Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada
02 May 2006

I first came to Vancouver when it was one of the prettiest cities in the world. Tucked into the foothills of the Rockies, built on a natural harbour, Vancouver seemed to have been built with an eye on its natural surroundings. It was typically Canadian I thought. Proud, but in an understated way. Modern, but respectful. But oh dear - the Winter Olympics are coming to town and Vancouver’s gone and messed itself up big time…

I’ll write a post on the birds I saw when I get home, but first I’m going to have my say about Vancouver. No doubt I’m going to be accused of generally having a bit of a ‘down on progress’, a one-sided view of ‘development’, even perhaps of having commie-tendencies for continually showing my disdain for the “capitalist way”…well, like I could care less…because what’s happening to Vancouver’s beautiful waterfront is absolutely typical of the impact greed has on a city’s environment. Where there was once a relatively relaxed city centre all that can be heard now (literally) is the constant hammering of construction. Where there was once wide open vistas to the mountains, the trees, and the water, there is now a forest of glass and steel and a major fight on to grab the best views for those who can afford them at the expense of everyone and everything else.

And, according to the hotel staff, it’s all because Vancouver is set to host the Winter Olympics in 2010.

The story goes that property here (despite the price rises brought on by the demand for housing by the recent immigrants from Hong Kong) is ‘relatively’ cheap. There is going to be a huge influx of visitors to Vancouver for the Olympics (which puts its tent up for a couple of weeks and then moves on of course), and the City hopes that the attendant publicity will put Vancouver “on the map”. Speculators and developers know that means that property prices will soar. They can then sell to the new incomers for a vast profit, take their money and go and smash up a low-cost, “undeveloped” area somewhere else. The people who move in, of course, want views of the mountains, the trees, and the water - as did the people who already live here of course. There’s really only one way that the developers can keep offering those spectacular views - and that’s by putting up ever-higher towers or by putting towers in front of the towers that are already there, which then block off the views of the people who moved in a year or so ago (and they want to sell to make that profit created by the soaring prices - but who’s going to buy a watefront appartment with a view straight into the appartment across the road?). No, the developers aren’t stupid - they know that the appartments that will sell for the highest prices are those with the best views. The solution? Put up higher towers to give the next lot of residents the views they want, which will inevitably block the views of those people who have only just moved in themselves. And so it goes on and on…

I’m sure that any architect reading this, or looking at the photo above, will be thinking how well-designed these towers are, how strikingly modern and new - they probably are, they also dominate a skyline that used to be almost unique amongst major cities. They have literally stolen the view - not just from a few new residents, but from everyone. And buildings don’t just exist as structures - they’re built to be full of people. All of those new people will inevitably bring hundreds of extra vehicles, a demand for new roads, demands for ‘better’ access to the local parks and for more recreation facilities etc etc - and within a very short time a city that felt small and low-impact will have turned itself into a grid-locked metropolis that makes no effort at all to fit into the environment anymore, and all those people who moved here because of the quality of life start to wonder why they bothered…

You know, just for once wouldn’t it have been wonderful if the Bald Eagles that hunt over Stanley Park, or the thousands of waterfowl that roost in English Bay or on the Lost Lagoon, had had a say in all this development madness. “No you can’t build here - I hunt here, I need this space”. “No, come on, we fly hundreds of miles to find safety here and you want to put up huge glass buildings in our way - that’s just not right…”.

Of course, they’re just ducks and eagles and wildlife - what right have they got to say that a few rich developers can’t get richer and a few more miles of beautiful waterfont shouldn’t be turned into a playground for the human race…?

Anyway, onto the birding…

Stanley Park and downtown Vancouver (taken from the plane)

I spent an interesting few hours in Vancouver’s renowned Stanley Park, a beautiful 400ha park set on a peninsula that contains a large lake called the “Lost Lagoon” (which can be excellent for close views of large flocks of wildfowl in winter), a remnant patch of cedar, hemlock and fir forest (that’s just about large enough to get lost in for a minute or two and is a poignant reminder of what Vancouver has lost as it’s developed - see photo left), and a six mile jogging track that runs around the edge of the peninsula and gives spectacular views across both English Bay and Burrard Inlet (which in winter is a superb place to see Harlequin Ducks and Barrow’s Goldeneyes from).

From an overseas visiting birder’s point of view Stanley Park is definitely best in the winter (IMHO, anyway), but on a cloudless (if cold) morning in early May there was bound to be something worthwhile.

