The Bloedel Conservatory, Remembered
While our friends south of the border were getting ready to celebrate their Thanksgiving, I woke to learn that the Vancouver Parks Board voted 4-3 in favor of closing one of the most popular attractions in Vancouver, the Bloedel Conservatory. The Children's Farmyard in Stanley Park will also close - all due to a $2.8-million budget shortfall. Both are slated to close in March 2010. In August, I visited the Bloedel Conservatory. To follow are the photographs I took to illustrate its beauty. As a child, in the third grade, I visited the Bloedel Conservatory on a field trip. I visited every year since, with my family, and now I take my own children there.

Wordless Wednesday

The November Birds of Westham Island [Ladner], B.C.
I spent Friday, November 20, out in the field at Westham Island, B.C. I found many life birds on this day and I was fortunate enough to get to know them - observe and photograph them.When I pulled into the lot at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, I was surprised to see a 'Conservation Officer' vehicle ahead of me. Once in the gate, I noticed a number of 'officials walking on the grounds, and a helicopter circling above. My birding partner and best friend, Robbie, and I figured they were conducting some sort of a survey of the area; perhaps counting birds. It wasn't long before we heard the disturbing sound. A sound one does not expect to hear so close to con

Wordless Wednesday

Fall Birding at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary
Although the threat of rain loomed, I didn't care. I was itching to get outside, and more specifically, outside to see birds and lots of them. The best place to see birds is the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island, B.C. I've been out there many times, during the summer months, so I was expecting to see a few migrants moving through at this location.Upon arrival, I stopped at my favorite spot to watch my favorite songbird, the Black-capped Chickadee.