Canuck, Vancouver’s most famous crow, is now a federally-protected bird

Vancouver’s most famous crow is now a federally-protected bird.

Canuck the Crow has been granted a numbered bird band — a tool that researchers use to track bird populations and migration.

Shawn Bergman, Canuck’s human “friend,” applied for the official designation, one he said is rarely handed out to crows.

READ MORE: Canuck the Crow hatches new nest of chicks a month after first brood wiped out

“From what I’ve been told he’s the first crow in North America to be banded for non-research, non-endangerment purposes,” said Bergman.

According to the federal government, bird banding is typically used for “ornithological research, monitoring and conservation by contributing to basic scientific knowledge about birds and the environments in which they live.”

About 1.2 million birds are banded every year, it said, with Mallard Ducks and Canada Geese being the most common, with applicants typically required to submit a proposal for scientific research.

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Artists for Conservation Festival to Unveil World’s Largest Mural of Bird Paintings in Vancouver

The 100-foot collaborative artwork will feature 678 endangered species of birds

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August 16, 2018 12:00 ET | Source: Artists for Conservation

Vancouver, Aug. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 

Artists for Conservation Festival to Unveil World’s Largest Mural of Bird Paintings in Vancouver
The 100-foot collaborative artwork will feature 678 endangered species of birds

Vancouver (August 16, 2018)– On Wednesday, August 22, Artists for Conservation (AFC) will unveil "Silent Skies," a 100ft super-mural showcasing birds from around the world that are in danger of becoming extinct. The unveiling will kick-off  the eighth annual AFC Festival and international art exhibit taking place at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

“As an organization our efforts are rooted in bringing awareness to global conservation issues. With this in mind, the opportunity to involve artists from around the world in a collaborative conservation-based project only made sense,” said AFC Founder and President Jeff Whiting. “The 100-ft installation involves over 160 AFC artists from around the world and will serve as the artistic centrepiece of the International Ornithological Congress coming to Vancouver.”

Through international art exhibits, collaborative art-science projects and expeditions, an annual festival, awards and publications, AFC is dedicated to supporting wildlife and habitat conservation and environmental education through art that celebrates nature. The festival itself is a multi-day art and environmental education event, featuring a world-class conservation themed art exhibit with leading international, and regional artists, films, live art demos, music and cultural performances. The AFC Festival 2018 is being held in conjunction with the 27th International Ornithological Congress(IOCongress2018) and Vancouver International Bird Festival (VIBF).

“We are confident the addition of the super mural to this year’s festival will further highlight the importance of ongoing research and conservation efforts in a way that visitors can really enjoy,” said Whiting. “Alongside the main mural, we will be displaying the Silent Skies Student Mural Project, a youth education art program that has resulted in some inspiring artworks produced by 100 youth across BC.”

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Ruffled feathers: feral peacocks split community in Canada

Tensions have come to a head over the fate of dozens of wild peacocks that have taken up residence on a street near Vancouver

Aryn Strickland in Surrey

Sat 5 May 2018 12.00 BSTLast modified on Mon 7 May 2018 22.32 BST

For a decade, a group of feral peacocks have divided the community of Sullivan Heights. Some of the residents of this suburban neighbourhood outside Vancouver love the birds, who have taken up residence in the local trees; others say they are kept awake by the peacocks’ screeching.

For Parminder Brar, the final straw came last year, when he says his father injured himself slipping on peacock excrement on Brar’s property. He formally issued a request to take down the tree where the peacocks had built a nest. The city turned him down.

So, this week, Brar cut down the tree himself.

The move has sparked a furore in Sullivan Heights, angering his neighbours and potentially earning Brar a fine of up to $10,000.

“The majority of us love them. They add value to the neighbourhood,” says Katie Taylor, who has lived on the street for 12 years.

Unlike their native counterpart, the Canada geese who periodically stop by and can be aggressive, the peacocks have proven to be peaceful neighbours.

“We haven’t seen any aggression from the peacocks,” Taylor says. “You can feed them from your hands.”

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Rarely seen, ‘weird looking’ tropical bird comes in from the cold

Lindsay Kines / Times Colonist

FEBRUARY 1, 2018 06:00 AM

June Pigeon had never seen anything like it before.

She works at Ogden Point and about noon on Monday noticed a “weird looking bird” on the pier.

 “He was just sort of standing there and he had his head underneath his wings,” she said. “He was just shaking and shivering. You could get right up to him and he’d just look at you, but he wasn’t moving too far.”

It was terrible weather that day, so Pigeon took a couple of pictures and called the B.C. SPCA to ask for advice. She was told to put the bird in a box with holes in it and set the box in a dark place.

The bird put up no resistance. “He was obviously so cold,” Pigeon said.