Aside from the common and expected residents (like Great Blue Herons, Glaucous-winged Gulls, North-western Crows, and American Robins) there weren’t actually all that many birds around in fact. That’s not say that the morning wasn’t enjoyable of course. As an English birder, if I look hard enough there’s always going to be enough birds in any Canadian park to make a long walk worthwhile, and though overall numbers weren’t high, the species I saw were pretty good.

There were still a few winter visitors hanging around - a flock of pristine Surf Scoters bobbing about out on English Bay for instance - and enough migrants to just about keep the excitement levels up: dendroica consisted of about ten Yellow-rumped, two or three Wilson’s (or one moving around a lot, I couldn’t be sure!), and two Yellow Warblers that I saw early on and which disappeared soon after, and I had several views of the same (wary) Hermit Thrush (no Varied Thrushes though which I always see here in the winter and which was my main target bird - presumably too late in the year for them now?).

Surf Scoters Melanitta perspicillata

I did have a bit of what you might term a bit of “sparrow-fest” though: five species in total and all of them showing pretty well. As I’ve said on this blog many times, I’m a great fan of the various “American Sparrows” - especially ones, like Lincoln’s, that I don’t get to see very often. Related much more to Plaearctic buntings (the Emberizidae) - and how structurally similar to a Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla is the Lincoln’s in the photo below?- it’s tempting to dismiss these superficially similar birds as impossible to identify “little brown jobs”, but it’s worth giving them a chance: each one has subtle markings and distinctive behaviour - and some of them even have heads marked like a peppermint humbug which makes things very much easier indeed…

 

 

 

 

From top: White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys, Golden-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia atricapilla, Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia, Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii, ‘Sooty’ Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca

The Lost Lagoon - and the vegetation along it’s edge - is worth a good long look at any time of the year. Most of the sparrows and warblers I saw were here, and I was quite surprised how many ducks were still this far south (unless some breed on the Lagoon?) - the full list is below, but it was educational (as ever) to pick out a single Greater Scaup amongst a small flock of Lessers (note the Greater’s fuller and rounder head, larger dark nail at the tip of the bill, and whiter mantle, but be aware that the different head colour tones can change in different lights and even as the ducks turn their heads) and a good test of my hopefully improving camera skills to try to correctly expose a gorgeous Wood Duck sat in the open in a bright patch of sunlight.

Greater Scaup Aythya marila (top) and Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis

 

Wood Duck Aix sponsa

Incidentally, if you are in Stanley Park and spot the odd-looking “Mallard” in the image below, it’s a very long-staying hybrid with an American Wigeon which has been posing for interested photographers for years now…

Mallard x American Wigeon Anas platyryhnchos x Anas americana hybrid

Highlight of my visit? Well, I almost hate to admit it, but it was a mammal: my first ever live (ie first ‘not dead on the side of a road’) Striped Skunk Mephitis mephitis, which I found while I was following a pair of Raccoons through the undergrowth alongside the Lost Lagoon. Vancouver residents might not be excited by seeing “Old Squirty”, but I thought he was a very handsome beast indeed.

I didn’t get particularly good photos of the Skunk, but some close-up shots of the Raccoons turned out quite well…and if you like mammals it’s worth keeping an eye out too for the striking black-phase Grey Squirrels that occur commonly here.

 

 

Day List:
Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis 30-40; Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus 20+; Pelagic Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus 4-5; Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias 10-15; Mute Swan Cygnus olor 2; Canada Goose Branta canadensis c)10; Wood Duck Aix sponsa 6; American Wigeon Anas americana 5-6; Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis 3; Mallard Anas platyrhynchos c)10; Northern Pintail Anas acuta 2; Greater Scaup Aythya marila 1; Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis c)20; Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata c)30; Common Merganser Mergus merganser 2; Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus 1; Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens c)20; American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus 4-5; Red-breasted Sapsucker Sphyrapicus ruber 1; Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina c)10; Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota 4-5; Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 4-5; Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula 4-5; Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes 4; Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus 1; American Robin Turdus migratorius c)10; Common Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus 2; Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens 4-5; Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus 20+; Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris c)10; House Sparrow Passer domesticus 20+; Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celata 3; Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata 10+; Wilson’s Warbler Wilsonia pusilla 2; Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus 2; ‘Sooty’ Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca 4; Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia 6-8; Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii 1; White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys 6-8; Golden-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia atricapilla 6-8; Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus c)10

Looking across English Bay

All photographs copyright Charlie Moores.