Author Archives: Andrew A Bryant

Powell River Christmas Bird Count – 2020

Sub-areas within the Powell River (BCPO) count circle

Hi Everyone, it’s time to start planning for the 2020 Christmas Bird Count!

This year’s count will be held on Saturday, 19 December.  If the weather looks really terrible, we’ll go on Sunday (the 20th) instead.

As you can see, our “circle” is comprised of several sub-areas.  Some have been traditionally done by the same people, and in some years we have pooled areas #1 and #2.  Another (Westview #4) has typically been subdivided into “sub-areas “.

The Powell River (BCPO) circle in context.
Click to enlarge.

The map is pretty, but not very useful.  This image from Google Earth at leasts helps to put our circle into context.

Large portions of the BCPO circle never get counted because observers generally stick close to roads.

More useful maps based on the Powell River Tourism street map can be downloaded by clicking on the images below:

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Page 1: (Areas #5, #4 and part of #3) Page 2: (Areas #1, #2, #3 and part of #5)

The data sheet  (link is at right or click here to download it) should print nicely on standard 8½ x 11″ paper (4 pages).  I use the columns to record “stops”.  Some other people just give me a daily total.  I don’t mind which method you use…but make sure you tell me what you did!

Personally I find it interesting to map the “hot spots” and these I record on my smart phone with a Powell River Cycling map and Avenza PDFmaps…it’s easier to do this than you think!

I’ve now been in touch with all the “sub-area” coordinators:  Thank you Clyde, Heather, David, Iwan and John for making my job much easier…and for being such pleasant people.

We now have something like 10 feeder-watchers.  I’ll map those too as the data come in.

More soon, Andrew

Canada Goose Survey 2019

I was hired by the City of Powell River to monitor Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) populations in the summer of 2019. 

My intention here is to provide some additional maps, photographs and data that were, for reasons of space, impossible to include in my final report.

A date-specific “heat-map” movie   (this is best viewed in “full-screen mode”)

Raw data

Simple abundance by count (Excel format)

Canada Goose survey, 2019. Data are simple abundance of juveniles and adults with a “cumulative detections curve” for all birds. Click to enlarge

I’ve also included survey point locations (a “zipped” kml for viewing in Google Earth) and shapefiles that contain simple abundance, and log(x+1) transfomed abundance values.

Results of the Powell River Canada Goose survey, 2019.
Sites with “zero-counts” are excluded. Data are normalized (log x+1) values.

 

 

Sewage lagoon at Resolute, Nunavut, in July of 1979. That's waaaay far north, on Cornwallis Island, at 74°42'41.61"N, 95° 3'24.20"W Those yellow flowers are arctic poppies (Papaver radicatum)

1979 My days as an arctic explorer

I had a job interview once, in which an employer for whom I’d previously worked said

“sorry, Andrew, there’s not much work around Montreal this year – but if you want, I can send you to Resolute Bay”. 

With the supreme confidence that only a foolhardy 19 year-old can have, I said
“Great – when do I start?
And where the f___ is Resolute Bay?”

