Category Archives: Workshop

World Migratory Bird Day – Fall 2024

Are you interested in birding? Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day with the BLPA! With Fall migration in full swing, this is a great time to see both seasonal visitors and local year-round species.

We’re offering guided outings and workshops to show you how to use the top birding apps.

Stop by the BLPA display booths to learn more about migrating birds, how to help birds, the work we do and how to get involved! SFU Masters student Vanessa Hum will be there to educate about bird and window collisions and what you can do to help out at your home, business or school. Our friends from the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC will join us to show you what to do if you find an injured bird and how to keep birds safe.

We welcome everyone, including people with disabilities, people who are Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC), and people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+). We’ll be using Burnaby Lake Regional Park trails which are accessible to wheelchair-users, people who use mobility aids, or child strollers.

This year, the theme for World Migratory Bird Day is Protect Bugs, Protect Birds! Insects are essential sources of energy for many migratory bird species, not only during the breeding seasons but also during their extensive journeys and greatly affect the timing, duration, and overall success of bird migrations. Along their migration routes, birds actively seek out insects in fields, forests, wetlands, and various habitats during stopovers.

The timing of bird migration often coincides with peak insect abundance at stopover locations, supplying nourishment for birds to replenish their energy reserves before continuing their journeys. The loss and disturbance of insect populations at breeding sites and along avian migration routes threaten bird survival and well-being. Natural spaces like forests and grasslands that have been transformed or endangered by intensive agriculture and urban development and its effects such as light pollution can result in a decline in insect populations.

The 2024 WMBD campaign stresses the need for proactive conservation measures. This includes reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and where possible, switching to organic farming. Other measures include maintaining and connecting areas of natural vegetation which provide food and shelter for birds and other species, in agricultural landscapes.

Please note that advance registration is required for the outings and workshops as we will have a maximum of 15 participants per outing. These outings are approximately 90 minutes in length, rain or shine.

More information:

MEETING LOCATION: Meet near the kiosk in front of the Burnaby Lake Nature House – look for the BLPA flag.

*Construction notice* – Please take note that there is construction along Winston Street which includes single lane traffic that may add an additional 5 minutes to your trip. Details for the Winston Street Sewer project can be found here.

If you would like detailed driving directions or how to get there by transit, click here.

We look forward to seeing you! Space is limited. If you are no longer able to make it, we ask that you cancel your ticket so that someone else may attend.

Summer Sundays with the BLPA – August edition

Get outside and get connected to Nature!

The Burnaby Lake Park Association will be “popping up” in the park this summer

Meet us in front of the Nature House on Sunday, August 11. We’ll be there with our display to answer your questions about the the plants and wildlife you will find in the park, what the BLPA does and how you can get involved.

Ask one of our volunteers about how to use the most popular nature apps. Learn what you can do to keep birds safe and about the Bird Friendly City Certification program.

We’re also offering the following guided outings:

Space is limited and registration is required. Please click the links above for more information and to register.

See you in the park!

Picture A Better Planet this Earth Day!

Celebrate Earth Day with the BLPA at Piper Spit

Visit our display at the entrance to Piper Spit to learn about our history, the stewardship work we do and the native species that have benefited from the efforts of our volunteers.

Many birds are also passing through on their spring migration journey along the Pacific Flyway. For the birds that spend spring and summer here, it is the breeding season and there are many nests being built throughout the park. In British Columbia, birds and their nests are protected under the provincial Wildlife Act and the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act.  This means restrictions to when and where vegetation clearing may be permitted. As a result, we are unable to host an invasive species removal work party at Piper Spit at this time.

However, you can sign up for a BLPA guided nature walk using popular nature apps and learn how to identify and record your observations, including many of the native species that BLPA volunteers have planted, and the year round and seasonal birds that have been observed at Burnaby Lake!

Lean more about the apps and to register here.