DARE TO BIRD

As you may know I used to live for a bit in Saskatchewan even though I was born in BC.  The community journal "Of Land and Living Skies"  asked me for an interview for their  Fall 2020 issue . For those that don't know Saskatchewan is called "The Land of Living Skies." If you ever get the chance to watch the Northern Lights in SK you will know why it is called this. It is one of the things I miss the most about living in that province. The editor and magazine was very passionate about talking about and acknowledging systemic racism in birding and the barriers that people of colour face outdoors in nature. They discuss it in the magazine under "Love Letters to Nature" and I applaud them for it since they did not shy away from the issue as many organizations have who call it "too political. They said they stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I was unable due to inconvenient timing to do an interview so they decided to do a repri...

I was featured in the December 2020 issue of the American Birding Association's Birding magazine. In an article called " Birding Close to Home - Essays from across the ABA Area." I have posted the article below but it is also available online .   A few more updates: A  photo I took of a female Pileated Woodpecker will be featured in an article about urban Pileateds in the upcoming ABA  Birding issue. Plus a photo I took of the Powell River Red-backed Shrike will be featured in Birdwatching Magazine and a podcast I did with Birding Tools will come out soon. In addition a interview I did with Audubon Magazine will come out in the spring  but more on all of this later. My essay featured in Birding magazine by the American Birding Association  Most importantly I want to end this year by wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 2021 cannot come fast enough in my opinion. What a strange year this has been. It will be surreal to se...

As you know I’ve been writing about the proposed Roberts Bank Deltaport Terminal II expansion on this blog for awhile. Did you know on top of this proposal Global Container Terminals is also proposing a 4th container berth at the same port? This project is called DP4  and would use 138 acres of critical intertidal bird habitat. This month BirdNote from WA State, did a podcast called "Watching over Western Sandpipers" highlighting the detrimental impacts of the proposed expansion of Terminal II and DP4. The environmental impacts will impact birds (especially Western Sandpipers), fish (especially salmon), orcas and other wildlife in the Fraser River Estuary. This will affect birds on both sides of the border. Sadly First Nations on the US side were not adequately consulted. They did an amazing job on this 30 min podcast and interviewed many relevant people and stakeholders including First Nations. The fascinating discovery of fatty acid containing Biofilm as a Western Sandpiper...

I was asked by Alice Sun (a former graduate of my young birder program) to do an interview and choose a few young birders to be featured in her new article for Wild Bird Trust (WBT) Fall/Winter Wingspan magazine issue. Take a second to read this and learn more about these inspiring young birders in the BC Birding Community.   The Young Birders featured are  from Victoria and Metro Vancouver. They are as follows:    Joshua Brown,  Katya Kondratyuk,  Sasha Fairbairn,   Liam Singh,  Rebecca Reader-Lee and Bridget Spencer. You can read and download the full magazine HERE Thanks to WBT for their wonderful feature of these amazing youth! Thanks also to the youth for taking part and being inspirational human beings. PS... yes the Red-tailed Hawk photo featured below that Rebecca Reader-Lee took was unfortunately entered incorrectly as an Eagle. To learn more about Wild Bird Trust or to become a member click HERE Young Birders featured in WBT 2020 Wi...

Peregrine Falcon with chicks at the affected nest in Abbotsford - Photo: Howard Bailey A Peregrine Falcon nest is about to be destroyed by a mine in Abbotsford. It is located at Quadling Quarry at 40251 Quadling Rd in Abbotsford and operated by Mountainside Quarries. This Peregrine Falcon nest is protected under the BC Wildlife Act, Section 34 (b) all year round. However the BC Govt is about to issue a permit to the mine to destroy it. Mitigation methods are supposed to be a nest box and ledge that the birds can use to nest in but there is no guarantee that they will use it.  Sumas First Nation was against the mine operating there and made it known to the Govt but there was no First Nations consultation and on April 29, 2020 the BC Gov't approved the mine operation. Birders, naturalists, conservationists, Sumas First Nations and environmental groups are writing in letters to the ministry and MLAs and premier to save this nest. Pam Alexis the MLA for the area has responded to me vi...

I haven't been out birding properly since Nov 7th. I haven't photographed a bird since Oct 31st. I finally felt like picking up a camera again today. My target today was American Robins. A common underrated bird that so many of us (including myself) sometimes take for granted. There were large flocks feeding on crabapples today at Garry Point Park. I was there today looking at the late Yellow Warbler that my friend Alan Moat found yesterday. Winter listers will be out on Dec 1st for this bird I can assure you. I saw it and went for my Robins. It was because I was so busy shooting American Robins that I missed the Townsend's Solitaire that briefly came in for a gander and who then immediately took off in less than a minute. Here are a few fruits of my labour. They are the best shots I've taken of this species and the male was really accommodating. I find in the winter that American Robins are at their most beautiful with their fine breast scaling etc. Note the male with ...

UPDATE: DUE TO PROVINCIAL HEALTH ORDERS BEING EXTENDED UNTIL JAN 8TH, 2021 I HAD TO CANEL THIS EVENT.  I am running the Christmas Bird Count For Youth (CBC4Youth) on Jan 3, 2020! If you are able to join us please register at the Eventbrite website HERE This event is open for youth age 12-18 years old. We will meet  at 9 am   on the dyke at the foot of 72nd St at Boundary Bay in Delta.  I am looking forward to seeing you all!. Masks are mandatory and if we go into lockdown due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, I will cancel the event. Young Birders at the Christmas Bird Count For Youth in Delta - Photo: Melissa Hafting

Tonight on the 6pm news, Global News did a segment on Owls and rodenticide poisoning . Rob Hope from OWL is constantly trying to bring awareness and explain why a province wide ban is necessary. You can watch the video HERE On Vancouver Island a Short-eared and Great Horned Owl were recently found dead, most likely from rodenticides. You can watch a CTV news clip on that HERE . Also a Barn Owl was found dead not long ago at Iona again most likely from rodenticide poisoning. Tests results have come in from a Barn Owl found at Hasting Race course with the cause of death proven to be rodenticide poisoning. Metro Vancouver Parks is not using rodenticides in their parks but do permit businesses who lease the land from them like the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation and Vancouver Aquarium to use it. Time for this to change and to eradicate this ridiculous loophole. It is time for a city-wide ban in Vancouver and a full province-wide ban.  On a happy note, yesterday the District of West V...

I have wanted to see a Prairie Warbler forever. When Ilya and I went to Texas we dipped on them as we were a tad early before they got back to their breeding grounds. I think they are one stunning warbler and was pretty disappointed we didn't get one. So when I heard that one had showed up in Vernon (BC'S 5th confirmed record), I took my first chance on Friday and drove up. F riends Larry Cowan and Janice White wanted to join.  The highway was clear on the drive, we only had a little bit of snow falling on the connector. We got there at 4pm due to my commitments and looked hard for 2 hours in the rain until dark. We found a Black-capped Chickadee flock, Ring-necked Pheasant, and a late Cassin's Vireo that Chris Siddle had found a few days prior. It is the latest Cassin's Vireo that I've ever seen in BC. It was very active and seemed to follow us throughout the park. I found a great hotel the Rivera Plaza Hotel . It was on special for 49$ a night; which if in Vancouv...