She set the box in a building where it was warmer and, later that day, one of her colleagues delivered the bird to the SPCA.

Meanwhile, Pigeon posted the bird’s picture on Facebook in hopes that somebody could identify it.

Source  

Rare tropical bird found in Victoria dies from its injuries

A brown booby, a tropical bird rarely seen in the cool climate of the Pacific Northwest, is recovering after it was found injured at Ogden Point. Jan. 31, 2018. (Courtesy Wild ARC)

CTV Vancouver Island
Published Sunday, February 4, 2018 3:31PM PST
Last Updated Sunday, February 4, 2018 3:34PM PST

A rare bird recovering at the SPCA’s Wild Arc Rehabilitation Centre in Metchosin died over the weekend after it was found injured at Ogden Point on Monday.

A female brown booby about two years old was found with a puncture wound in its chest, about 30 per cent under weight and with cuts on its feet.

In a statement the centre says the bird’s health dramatically declined despite antibiotics and tube feeding.

 “Wild ARC staff are thankful to the finder that rescued the animal and called Wild ARC, and for all the public concern for this unique patient,” the statement reads. “Our solace is that she is no longer suffering.”

The tropical birds are typically found in California, Mexico and Hawaii and it's rare for them to be spotted here, the SPCA says.

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Wayward summer tanager makes first appearance on record in Vancouver

Published on: December 11, 2017 | Last Updated: December 11, 2017 10:08 AM PST

A wayward summer tanager is being observed for the first time in Metro Vancouver — and is attracting a throng of birders from around the region.

This particular summer tanager is an immature male and should be wintering in much warmer climes to the south, but it showed up Saturday morning in Wendy Kahle’s backyard is southwest Vancouver.

The colourful bird has only been recorded six times in B.C. and never before in Metro Vancouver, according to the B.C. Rare Bird Alert website.

“I put some peanuts out as I do every day,” Kahle said. “I glanced out and noticed it was very different from all the other birds I usually see.”

She took a photo and posted it on a birding Facebook page, where it was quickly identified and posted on the rare bird website. Within a couple of hours birders were showing up to view the bird on her property, but from the perspective of the Arbutus Greenway or Avery Avenue, near Southwest Marine Drive.

Read on  

Vancouver elects Anna’s hummingbird as official city bird

May 18, 2017
 

Reimer: Bird campaign ‘awakens in us this concept of re-wilding’
Megan Stewart — Vancouver Courier
Anna’s hummingbird is the official bird of Vancouver after the sprightly winged creature won nearly half the vote following a three-week campaign.

Taking 3,450 ballots, Anna’s hummingbird won 42 per cent of polls, beating the Northern flicker with 32 per cent, the varied thrush with 15 per cent, and finally the spotted towhee with 11 per cent support.

Anna’s hummingbird is a legacy of the Vancouver Bird Strategy, first launched in 2015 to draw attention to the conditions and habitats native birds need to thrive in an urbanized environment.
The Anna’s hummingbird becomes the city’s official and permanent winged mascot, a fixture that will allow artists and organizations to adopt it as long-term branding since it won’t change within a year’s time.

Although the bird popularity contest of 2017 was a tongue-in-cheek campaign, the mission of the city’s bird strategy is more serious, said city councillor Andrea Reimer.

“All birds are indicators of ecological health,” she said, elaborating on the metaphor of putting a canary in a coal mine. “You could put the name of any bird in that sentence and you would have an appropriate indication for the health of an ecosystem.” - 

See more at:

City's drug problem sees birds 'making nests out of needles'

Adam Boult

4 May 2017 • 11:04am

A viral photo tweeted by a high ranking police officer in Vancouver purports to show a pigeon's nest made entirely from used hypodermic needles.

The image was shared on Twitter by Superintendent Michelle Davey of Vancouver Police, who said that pigeons had been spotted making a nest out of needles in a single room occupancy (a form of low-cost housing) in the Downtown Eastside area of the city.

Supt. Michelle Davey

She described the image as reflecting the "sad reality of the opioid crisis", and added the hashtag #notstaged, indicating she believed the image had not been faked in any way.

Staff Sergeant Randy Fincham said the image “was captured by our Homeless Outreach Coordinator during an inspection of a vacant room."

Vancouver is experiencing an epidemic in the use of fentanyl, an analgesic estimated to be up to 100 times stronger than morphine.

In December nine people died from fentanyl opioid overdoses across the city in one 24 hour period. Two milligrams of pure fentanyl - the size of about four grains of salt - is enough to kill an average-size adult.

Mayor Gregor Robertson, addressing the overdose crisis, said: "It's desperate times in Vancouver and it's hard to see any silver lining right now when we haven't hit rock bottom."