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Sea ice, Resolute Bay, 1979
I never tired of watching jet airliners using a gravel strip.
Here’s a Pacific Western Boeing 727 taking off en route to Yellowknife.
We really liked to see that aircraft land – because it brought booze…and new camera gear.
Resolute as seen on a nice, warm day.
Arctic poppies
My official “Arctic Circle Club” membership has expired.
Dammit.
This end up!
a resolute Andrew Bryant at Resolute
Sea ice, Resolute Bay, NWT, 1979
Man at Work. Yours truly at Resolute Bay, NWT, 1979
Boeing 737 taking off from Resolute Bay Airport, 1979
Photographically speaking, two important things happened during this trip.
My ancient Praktica died, so I bought my first “good” camera by mail order from Yellowknife – a Canon AE-1.
This is whalebone and arctic poppies, Resolute Bay, NWT, 1979
Alas, I could only afford a 50 mm standard lens for it.
Oh well, here’s an Arctic tern – about the only usable wildlife photo I got.
The 2nd photographic change was more important – I began to shoot slide rather than negative film.
Those good old Kodachromes have stood up pretty well over time.
Here’s the skyline at Resolute Bay, NWT, 1979
Signal Hill, Resolute, NWT, 1979
Snow equipment at Resolute Bay, NWT, 1979
This was my favorite photographic vantage point.
Andrew at Resolute Bay, NWT, 1979
It was hardly tee-shirt weather, but I was young…
Yours truly at Resolute Bay, 1979
U.S. Air Force Fairchild C-82A wreckage at Resolute Bay, 1979.
It only took me 41 years to pin down the identity…this is 45-57798/CQ-798, which crashed on 11 April 1950 after an engine failed on take-off. No fatalities.
Fog rolling in over the sewage lagoon, Resolute, NWT, 1979
Lockheed L-188C (Electra) C-GNDZ operated by Nordair/Environment Canada for ice patrol duties
Night life at Resolute
This is the DC-3 had I literally hitch-hiked to Mould Bay, NWT, on in 1979
Yours truly in the back of a DC-3, on the way to Mould Bay, NWT.
on the way to Mould Bay, NWT.
Nice flying conditions.
We had to shut down an engine en route, but the pilots (and the DC-3) took it in stride.
Mould Bay, NWT, 1979 76°14’28.69″N 119°21’24.82″W
Inuit grave, Mould Bay
Resolute, NWT, 1979
Sea ice, Resolute, NWT, 1979
Nice flying weather at Resolute Bay, 1979
Graves at Resolute, NWT, 1979.
The one in the foreground reads:
Martha
Born 16-08-55 Died 24-08-55
Interesting rock formations at Resolute, with Griffith Island in the background.
Late summer meltwater on top of pack ice.
First glimpse of Ellesmere Island on my way to Grise Fiord
Airfield at Grise Fiord, 1979
My job was to repair the airstrip lighting.
Grise Fiord, NWT, 1979
Grise Fiord, NWT, 1979
RCMP detachment, Grise Fiord, NWT, 1979
Grise Fiord, NWT, 1979
Fishing trip out of Resolute, NWT, 1979
A long ways from nowhere.
We took a flying-fishing day-trip out of Resolute in a twin otter with big, oversized “tundra tires”, NWT, 1979 74°33’23.09″N 97°33’34.87″W
We brought wine
An arctic toast 74°33’23.09″N 97°33’34.87″W
More see ice
The Solaris and Mermaid in Resolute Bay, 1979.
The Mermaid made the east-to-west crossing successfully, taking three years to do so.
Tómas Tómasson abord the Solaris in Resolute, 1979.
This ship ran into problems with pack ice a few days later, and Tómas and his skipper Axel Czuday got back to Iceland by the skin of their teeth, having been rescued by the icebreaker Labrador
I remained oblivious to the story until I scanned this image and sought to identify the boat!
Sea ice, Resolute, NWT, 1979
Sea ice, Resolute, NWT, 1979
Snow-tracks at Resolute, 1979
Grave at Resolute, 1979
Inuit boy at Resolute, 1979
Church at Resolute Bay, NWT, 1979
Supply ship at Resolute, 1979
The Thinker
On the way back to Montreal, 1979

Chattering Kingfisher, Atiu Kingfisher, or Ngōtare (Todiramphus tutus). Atiu, Cook Islands, November 2000. © Andrew A. Bryant

2000 Here’s looking Atiu

Once upon a time, Heather and I travelled far away to the small Pacific Island of Atiu, which is one of the Cook Islands.  Atiu is also known as Enuamanu, the “land of the birds”.  It’s a good name for the place.

The above is the endemic kingfisher found there, known variously as the Chattering Kingfisher, Atiu Kingfisher, or Ngōtare (Todiramphus tutus).

