twelve teacher had joined us. The walk quickly became a fascinating medley of facts about birds, fall leaves, mushrooms and lichens. Some of us were experimenting with “Seek” and “Google Lens”…