Stanley Park Ecology Society News

When this photo was taken, one osprey was in the nest and the other was calling from a branch.

A pair of ospreys have settled into the heart of the most heavily impacted areas of Stanley Park’s winter-ravaged blowdown.  Although this species visits the Park regularly, no previous records are known of ospreys residing in Stanley Park.

In the week following the severe windstorms of December 2006 that felled 10,000 trees in Stanley Park, a pair of bald eagles that had lost their nest tree became icons of the restorative ability of nature: they chose a lone standing snag on the slopes below Merilees Trail, and within weeks had begun building a new nest.  Although this pair of eagles resided in the nest tree for many months, they did not produce young this year.  Since the nesting season has ended and the eagles have left their territory for autumn fishing grounds, the tree has been vacated… until now.

Staff of the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) have observed the pair of ospreys using the bald eagle’s nest for the past week.  SPES has been providing bird monitoring and wildlife surveys, along with community stewardship and education development in relation to the blowdown restoration work.  "We were pleased to see so many woodpeckers in the area, along with signs of fall migration, but it was a special treat to see the ospreys behaving like they might take up residence in the Park," said Robyn Worcester, Urban Wildlife specialist of Stanley Park Ecology Society.  "I’d like to be here next spring when the eagles are here and the ospreys return from their winter migration.  Both species are territorial and it would be interesting to see if the ospreys will try to chase the eagles off the nest."

Background:

The osprey is a common species of raptor that hunts by diving into the water to catch fish.  This species has been nesting at Maplewood Flats Wilderness Conservation Area in North Vancouver since 1991, and so there are at least four breeding pairs in Burrard Inlet.  Ospreys usually choose nest sites that are in open areas and are close to water.  Nests are built in living or dead trees, power poles, pilings, or other artificial structures.

The Merilees Trail Bald Eagle nest is clearly visible from Park Drive.  It is located about 100 m west of the road, just past the Prospect Point picnic area.  Seventeen different bald eagle nests are monitored in Vancouver throughout the year by Stanley Park Ecology Society staff and volunteers.

Well not really ghosts per say, what we saw was more along the lines of rumours made flesh! We are very proud to be able to bring you photographic evidence of a critter that no-one has seen in Stanley Park for a very long time: the Yellow-Bellied Marmot!
You will not find the Yellow-Bellied Marmot on any of Stanley Park’s mammal checklists, nor will you find them described in the Vancouver Natural History Society’s newest book called “Wilderness on the Doorstep: Discovering Nature in Stanley Park” (which we have for sale - just ask!) You have to go back to the VNHS’s 1988 publication “The Natural History of Stanley Park” to find anything and there you will find, on the second-to-last page, a very brief mention of the colony that used live around Malkin Bowl in the 1950’s. It mentions that “one or two individuals may still survive” but who knew it was true!?!
To be honest, there have been rumours of people seeing them in different areas of the park for the last year or two, but no-one had any evidence. One of our school programmers (Tracy) spotted one the other day and Koren captured the picture you see below. Maybe Bobs and Lolo should write a Yellow-Bellied Marmot song for the “Playing For The Park” fundraiser on the 22nd.

Isn’t this little lad … or lady great! The Ensatina is a lungless salamander found along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to the Baja region of Mexico. They are hard to find when it’s cold or when the dry summers begin because they prefer nice, moist crevices among rotting logs or roots. They can also live anywhere from 10-15 years if their luck stays true. It looks like this little salamander has had a pretty lucky go of it so far as it still has its tail, something it drops pretty quickly if it’s grabbed by a predator.
You can see that Robyn is handling this critter properly in that she isn’t holding it in her hand, nor is she trying to pick it up. The reason this is so important is because as a lungless salamander, the Ensatina breathes through its skin - which means that the grease from your fingers could plug those breathing pores! So if you are lucky enough to spot one of these creatures in Stanley Park, be sure not to touch it - and send us a photo!

On one of our Ecowalks last month, our guide (Murray Lashmar) informed me that Salmonberry got its name because the berries formed at about the same time as some of the salmon runs were starting. I find those seasonal connections fascinating - like how the emergence of one of the forest’s inhabitants can tell us that the appearance of another inhabitant will soon follow.
One of the first things I learned when I started working at SPES is that flowering Salmonberry means that Rufous Hummingbirds will soon be spotted in the park, feeding on an early source of nectar. And then when the berries appear later in the Spring - this means that the Swainson’s Thrush will soon be making an appearance to feed on them. More connections! The study of these little connections is called phenology and you’ll be hearing a lot about it in the future because a few of us think it is cool . You should come down to Stanley Park and hike around Beaver Lake right now, the Salmonberry blossoms are everywhere.

We received a call today from one of Stanley Park’s bird lovers and he alerted us to the fact that we probably had a juvenile Trumpeter Swan out on Lost Lagoon. It is quite easy to spot the many introduced Mute Swans out on the water with their distinctive orange bill and the black knob at the bill’s base (see inset photo) but the extra swan out there today had a distinctly dark bill with an orange “grin” line running along the bottom. Judging by the size, it was last year’s cygnet but of which native species - the Tundra Swan or the Trumpeter Swan?
The young Tundra Swan at this time of year is really quite white compared to a Trumpeter Swan of the same age - Trumpeters tend to retain more of the grey-brown colouration on their back and neck. Adult Tundra Swans also tend to have a yellow spot on their lores (area between the bill and the eyes) which can appear on sub-adults as a light greyish spot in the same area. Even though we don’t see this spot on the swan below, we must keep in mind that not all Tundras develop the yellow spot. The easiest way to tell these two birds apart is by listening to their calls and sure enough, this young swan had that distinctive trumpet-like call. Mystery solved and Lost Lagoon shoots up another notch on my list of things to always look at twice.
Anyone interested in hearing the difference between Tundra and Trumpeter calls can check out this site but please be aware that it is an external link and not our content.

Something that has always fascinated me about living in Vancouver is how we share our streets and yards with what SPES refers to as “urban wildlife.” Having only lived here for about 5 years now, I have to admit that I am tickled every time I meet a pigeon on the sidewalk and it steps around me like any other pedestrian would. I suppose, if I had lived here all of my life, that I might eventually take the more common urban wildlife for granted but as soon as you start to do that - you miss out on all the cool stuff.
Today was just such an occasion as two of our staff suddenly dropped everything to rush outside and take a look at what I thought were “just” more Canada geese. But, lo and behold, there in amongst the regulars was my first Greater White-fronted Goose, grazing on the manicured lawns of Stanley Park right by the rose gardens. The picture below clearly illustrates several of the differences between the two species including the white facial blaze, the pinkish bill and the black bars on the belly. This is why it always pays to look twice.
And if you liked looking at these birds, check out our events calendar for the next birding walk - it’s your park!

Happy Spring everyone! We are very excited here at SPES for a number of reasons, the first of which is that we have a working blog and have decided to start using it! It also means that we have just under a month left before our “Playing for the Park” benefit event on April 22, 2007. Everyone is super excited about seeing “Bobs and Lolo” play and we hope you will join us for some fantastic family fun!
Speaking of family fun, the numbers are steadily increasing at the Stanley Park Great Blue Heron colony this spring. Last weekend’s count identified approximately 92 adults already on site with over half of the nests still empty and we are expecting many more herons arriving in the near future. Some of the early nesters have already produced the pale blue eggs that should be hatching in mid to late April.