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The approach…
I for one would NOT want to land a small boat, or, god forbid have to swim ashore here.
The fossilised coral limestone (makatea) is incrediby sharp, making things tough on sneakers, sandals or a misplaced elbow… Ask me how I know…
The airport terminal is fantastic.
Some of the locals arriving home…at the time I was told the population was about 300 people – I believe now it’s a bit less that 600.
This is Villa 6 at the appropriately-named “Atiu Villas”.
absolutely no complaint from ME
What a peaceful place…
Form and colour
More form, and more colour
I have no idea about the species.
On the way to Taungaroro Beach…
…the hitchhiking actually proved to be pretty easy.
I literally had NO idea that this is how pineapples grew…
so it was a very eye-opening experience to walk into this particular field, look around…
… and say “holy crap I did NOT know that!”
I know not the species
Another crummy photo. I think it’s a Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva)
Heavy rush hour traffic in Areora Village
Downtown Teenui Village
Local schoolgirls
Absolutely treacherous makatea, but fantastic beaches here and there.
Local fisherman
Another local fisherman
Lousy shot I know, but I’m pretty sure this is likely to be the only shot of a Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) I’m ever likely to get …so, tough!
No idea of the species, but I rather liked the pose…
I believe this is where Captain Cook landed in 1777
More Chattering Kingfishers, which kind of made up for my complete photographic failure with the Cave Swiftlets… Sigh…
Pacific reef heron (Egretta sacra)
I really think this qualified as a “once in a lifetime meal”.
All to soon it was time to leave.
And did I mention that the beaches were really, REALLY nice?

 

an original Fokker DVII

30 May 2012

After growing up in the Eastern Townships and being a lifelong aviation buff, I was astonished to learn about the genuine, unrestored Fokker DVII that resides in Knowlton (Lac Brome), Quebec.

I finally managed to see and photograph this machine last week.  All I can say is “wow”. The aircraft is a gem, as is the museum.  Where else can one see a genuine 1918 Albatros factory-applied lozenge camouflage pattern surrounded by period 1921 stained glass?

This small museum is operated by the Brome Lake Historical Society, a body that receives almost no government funding. Knowlton is located about 1.5 hours east of Montreal, and is equidistant to the Quebec-Vermont border at Stanstead.  There is a modest ($5.00 Cdn.) admission fee.  The museum is tripod and camera friendly.  Language barriers are non-existent.  Most people in this part of Quebec are fluently bilingual (French and English).  I found the museum volunteers to be friendly and helpful, although they seemed somewhat bemused that somebody would actually travel across the country from British Columbia just to see an old aeroplane…a feeling shared by my long-suffering wife Heather!

The museum has no official website, but an excellent photo essay of this airframe, including more numerous and better quality images than mine, can be found here. Edward Soye, who wrote his masters thesis on the subject, has published a terrific article here.

I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed finally getting to see this rare bird!

Incidentally, my late grandfather Albert Edward Bryant served at Mons, Vimy and Ypres in the 6th (McGill) Siege Battery.  Seeing this amazingly well-done local museum brought tears to my eyes and made it really hard to hold the camera steady.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

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Entrance to the museum
Remember. It’s just an old wooden propeller…it’s just an old wooden propeller…it’s just an old…
But it’s attached to this!
and the whole darn thing is surrounded by all this gorgeous old-growth wood and wonderful stained glass…
Now I’m quite certain nobody has dusted here recently, and the lighting is less than perfect, but there is a helpful stairwell on the NE corner of the building that allows one to see the topside of the aircraft. I used one of those small “gorillapod” travel tripods to wrap around the stairwell railings. A very handy gadget even with my rather heavy Nikon D90. Note that the aircraft is not pristine. There is noticeable fabric damage in a few areas, including the top of port wing visible here. I’m glad nobody has tried to fix it in the interests of “restoration”.
Did I mention the unbelievedly gorgeous stained glass? 🙂 It makes getting the white balance rather tough for poor photographers like myself, but the natural light gives a warm glow to everything in a building that hasn’t changed much since 1921 when it was built expressly to house the Fokker, and ceremoniously opened by then-Prime Minister of Canada Robert Borden.
More fabric damage, this time on the port rear fuselage. This may have happened sometime after 1962 when the aircraft was last moved outside at the Canada Aviation Museum and reassembled in the current location, but this is pure speculation on my part. The damage does not look “new” to me.
The engine bay appears complete to me, but I’m no expert
Undercarriage detail. I was quite taken by the quaint Boy Scout mounting technique. Seriously. Is that a square lashing or the prototype for a bungee cord?
Underside port wing. This was the only place where the lozenge camouflage was noticeably irregular compared to the rest of the airframe. To my untrained eye this looks like a patch job, but was it done in 1963 or 1921 or 1918?
Others before me have noted that various parts of the airframe show different serial numbers. Apparently changing elevators/rudders/ailerons and other components was fairly typical in the field during WWI. Remember that the Fokker DVII only started arriving on front lines in April 1918. So was this a genuine field mod or a re-assembly of components by the Canadian Government after one Senator Bolton of Knowlton politely asked “could we pretty please have an aeroplane for our museum?” Trivia. Total travel cost to ship a Fokker by train from Camp Borden, Ontario to Knowlten, Quebec in 1920? $112.50 Cdn. Those were the days my friend.
The cockpit area seems to be completely intact. Sadly my detailed pics of the dual spandaus turned out poorly.
For me the most incredible part was the realization that this was not a museum re-creation. This was the original item created at the Albatros factory in 1918.
There were a bunch of other war trophies within the museum, including this mortar
and these incredible examples of WWI wartime propaganda juxtiposed beside another piece of exceptional glasswork.

