Vancouver Naturalist_March 2012.pdf - Nature Vancouver

Nature Vancouver Field
Trip Schedule
Saturday, June 2
Hike
Brohm Lake Forest
This will be a moderately strenuous hike through Brohm Lake
Forest. We will go up to the lookout (at 350 m with an elevation
gain of 150 m) and possibly down to the lake and wetland area,
depending on the wishes of the participants. This is a moderate
hike of up to 13 km with some steep sections and rocky trails.
Pack lunch, water, sunscreen and raingear, and wear good boots.
Meet at the Park Royal Mall McDonald’s at 8:00 a.m. Difficulty
rating: C7. Contact Daphne Nagorsen at dnagorsen@yahoo.com
or 778-230-8007.
Saturday, June 2
Birding Series
Spring Birding at Iona Island #5
This the fifth trip in a series of six trips with the theme -Follow
the Changing Seasons at Iona. We will look for shorebirds and
flycatchers. Meet by the parking lot at the west end of Ferguson
Road at 8:00 a.m. If you are taking public transportation and
wish to arrange a ride from Bridgeport Canada Line station,
please phone the Leader, Colin Clark at 604-274-5379. The trip
will last about 3 hours. Wear suitable clothing and boots (some
trails are narrow and muddy). Bring binoculars and/or scope.
Saturday, June 16
Birding Series
Iona Island Spring Birding #6
This is the last in a series of birding trips with the theme-Follow
the changing Seasons at Iona. How many more species can
we add to the series total? Meet by the parking lot at the west
end of Ferguson Road at 8:00 a.m. If you are taking public
transportation and wish to arrange a ride from Bridgeport
Canada Line station, please phone the Leader, Colin Clark at
604-274-5379. The trip will last about 3 hours. Wear suitable
clothing and boots (some trails are narrow and muddy). Bring
binoculars and/or scope.
Saturday, June 23
Birding
Pitt Meadows northern dykes
We will spend a half-day birding the Grant Narrows Area,
starting south along the Pitt River Dyke from the Grant Narrows
parking lot. The grass may be long and in the morning usually
wet so appropriate footwear is advised. Time permitting we will
bird a short distance along the Nature Dyke. We were successful
in locating an American Redstart in 2011. When June birding
in the Polder; expect the unexpected. Past rarities at this time
of year have been Veery, Yellow-breasted Chat, Black-throated
Sparrow and Baltimore Oriole. Meet the leader at 8:15 a.m. in
the Grant Narrows’ parking lot. Contact Leader, Larry Cowan at
lawrencecowan@shaw.ca or 604-465-1402.
16 Vancouver Naturalist March 2012
Nature Vancouver Activity Survey:
A Brief Summary
by Daphne Nagorsen
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Activity Survey. The
survey was conducted to better understand the needs and wishes of
our members with regards to Nature Vancouver activities, as well
as to generate suggestions for future activities.
The Board and Sections have been reviewing the results of the
survey and are incorporating the feedback and suggestions into
their activities. A brief summary of the survey results is below. A
more detailed summary will be published in the upcoming issue
of Discovery.
1.
2.
Do you feel Nature Vancouver does a good job of meeting
your interests in natural history? Why or why not?
Yes: 89% Unsure: 5% No: 4%
Reasons given included every aspect of Nature Vancouver,
from camps and field trips, to evening programs and
publications, to social and networking opportunities.
Are there any areas you would like Nature Vancouver to
give more attention to? (e.g. ecology, mammals, wetlands,
insects, geology, conservation, photography, etc.)
Most members had suggestions for areas for Nature
Vancouver to give more attention to, ranging from general
topics to specific areas.
No: 12%
What activities or events would you like to see around
these areas?
A wide range of ideas for events and activities were
suggested.
3. Are there any specific evening topic programs you would
like to see?
There were a large number of suggestions for evening topic
programs.
Do you prefer more general interest or more technical
presentations?
The overall view was that most presentations should be
more general interest but include technical information as
necessary. There was a strong vote in favour of having some
technical presentations.
What length of presentation do you prefer?
While there was a variety in the time lengths preferred, the
average preference was for presentations to be between 60
and 90 minutes.
4. Are there any particular places you would like to go on
field trips?
There were a large number of suggestions for places to go on
field trips, with locations from all over the Lower Mainland
and up the Sea to Sky highway, as well as Vancouver Island,
the Gulf Islands, and Washington State.
What types of field trips do you prefer (hiking, interpretive
walks, car tours, bus tours, etc.)?
The current formats of field trips are still the most popular,
but there was an interest in having a variety of types of field
trips offered. In addition, there were requests for field trips
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