Trip Report by Tom Plath On Jan 31st, 2023, despite the bad road conditions due to the previous night’s snowfall, four participants showed up for a morning of birding in South Surrey. At the base of the White Rock Pier, a dog flushed a couple of Killdeer, and in front of us rafts of shellfish-eating sea ducks were scattered on the water. Great views of Surf and White-winged Scoters were had, the latter being BC’s largest duck. The dark cap,…
Trip Report by Kelly Sekhon Twenty three members of Nature Vancouver enjoyed a fairy mild and at times sunny day in the quaint old fishing village of Steveston. We met in the parking lot of Garry Point Kite Park. After introductions we started the walk around the Kite Park and then continuing north along the Richmond West Dyke. A number of immature and adult Bald Eagles were spotted on various pilings. Northern Harriers, Great Blue Herons, and Snow Geese were…
Submitted by Laura Cottle On 27 November, 2022, Nature Vancouver (NV) and Pacific Spirit Park Society (PSPS) jointly organized this walk. Leaders, Ian Clague (NV & PSPS) and Sam Bundenthal (PSPS), met the group at the Pacific Spirit Regional Park Centre on 16th Ave (parking lot and washroom area) at 10am. on this beautiful sunny Sunday morning. After a brief introduction to by Laura Cottle (Volunteer and Program Coordinator for PSPS), the group of 2 leaders, 18 participants, 2 PSPS volunteers…
Report by Naomi Ross On Sunday, 27 November, 2022, five members of Nature Vancouver and a guest met at the Rabbit Lane trailhead for a 9:00am start. It was a crisp and clear day. The trail was unusually quiet in the beginning, and there was nobody at the first viewpoint. The clumps of mist gave a mysterious effect to the dramatic views from the platform, which looks almost vertically down the walls of the canyon. We continued on the winding…
Trip Report by Janet Snell and Jan Lowcock On Sunday, November 13, a group of nine enthusiastic birders visited Lighthouse Park in Point Roberts, Washington. For quite a few participants, this was their first visit to Point Roberts and we couldn’t have picked a better day. A sunny sky and calm seas provided good visibility and excellent conditions for birding. Point Roberts is a squarish peninsula that juts into the Salish Sea as the coastline turns the corner from south…
Report by Nikhil Patwardhan On Saturday, October 29, 2022, ten members of Nature Vancouver participated in this walk led by Kelly Sekhon. Thankfully the rain had taken a break on Friday and we had cool overcast conditions to bird until it picked up again on Saturday night. Talk about perfect timing. The walk began with a short introduction to the area by Kelly as we stood near the parked cars. A Great Blue Heron stood guard near the shore while a flock…
Report by Leona Axbey On Sunday, October 23, 2022, twelve members of Nature Vancouver participated in this walk led by Leona Axbey and Maureen Collier. There were two keen photographers in the group, who are most welcome on these walks. The rain kindly agreed to cease for the day. We were off to a fine start with Elly spotting two female deer before our meetup. The tide was out so there wasn’t a whole lot we could see from the shore….
Nature Vancouver held a birding field trip at Iona Regional Park on Thursday October 21, 2022, led by Jan Lowcock, Harvey Dueck and Michele Baudais. A group of experienced and new birders scanned the outer ponds, wooded area, the adjacent section of the Fraser River and the mudflats at low tide. The inner settling pond areas are now closed to the public, but the south ponds were viewed from the elevated walkway. Eyes on the sky proved most rewarding…
Trip Report by Caroline Penn On September 22, 2022, nine members of Nature Vancouver gathered at the Snug Cove Library / Info Centre on Bowen Island at 10am to hike around Killarney Lake. It was a perfect early fall day with a slight breeze. We took the counterclockwise route. It is not clear whether Killarney Lake was initially man made or natural, but a dam built in the 1920’s increased its size and caused the ghostlike trees that we see…
Report by Cathy Walker On July 2, 2022, I participated in the Marine Biology field trip, led by Sheila Byers, to the intertidal zone at Centennial Beach in Delta. Sheila focused primarily on eelgrass, lugworms and bivalves. I learned a lot. The native eelgrass, Zostera marina, has the wider, longer leaves while the introduced species, Zostera japonica, has the narrower, shorter leaves. There is a lot of Z. japonica on the sandy mudflats of Centennial Beach. The native eelgrass prefers to be immersed in…