As the "bird's nest" image started to go viral the fact-checking site Snopes commented: "The authenticity of the 'pigeon’s nest' photograph is still uncertain, and we are one of many news outlets who have sent requests to Superintendent Davey seeking more information about it.

"We don’t yet know if or how it was determined that a pigeon had in fact constructed and used the pile of needles as a nest."


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Four species in running to become Vancouver's official bird in advance of major congress

Published on: May 1, 2017 | Last Updated: May 1, 2017 3:17 PM PDT 

No pressure: One of four species will soon be selected by the public to become the City of Vancouver’s official permanent bird and avian ambassador to what may be the world’s largest gathering of birders.

The final list of candidates for the job include: Anna’s hummingbird, varied thrush, spotted towhee and northern flicker — all west coast birds that are thought in some way to encapsulate the spirit of Vancouver.

City residents can vote online for their favourite by May 14, more than a year in advance of two simultaneous events, the International Ornithological Congress and International Bird Festival, Aug. 19-26, 2018, which will bring thousands of academics and bird enthusiasts to the city.

“It’s going to be absolutely huge, probably the biggest bird festival ever in the world,” said Rob Butler, chair of Vancouver’s bird advisory committee and the coming bird festival. “The city needs a bird ambassador to lead the city into that.”

Bob Elner, a veteran federal researcher with the Canadian Wildlife Service, is heading the congress.

Butler credited a 2010 story by Vancouver Sun environment reporter Larry Pynn entitled Winged Tsunami, about the annual migration of birds through Metro Vancouver, for spurring the city to better recognize birds.

“That’s really what started all of this,” he said. Then-park board commissioner Loretta Woodcock pushed a motion to declare World Migratory Bird Day in Vancouver. “From that, all this got started.”

Vancouver Bird Week is May 6 to 13, with numerous public events (vancouverbirdweek.ca).

Anna’s hummingbird is something of a recent immigrant, having arrived from warmer climes, and is now a year-round resident thanks to bird feeders. Said Butler: “It is very attractive, lively, feisty. It sounds like a crackling electrical cord.”

The pretty varied thrush is very much a rainforest species. It was also in the running for status as B.C.’s official bird, losing out to the Steller’s jay in 1987.

The spotted towhee is familiar to anyone with a backyard feeder. “It’s one of the first birds people see when they really start bird watching. They say, ‘Hold on, that’s not a robin.’ It’s around the garden, an attractive little bird.”

The northern flicker is a large, striking bird with a powerful call that is known to drum on household metal to proclaim its territory or attract a mate. “It’s sporty looking and widespread,” Butler adds.

 

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Stanley Park's stray rooster struts to fame in bird boots

'He just showed up one day' and high-stepped his way into the park staffs' hearts'

By Yvette Brend, CBC News Posted: Oct 07, 2016 6:00 AM PT Last Updated: Oct 07, 2016 10:04 AM PT 

Ricky the rooster in Stanley Park by Jennifer Summers

Ricky the mysterious rooster just showed up one day in Vancouver's Stanley Park.

Since then he's strutted his way into park staff's hearts.

He hangs out near the horse barn, and members of the Vancouver Police mounted unit are familiar with his high-stepping antics.

Recently, he was outfitted by park staff with some handmade Birdy Booties — to help relieve his pain from a condition called bumblefoot, an inflammatory condition and perhaps a little arthritis, say his caretakers who were relieved the beloved bird did not have cancer.

"He loves his booties ... I think I'm anthropomorphizing a bit but when he first got them he ran around the yard. I think he was trying to show them off." said Sheena Urquhart, an apprentice horticulturalist.

When Ricky is in the mood he will hop up on a bench and march across laps.

"He's a total lap rooster," said Urquhart.

Ricky is not the first rooster abandoned at the park over the years.

But he's the first with his own Instagram account (@Ricky_the_Chicky) and a lot of ardent fans.

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Goose of a different colour: strange bird spotted in Vancouver's West End

LARRY PYNN

Published on: June 17, 2016 | Last Updated: June 17, 2016 5:06 PM PDT

A goose sporting a strange collection of feathers is making for an odd duck in the West End.

The goose, sighted this week in the company of Canada geese at Sunset Beach, features an unusual pattern of white and darker feathers.

One theory is that it is leucistic, a term that describes a pigment abnormality falling short of albinism.

Another theory is that the bird is a hybrid love child, perhaps the result of the union of a Canada goose and a domestic goose or similar species.

“I don’t have much of a back story,” Greg Hart, urban wildlife programs coordinator for the Stanley Park Ecology Society, said Friday. “It’s just a neat bird that showed up.”

