Vancouver Naturalist_March 2012.pdf - Nature Vancouver

Nature Vancouver
Evening Programs
The General Evening Programs of Nature Vancouver are held
from January through April and September through November
on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Unity
Church, 5840 Oak Street, Vancouver. These programs are
open to the public and members are encouraged to invite
their friends. For more information and suggestions for future
programs please contact Program Co-ordinator, Jude Grass
at judegrass@shaw.ca or 604-538-8774.
Thursday, March 22
Nature Vancouver Photo Competition and Awards
See all of the top photos submitted to the competition and hear
critiques of the compositions.
Thursday, April 26
Annual General Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation
The Annual General Meeting of Nature Vancouver will be followed
by annual award presentations to volunteers. A new publication
titled, Nature Vancouver: A Portrait 1994-2010, will also be
launched at this meeting.
After the awards, an informal social get together will give members
a chance to mingle with and thank the volunteers in person. Coffee,
juice and light refreshments will be served. Please bring finger food
to share if you wish. Do not forget to bring your favourite coffee
mug to avoid using Styrofoam cups.
6 Vancouver Naturalist March 2012
Nature Vancouver
Birding Section
Birders’ Nights are held on the first Thursday of each month
from September to May at 7:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall of
St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Kerrisdale, 2490 West 37th
Avenue (at Larch Street), Vancouver. The programs start
with introductions and items of general interest. The main
presentation begins after a short break for light refreshments.
These programs are open to the public and members are
encouraged to invite their friends. For more information and
suggestions for future programs please contact the Program
Co-ordinator, Jude Grass judegrass@shaw.ca or 604-538-
8774.
Thursday, April 5
Wetlands, Savannah, and Urban Gardens:
Birds in Zimbabwe
Peter Ward
Peter Ward will show some recent photographs, including birds
of many different habitats. Themes such as bird parasites and
hosts, birds seldom seen and often heard, and the miracle of nest
weaving will be discussed. Amazing areas such as the Chobe River
floodplain and the Bvumba mountains rainforest will be visited.
Peter Ward's interest in bird watching started in Africa, back in the
sixties, and he has since been an avid birder. He is a life member
of BirdLife South Africa, and a member of Birdlife Zimbabwe.
He was one of a group of volunteers who worked at the Point
Reyes Bird Observatory when it was first founded, and started
doing sound recordings of California birds with a simple cassette
recorder at that time.
Working with Ken Hall, and with improved equipment, he
documented the sounds of the majority of songbirds in British
Columbia, and published several educational CD's to help
naturalists learn to identify birds by ear. He has been an active
member of VNHS for several decades.
Recently Peter has volunteered with the Reifel Bird Sanctuary,
participating in a program of swallow box construction, installation
and servicing. To date, with support from Ken, John Toochin, June
Ryder and Delta Naturalists, about 120 Tree Swallow boxes have
been built and installed at Reifel refuge, at Sea/Iona Islands, and
at Big Bar Lake (near Clinton). Working with Delta Farmlands
and Wildlife Trust, our volunteer group has constructed 24 boxes
for Barn Owls, and these are presently being installed at sites with
interested farmers.
Peter is a hydrologist and river engineer and has recently worked
on a number of fisheries projects in B.C. (Capilano, Alouette and
Coquitlam) and on the Kootenay River, for remediation of habitat
that has been damaged by hydropower projects.
Thursday, May 3
Outdoor Meeting and Birding Walk
Location to be Announced