Trip Report by Janet Snell & Lyn Grants This hike on, March 21, 2022, was scheduled to see the early evidence of spring emerging from the snow in the Yew Lake / Bowen Lookout area of Cypress Provincial Park. Instead, we were treated to 20 cm of new snow on top of another recent snowfall. All evidence of spring was obscured, and winter’s grip stayed strong. The creek leading from Yew Lake was nestled in a canyon-like cradle of snow….
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 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…
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 Naomi Ross On Sunday, December 5th, three hikers, including the leader, started at the Velodrome Trailhead at 9:00 am to hike up Burnaby Mountain. It was a brisk 1°C and cloudy with a bit of blue sky; a welcome break from the recent rainy weather. The Big Leaf Maple trees were all bare, leaving a carpet of brown leaves in the woods. A few frost flowers (also know as hoar frost or hair ice – MORE INFORMATION)…
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…
Trip Leaders Deborah Simpson and Joan Lopez Report by Deborah Simpson, Joan Lopez, and Sheila Byers On 26 November, 2021, a rare sunny morning, our group of 10 met up for a walk along the upper reaches of Stoney Creek in Burnaby with the hope of seeing some spawning salmon. Stoney Creek is one of the few places in an urban environment where you can see salmon spawning up close. It is home to coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon,…
Leader: Ian Clague; Co-leader: Nigel Pack Text by Ian & Nigel; Photos by Nigel Peck After days of record setting rainfalls, wind warnings, and physical disasters around southern British Columbia, we were blessed with gorgeous weather for the November 16th interpretative walk in the Pacific Spirit Park, led by Ian Clague. It was a beautiful day! Starting our walk at Camosun Bog, we noted that the main confers growing there, thriving in the rich organic and wet soil, were shore…
Text and Photos by Naomi Ross, Janet Snell, & Caroline Penn Sunday, October 31, was a crisp sunny day. Nine members met at 9 am at the Rabbit Lane (W. Vancouver) trailhead which leads to the west side of the Capilano Canyon. Naomi Ross, our trip leader, is very familiar with the trail and pointed out her favourite sights in the forest of towering Douglas firs and red cedars. The lighting at the first viewpoint over the Capilano River gave…
Trip Report by Janet Snell Photos by Janet Snell, John Martin & Caroline Penn On 30 August and again on 9 September, 2021, two groups of hikers explored different routes to Blue Gentian Lake on Hollyburn Mountain this past month. The goal of both hikes was first and foremost to see the beautiful Blue Gentian flowers in bloom at the small lake of the same name. The first hike ascended from upper West Vancouver using the network of trails that…