 

 

2009 Twenty-two days in Alaska

In 2009 I took a short contract with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to look for marmots on Montague Island, which is in Prince William Sound, Alaska.  As it turns out I didn’t find any, but I haven’t so much fun not finding marmots anywhere else!

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Welcome to Alaska
If you fly with the US Coast Guard, you have to undergo the mandatory “emergency egress training”. Trust me, it’s not as much fun as it looks!
Then off to Cordova
I was based in Cordova, but my “study area” was Montague Island.
Friendly locals
The Coast Guard version of a Black Hawk helicopter – pretty cool
Crew accommodations, Cordova
It’s a busy airport
Downtown Cordova – makes Powell River look downright cosmopolitain!
Roofers at work. I liked the context.
I took a free day to go out and help mist-net and band migrating shorebirds
I was suffering from serious lens-envy…
But the banding was great fun, and having the military help out was great
Cordova is actually pretty well-known, in birding circles, for it’s wonderful spring shorebird migration.
You can still see signs of the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989. I think about that every time I think about the Northern Gateway proposal.
I liked having the windows open…
Did I mention that flying with the Coast Guard was FUN?
Wow. Just wow.
See all those life-rings on the wall?
There’s a story behind each one of them…
Indeed, there was all manner of neat stuff to see in the hangar.
That is one pretty cool job-title…
Like I said, it was nice to keep the window open
Really open…
Nothing confirmed, but these could have been marmot burrows…
maybe…
On the beach…
Another of those great moments…
The grizzlies of Prince William Sound are the world’s largest
Lousy photo, but impressive sight!
Flying with the U.S. Coast Guard over this kind of terrain to truly humbling…
These were the spots that, to me, looked “promising” for marmots..
Cordova has a big fishing industry
I loved this graveyard…
More stories…
My first sea otters!
They are wonderful!
Adult with pup
My computer crashed about 1/2 way through the trip
So I played chess, read and went hitchhiking…
see?
I loved this place
All too soon it was time to go home…

 

2005 Eight days in Florida

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I was fortunate to be invited to guest-lecture and supervise a graduate student at the University of Florida (Gainsville).  Thank you Madan!  

Not getting to Florida very regularly, I played hookey for a few days before I was due to officially arrive.  Thus I got to visit one of the best aircraft collections in the world, and chat briefly with Kermit.  Sadly, my scheduled flight in a Stearman was defeated by weather conditions.

Thereafter I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream by visiting Cape Kennedy.  On the way north I found a navigable gravel road at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  What an amazing spot! NASA played ball in the nicest possible way.

My first digital camera (a Nikon D70) had arrived about 3 months earlier.  I likely hadn’t finished reading the manual yet – but was pleased with some of the results!

