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September in Hastings Park Sanctuary

September in Hastings Park Sanctuary

Report & Photos by Doug Cooper Things perked up, bird-wise, in September at the sanctuary. Southward migration began with species such as Western Tanagers, Lincoln’s and Golden-crowned Sparrows once again showing up. Warblers also became more common, as did waterfowl. Drake Mallards and Wood Ducks began to come out of their eclipse plumages. This Orange-crowned Warbler belongs to one of the two “Gray-headed” subspecies, either orestera (“Interior Montane”) or celata (“Taiga”). When I first spotted this individual its greyish head and broken eye…

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Summer in Hastings Park Sanctuary

Summer in Hastings Park Sanctuary

Report & Photos by Doug Cooper The summer months of June, July and August were much quieter at the Hastings Park Sanctuary. From eBird, my species count at the sanctuary for June was 25, for July 21, and for August a grand total of 17. But there were some highlights.  In general birding news of local interest was about the two species of crows – American and the Northwestern. In June 2020, following a recent study on the genetics of…

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May in Hastings Park Sanctuary

May in Hastings Park Sanctuary

Report and Photos by Doug Cooper Time seems to have, both dragged and flown by in the last few months. I thought it was time to give an update on what has been happening at the sanctuary at Hastings Park, at least from my perspective. May seemed to have been the busiest month, so I’ll devote this report to that period. In May this year, 60 species were reported to eBird from Hastings Park Sanctuary. I ran into more fellow birders…

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Surf Scoters: People Living with Nature

Surf Scoters: People Living with Nature

This short film by Liron Gertsman, was sponsored by Nature Vancouver for the exhibition Wild Things – The Power of Nature in Our Lives. The exhibition was co-produced by Nature Vancouver and the Museum of Vancouver as a part of our Centennial Celebration. It was open to the public from June 2018 to January 2020.

2020 NV Photo Competition

2020 NV Photo Competition

On 24 September 2020, Ron Long, Chair of the Photography Section, presented critique of photos submitted by members this past February, and announced the winners. This was an online presentation via Zoom Video Conferencing, rescheduled from March 2020. From the entries, judges selected first, second and third in each category, honourable mentions plus the best in show. Photos were submitted in these five categories:  Birds, Botany,  Mammals, Insects and Spiders, and Other Natural History. Twenty nine members submitted 213 photos. Photos…

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Branches Between Us

Branches Between Us

This short video, about the importance of nature in our lives, was made by the students from SFU School of Interactive Arts and Technology, for the Wild Things Exhibition held in 2019, at the Vancouver Museum and Planetarium. This exhibition was co-sponsored by Nature Vancouver as part our Centennial Celebrations.

Nature Vancouver Helping to Unite Nature Lovers for a Green and Inclusive Recovery in Canada

Nature Vancouver Helping to Unite Nature Lovers for a Green and Inclusive Recovery in Canada

Submitted by Adam Murphy, Nature Network Organizer This campaign is about the nature community coming together to do everything we can to ensure that the federal government moves forward with major commitments to protect nature – both within the context of facing the immediate challenges imposed by COVID, and in broader recovery initiatives.  We all agree that protecting nature is critical when it comes to reversing biodiversity loss and addressing climate change – but it has also been so important…

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Himalayan Blackberry

Himalayan Blackberry

History and its impact on our local flora and fauna Here is an interesting article published in The Tyee about the Himalayan Blackberry. The article discusses at length the history of introduction of this invasive plant and its impact on our environment. Read the article from the link below: How Blackberries Took Over. It’s a Juicy Story

2020 Iona Lagoon Closure

2020 Iona Lagoon Closure

Metro Vancouver just informed us that they will be doing their annual maintenance of the Iona lagoons beginning Thursday, July 26th and continuing until approximately August 6th, 2020. The exact duration is weather dependent. The gates to the lagoons will be chained and locked during active work. We ask everyone to please help maintain our good relationship with Metro Vancouver by respecting the closure. We’ll post another notice as soon as Metro Vancouver tells us when the lagoons will reopen….

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