Trip Report by Joanna Chin

The 2026 Cypress Bird Blitz, jointly hosted by Nature Vancouver and Friends of Cypress Provincial Park, marked my second year participating in this annual celebration of birds and biodiversity and my first as a trip leader. Last year, I joined the Yew Lake and Old Growth Forest Trail walk as a participant; this year, Gail Ross invited me to lead the same route. I was delighted to share guiding duties with my friend Catherine Po, who has co-led birding events with me before.

Before setting out, I offered a brief land acknowledgement, recognizing that Cypress is on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. It felt important to begin by grounding our walk in gratitude, respect, and responsibility to the land and more-than-human communities we had come to learn from.

The weather could not have been more beautiful. Under cloudless blue skies and temperatures around 26°C, the mountain felt warm and welcoming. The last time I visited Cypress was in the fall with a group of friends on a hike to Bowen Lookout, so it was a pleasure to return during the breeding season and experience the mountain in a different way.

A group of thirteen participants joined us, including a family with two children who had moved to Vancouver from Bangkok a few years ago. I was especially happy to see a family participating. Birding offers opportunities for intergenerational learning, creating space for parents and children to share experiences, values, and curiosity about the natural world together.

Almost immediately, we were rewarded with excellent views of three Red-breasted Sapsuckers. Their striking red, black, and white plumage seemed to glow in the morning sun as they perched atop several bare snags. We watched them repeatedly launch into the air to catch insects before returning to the same perches, and they remained a constant companion throughout much of our walk.

Only a few steps into the forest, we heard the first Hermit Thrush of the morning. Its ethereal, flute-like song drifted through the trees, each phrase seeming to rise and echo through the old forest. Encouraged by Catherine, we continued to the end of the Old Growth Trail, where we were immediately rewarded with two Swainson’s Thrushes. Their ascending, fluted spirals floated through the canopy, creating one of the most memorable soundscapes of the morning.

We also enjoyed excellent views of two Band-tailed Pigeons perched atop separate conifers, their silhouettes standing out against the blue sky. Near Yew Lake, I heard a song that I could not immediately place. Catherine quickly located the source: a Townsend’s Warbler, likely a female or immature bird, flitting through the foliage. We managed several good looks as it moved among the branches, and at one point we could clearly see an insect clutched in its bill.

At the lake, we paused while Ly, who had walked ahead of the group, pointed out several Vaux’s Swifts high overhead. Three birds wheeled above the tallest trees, their rapid wingbeats producing the characteristic fluttering, butterfly-like flight pattern that makes this species so distinctive. Though distant, they offered a wonderful opportunity to introduce participants to one of British Columbia’s most remarkable aerial insectivores.

What I will remember most is not any single species, but the experience of sharing the morning with others. From the family who joined us to the participants who stopped to listen carefully to each new song, the walk became a reminder that birding is as much about cultivating attention and connection as it is about identifying birds. Yet if I close my eyes and think back on the morning, what I hear most clearly is the song of the Hermit Thrush. Rising from somewhere deep within the old-growth forest, its ethereal notes echoed and reverberated among the trees and seemed to linger in the air long after the bird itself had fallen silent.