Trip Report by Doug Cooper Ten keen naturalists, plus Maureen Collier and I, chose to take a chance that the early morning rain would not persist and met at the sanctuary at Hastings Park the morning of March 26th to see what signs of spring might also show up. We were rewarded with the sweet songs of a number of American Robins and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, yellow-rumped warblers, as well as the ethereal vocalizations of Varied Thrushes. Salmonberry bushes were in…
Trip Report by Helen Baker On March 16, Sally McDermott led a group of 13 on a four-hour loop hike through Lighthouse Park. Together we gazed up – way up – at the Douglas Fir and Red Cedar giants and made stops to look out at the ocean at Eagle Point and Juniper Point. Signs of spring were everywhere – bald eagles flying into the treetops with sticks for nest building, salmonberry buds getting ready to burst and skunk cabbage poking up…
Submitted by Donald Hobson Bluebirds are associated with many positive meanings around the globe. People often view bluebirds as symbols of joy and hope; some think it’s like good news on its way. Some people believe that bluebirds are symbols of harmony between the living and the dead. Or as Native American Tribes associate bluebirds with spring, prosperity, and even fertility. When bluebirds look to nest? There’s nothing better than having bluebirds nest in your yard. It’s a metric to…
Submitted by Leona Axbey On Sunday, March 6, 2022, we had a bright, sunny day for our bird walk at Vanier Park. There were 12 of us, ranging from experienced birders to beginners, a good combination. Together, we spotted a total of 28 species and 192 individuals. These were all posted on eBird. There was some reminiscing about our departed friend Adrian and what a truly great birder he was. The first bird to greet us at our meet-up spot was an…
Report by Peter Candido The 2021 Vancouver Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday December 18th under challenging conditions, at least until mid-day. In the morning participants were faced with steady rain throughout the area, and wind from the SSE of about 16 kph or higher along the coast. The rain tapered off around noon and skies began to clear, resulting in relatively pleasant conditions in the afternoon. Poor conditions on the water in the morning meant that the group who usually survey…
Trip Report by Maureen Collier On November 27, 2021, six members participated in this walk in spite of showers that turned into rain. The Hastings Park Sanctuary has many features – ponds, marshland, and mixed forest. Also there are remnants of earlier habitats from before the PNE was built. We enjoyed seeing three pairs of Hooded Mergansers in the big pond, with the males doing a few dramatic interactions. Also seen were a Double-crested Cormorant, a Great Blue Heron as…
Trip Report by Harvey Dueck Nature Vancouver’s annual quest to find American Dippers took place on Sunday December 5th. Larry Cowan led the quest from 2006 to 2019 and never failed to find at least one dipper. Michelle Baudais and Harvey Dueck led the trip this year; we were very relieved to find two dippers looking for food in the fast flowing water. They came within about 5m of our group, so we got quite a good view. American Dippers…
Text and Photos by Doug Cooper With the coming and going of the PNE reminding me of the fact that summer has now officially departed, I thought it was time to summarize the nature happenings for the spring and summer of 2021 at the sanctuary at Hastings Park. The trend of more birders visiting the sanctuary has continued. I now frequently check eBird to see what goodies other folks have spotted. Since March, postings of note have included Green…
Trip Report and Photos by Caroline Penn Fifteen members of Nature Vancouver enjoyed a day hike to Echo Lake near Harrison Mills on 21 August 2021. Access was graciously granted by owners of this privately owned land which is in the traditional territory of the Sts’ailes First Nation. Echo lake is circled by old forests. On the South side, 60% were protected in a 2012 campaign by the Ancient Forest Alliance group as an Old Growth Management Area (see protectecholake.com), but the West…
Trip Report & Photos by Denis Laplante and Teresa Gagné Five members (including two Board members) joined Teresa and Denis for 7 hours of walking (9.5km), botanizing and birdwatching. Our route included a mix of steep climbs (Tantalus Viewpoint, and Cheakamus Loop trails) and gentler strolls through beautiful mixed conifer-deciduous forest around the lake (Bridge Trail, Brohm Lake Trail) – see Brohm Lake Interpretive Forest. We met at 8:30 to reduce our exposure to the predicted 27 C afternoon temperature, and…