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Boundary Bay Shore Birding – August 13, 2023

Boundary Bay Shore Birding – August 13, 2023

Trip Report by Tom Plath The ten of us walked from the foot of 104th Street, Boundary Bay towards 112th Street and it couldn’t have been much better. A beautiful August evening and a mere 25-30 meters from the dyke were several species of juvenile shorebirds roosting and feeding. We enjoyed excellent leisurely looks, comparing Western, Least and Baird’s Sandpiper from each other, the big size difference between Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs noticeable when together, and identification features of a Stilt Sandpiper…

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Identifying Trees in Shaughnessy Park (The Circle)

Identifying Trees in Shaughnessy Park (The Circle)

Report by Nina Shoroplova On Friday, August 4, twenty-four botany enthusiasts joined Nina Shoroplova and Caroline Penn for a tree walk in the south half of Shaughnessy Park. We started our walk from the Osler Street entrance to the park where there are two maples. We started by telling the differences between the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) on the north side of the central path and the Norway maple (A. platanoides) on the south side. It’s important to know some of the…

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False Creek Oyster Quadrat Survey # 1 & 2

False Creek Oyster Quadrat Survey # 1 & 2

Charleson Park, July 16th & 30th Report by Janet Snell & Marjo Vierros The second phase of the False Creek Oyster survey has begun with the intention of providing more detailed information about the oyster beds in False Creek that we had previously surveyed using iNaturalist. Two separate quadrat surveys were held at Charleson Park with the help of many able volunteers.  From one of our Quadrat Survey team leaders, Marjo Vierros, a marine biologist, here is an excerpt from…

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2023 Summer Camp – Big Bar Ranch

2023 Summer Camp – Big Bar Ranch

Two Summer Camps were held from Sunday, July 9 to Sunday, July 16, 2023 and Sunday, July 16 to Sunday, July 23, 2023. The “drive in” tenting/RV camps were held on the Big Bar Ranch group sites. Big Bar Ranch (https://www.bigbarranch.com/) is situated near the southern rim of the Interior Plateau, at an elevation of 1,030m, but there are nearly 2,000 vertical meters between the low and the high points to explore. To the southeast of the ranch, the Marble…

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Robert’s Bank T2 Project – Update

Robert’s Bank T2 Project – Update

Union of BC Indian Chiefs passed a resolution calling for an immediate pause to the Roberts’ Bank Terminal 2 development. Wording from their resolution includes: UBCIC Chiefs Council calls for an immediate pause of RBT2 development which stands to have critical impacts on the title, rights, and treaty rights of First Nations in BC and the USA, including infringement on the right to access marine resources for food, social and ceremonial use. See their open letter to federal and provincial…

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Walk in Stanley Park’s Shakespeare Garden & Around Beaver Lake

Walk in Stanley Park’s Shakespeare Garden & Around Beaver Lake

Report by Nina Shoroplova Fourteen walkers joined co-leaders Nina Shoroplova and Caroline Penn in Stanley Park on Friday, July 7. We met at the memorial monument to Lord Stanley, the sixth Governor General of Canada, who, in October 1989, confirmed the name of the park, saying, “To the use and enjoyment of peoples of all colours, creeds, and customs, for all time.” In the direction of the Robert Burns statue, several non-native trees held our attention: a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron…

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False Creek Oyster Survey #6

False Creek Oyster Survey #6

David Lam Park West and Around the Corner Text and photos by Janet Snell On a sunny Monday, July 3rd, another iNaturalist oyster survey was carried out at David Lam Park (West) with nine volunteers. We were continuing the survey begun two weeks earlier and continued west along the rocky shoreline of the park. The beach at the innermost location is composed of large and small cobbles at a shallow slope which flattens out at the lowest inter-tidal level where…

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Stanley Park – Intertidal Exploration 

Stanley Park – Intertidal Exploration 

Joint trip with Wonders of the Salish Sea & Nature Vancouver Report by Sheila Byers, Member of Nature Vancouver & Wonders of the Salish Sea What a day of intertidal exploring we had on Saturday, May 6, 2023! Spring tide low water level (LLW): 13:13 at 0.6 m elevation. The forecasted rain was just a sprinkle making our trip quite comfortable, albeit cool under an overcast sky. Fifteen participants arrived early at 12:15 to the Lumberman’s Arch area to sign…

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False Creek Oyster Surveys #4 and #5

False Creek Oyster Surveys #4 and #5

Coopers’ Park and David Lam Park, False Creek Report by Janet Snell and Greg Leach Two teams of False Creek Oyster Survey volunteers accomplished a great deal over this past weekend (June 17th & 18th) and – by all reports – they had a lot of fun doing it. Up until now, our citizen science work has been conducted on the south shore of False Creek at Charleson Park and Habitat Island (Olympic Village). This past weekend, we switched our focus to the north…

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Phantom Orchids at Teapot Hill

Phantom Orchids at Teapot Hill

Trip Report by Vicky Earle On June 17, I joined trip leader Kelly Sekhon for a hike up Teapot Hill near Cultus Lake in search of the rare phantom orchid. This plant is globally secure but is listed as red/endangered in British Columbia. The phantom orchid (Cephalanthera austiniae) is the only Cephalanthera species entirely dependent on symbiotic mycorrhizae for its nutrition. Being an entirely white perennial with only a small yellow gland on the lip of each blossom, this plant has no chlorophyll and is unable…

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