The sky was getting brighter by the second as we gathered just before 5am to listen to the dawn chorus. We were just in front of the Nature House at Piper Spit and the birds were in full song. Circling us, three American Robins sang loudly. So loud in fact, it was hard to hear the other birds. Through the din we could hear a Western Warbling Vireo behind us and at least one, perhaps two Song Sparrows and a…
The south-west corner of Burnaby Lake is a favourite low-key birding spot for Harvey and Michelle in late May to early June. The paths near the Burnaby Lake Rowing club attract a good selection of late migrants like Cedar Waxwings, and the boggy ground and resulting open forest means that you have a better chance of seeing birds that you might otherwise only hear. This Saturday was no exception. After picking up a couple of participants from 29th Street Station,…
Inspired by The Galbatross Project—a group of scientists (all women) exploring the unique and understudied lives of female birds—13 birders joined Ly Hoang, Neill Vanhinsberg, and Sarah-Jane McAuley for a walk dedicated to the birds that too often get overlooked. While male birds tend to steal the spotlight with flashy plumage and loud songs, our goal was to slow down, look more carefully, and appreciate the subtler beauty, behaviours, and voices of female birds. Under cloudy skies, Neill started off…
Report by Joanna Chin Seventeen participants gathered at the Iona Beach Regional Park banding station for this joint WildResearch and Nature Vancouver event co-led by Neill Vanhinsberg and Joanna Chin as part of the Vancouver Bird Celebration. Weather started partly cloudy at approximately 12°C and warmed to around 16°C by the end of the session. Participants met in the parking lot, where Neill passed around the sign-up sheet and loaner binoculars before the group walked together toward the banding station….
A fine morning greeted us at the park. A few birds called as we set off but it was a quiet start. Our first good look at some birds was in a Douglas fir near the parking lot at the top of the park. A Northern Flicker landed in the top of the tree followed by a second bird. We talked about how the Flicker is an odd woodpecker as it likes to forage for ants on the ground. Heading…
Trip report by Joanna Chin This Learning from the Land walk, organized by Nature Vancouver as part of the Vancouver Bird Celebration, brought together 27 participants for a morning of shared listening, observation, history, and natural history at Jericho Beach. LoriAnn Bird, Ryan Regier, and Joanna Chin each brought different perspectives to the walk. LoriAnn Bird shared knowledge as an Indigenous Métis herbalist, Ryan Regier brought his knowledge of trees and local history, and Joanna Chin guided participants through bird…
Trip Report by Joanna Chin Spring Migration Magic at Queen Elizabeth Park was a collaborative event between Nature Vancouver and Birds Canada as part of the Vancouver Bird Celebration and Global Big Day. Trip leaders included Yousif Attia, Neill Vanhinsberg, and Joanna Chin. The walk began with a land acknowledgement, followed by an introduction from Yousif about Global Big Day, volunteer monitoring, and the importance of contributing observations to eBird. Neill enriched the walk by sharing field marks and identification…
Trip report by Anne Greig Even though it was a bit of an ordeal to get to the meeting location for this walk because of the BMO Marathon taking place and all the ensuing road closures, 11 of us enjoyed this beautiful, unseasonably warm morning, 20 C degrees. We left from the parking lot of University Chapel, headed along Salish trail to Spanish trail, then followed Spanish trail across the bridge at the “beaver pond” and into the woods for…
Trip report by Evelyn Huang The morning started with slightly cool temperatures of 15C, mild WNW winds and mostly clear skies. Some 17 birders, including trip leaders Jan Lowcock and Evelyn Huang, started the trip at the parking lot by Byrne Road, where we heard singing White-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, American Robins and a Bewick’s Wren. We first walked east from the parking lot, and saw some Black-capped Chickadees and Bushtits. An American Kestrel was hovering over the river on the far side, and we saw it take a…
Report by trip leader Christine Balkwill Eight eager birders met before 730 AM. We did a brief overview of the founding purpose of Nature Vancouver for our 2 newcomers and did self-introductions before heading out. We logged a couple of common birds in the field before moving toward the pond. A lone male Northern Pintail was a nice surprise but the pond was relatively quiet with just a single female Bufflehead, one American Coot, and a few Mallards. The Barn…