He sees reports of similar birds showing up in the region about once a year, each time sparking the leucistic-versus-hybrid debate on bird forums. “Typically, field marks are what you use to identify these birds,” he said. “This, of course, is displaying field marks that don’t fit any bird. That’s the quandary.”

George Clulow, immediate past president of B.C. Field Ornithologists, said that based on photos provided by The Vancouver Sun, the bird may even have some DNA of a swan goose (a wild species that breeds in China and Russia, but is also domesticated) or Asian domestic goose.

“Upright posture, long neck, bill colour/shape and foot colour are all suggestive of this to me,” he said. “Other parent perhaps Canada goose.”

Read more and photos … 

Vancouver searches for new city bird

Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl, Western Grebe, and the Barn Swallow are vying for the title of City bird 2016

By On the Coast, CBC News Posted: Apr 16, 2015 6:49 AM PT Last Updated: Apr 16, 2015 6:49 AM PT

The City of Vancouver announced its four candidates vying for the title of official bird, 2016: The Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl, Western Grebe, and the Barn Swallow.

"We decided to go for the rare gems here in the city," Rob Butler, the chair of the Vancouver bird advisory council told On the Coast's Stephen Quinn. The competition aims to educate locals on the importance of birds in and around the city, Butler said.

Reigning champion flying high

Last year the Black-capped Chickadee was crowned as the official city bird in a competition which saw more than 700,000 votes cast. According to Butler, it has already been representing the city well.

Read on ...

Arrival of rare golden eagle in south Delta generates stir in birding community

BY LARRY PYNN, VANCOUVER SUN JANUARY 1, 2015

A golden eagle — a rare visitor to a region known for its bald eagles — had birders all aflutter on New Year’s Day in south Delta.

“I have been here a couple of days for this guy,” said Vancouver’s Michelle Lamberson, taking her place in a line of photographers along 72nd Street near Boundary Bay. “I’ve got some decent shots.”

The juvenile bird sat like an ornament atop a large poplar tree on the edge of a golf course about 75 metres from the roadside.

Lamberson, who is director of flexible learning special projects at the University of B.C. and a birder for eight years, added: “I’ve not seen one in the Lower Mainland before. Bald eagles don’t like them.”

Mark Wynja, a birder for more than 40 years who works in a bird-supply shop in Vancouver, said the golden eagle rules the roost along the Boundary Bay foreshore. He watched as the raptor flew into a stand of red alders and scattered four bald eagles from their perches, although they later returned.

“He tends to be the dominant bird,” he said. “He’s tougher than a bald eagle, which is a glorified scavenger.”

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Black-Capped Chickadee voted Vancouver’s official bird

By Christine Tam Global News

The Black-Capped Chickadee has been named Vancouver’s official bird for 2015, beating out the flock of competitors by a landslide.

The winning bird rose to feathered fame during the city’s weeks-long competition that invited Vancouverites to vote online.

More than 700,000 votes poured in for the bird competition, which ended with a grand announcement at the Vancouver Public Library Saturday night to cap off Bird Week.

The Black-Capped Chickadee captured 39 per cent of the votes, beating out the Varied Thrush, who had 29 per cent.

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Opponents to proposed Deltaport expansion says it will hurt bird population

By Amy Judd Global News

VANCOUVER – Opponents to the proposed expansion of Deltaport are rallying to draw attention to what they say is another downside to the plan.

Port Metro Vancouver wants to build a three-berth container terminal at Roberts Bank, on a new man-made island near the existing container terminal.

About 50 people protested the proposal on Monday.

Critics say that would put the local populations of sandpipers and other birds at risk. They say tens of thousands of birds spend weeks, or months, in the area every year and they are concerned a larger port will destroy key habitats and migration corridors.

“This expansion is not really justified from a business standpoint,” said Jeremy McCall with the Vancouver Natural History Society. “And we know that it’s just an empire-building exercise from Port Metro Vancouver and we’re very disturbed about that.”

Read on

6 birds compete in Vancouver’s official City Bird competition

By Christine Tam Global News

Six feathered hopefuls are vying to be elected Vancouver’s official City Bird and they need your votes.

Bird enthusiasts gathered in Stanley Park Sunday morning to choose their favourite among six birds that live in Vancouver all year round.

It’s all part of an educational competition geared towards raising awareness about the importance of birds in our ecosystem. The competition is part of Bird Week, which runs from May 3 to 10.

Bird Week will kick off with an official proclamation and walk on Beach Avenue.

Throughout the week, there will be artists’ workshops and art exhibits at the Roundhouse and Hillcrest community centres, closing with a series of walks in Vancouver parks to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day.

The winner of the City Bird competition will be featured on buttons during next year’s Bird Week. Vancouver residents can vote online for their favourite bird until May 3.

Each bird has taken to social media to promote themselves using the hashtag #vancitybird on Twitter.

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