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Florida’s so nice in March
One very wet, and very mean-looking Martin Marauder at Fantasy of Flight. This airframe is kind of special for me, being one of those recovered from the famous “Million Dollar Valley” near Smith River, BC., way back in 1972. This is serial 40-1464.
inside B-17 nose
A great display at Fantasy of flight
A very damp Short Sunderland on the ramp at Kermit Week’s incredible Fantasy of Flight museum, 29 March 2005. I believe this is the last one that ever flew.
Bill R, one of the museum volunteers at FoF
The immaculate Spitfire XVIe TE476 at Fantasy of Flight. This example is unusual in the thoroughness of its restoration, complete with WWII issue instruments, radios and guns.
In Canada the cops hang out at Tim Horten’s…
They must have heard I was coming…
Security measures – Orlando style
Remembrance at Cape Kennedy
Lunar excursion module
Exploring the crab nebula
The truly impressive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Cape Kennedy. Once the largest building in the world by volume, it apparently now ranks fifth or sixth.
Man left for the moon from this spot – this is Saturn V Launch Pad 39B
Atlas rocket sitting on pad
the road less travelled…if you’re a Canadian, and you spy an unmarked gravel road in Florida, TAKE IT!
White Ibis reflection
Anhingas are cool
Roseate spoonbills and the Vehicle assembly building – I just love the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge!
white heron
Marbled Godwit perhaps? If so, this likely qualifies as my “best bird of the trip” – and I didn’t even know it until I examined the photos.
we’re coming to eat you haha haha
I just love Black Skimmers!
and Black Skimmers loved me!
the non-conformist
Atten-hut!
about to pounce
American White Pelican
I love sanderlings
This was just too cool for words. They scrubbed the planned launch a day earlier, so I decided to return to Merritt Island NWR for more birdwatching. Little did I know that NASA had other plans. This is the Atlas launch from 39b complex, 11 March 2005.
Atlas launch from 39b complex #2
Payne’s Prairie State Reserve, Florida’s first, near Gainesville.
noisy Fish Crow
Fire ecology
Carolinan wren
On the road through Ocala National Forest
Little Blue heron
andrew in Florida

 

2007 Three days at Atlin

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I was briefly hired by an engineering company to look for marmots at a proposed molybdenum mine near Atlin, B.C.  I did find a few hoary marmots (Marmota caligata) – but doubt it made much difference in the grand scheme of things.  The scenery was just amazing.

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On the way to Whitehorse, Yukon, 30 May 2007. With my (almost) brand-new Nikon D70…
on the Alaska highway heading south
Atlin, British Columbia. I think my first reaction was “gee, I like this”.
This is downtown Atlin. There’s not very much to do on a Saturday night!
But the history and scenery are amazing. This is the proverbial old gold mining town of lore.
Some of the original miner’s cabins are still extant.
I don’t know what happened here, but thought this was really poignant. SOMEBODY remembered something…
Parking lot in typical northern style.
The best view from a hotel room I have ever seen. And this photograph was taken at about midnight.
Western gulls
Downtown shopping opportunities in Atlin are quite limited.
This preserved ferry used to ferry miners to and from Alaska.
On the way to Ruby Creek, which was our study area.
More of our study area.
A nice helicopter landing pad. Thank you Daryl. Some other pilots I’ve met would have been impressed.
See? There are marmots there too.
White-tailed ptarmigan at Ruby Creek.
Caribou on ridge
Field accomodations…just kidding. This is clever camouflage for the helicopter fuel storage
Just a walk around town
Downtown Atlin #2
Downtown Atlin #6
Downtown Atlin #4
Downtown Atlin #8
Downtown Atlin #9
Homesteading did cross my mind…
Northern flying at its best…
Dryas integrifolia – one of the hardiest plants in alpine terrain.
I should know the species…but don’t
One of my favorite self-portraits – on the way to Ruby Creek, 1 June 2007.
Surprise lake was just that
The evidence of mining was everywhere – and not always so photogenic!
Western gull – I think…
Hoary marmot at Ruby Creek 1 June 2007
Hoardy marmot tracks in the snow
What is it about civic clocks? The Exif data say it was nine-thirty PM.
Nice female ptarmigan
Rememerance at Atlin
Steamboat Mtn and Surprise Lake
Nice common tern
The terrain was just fantastic
View from Atlin

 

 

2015 Six days on Mitlenatch

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A colleague asked whether I might be interested in helping BC Parks to set up their summer volunteer warden camp on Mitlenatch Island.
He didn’t have to ask twice.

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This is lovely, tiny, rocky, low-lying and deserted Mitlenatch Island.
Except…it’s hardly deserted. During spring and summer these cliffs are occupied by thousands of nesting seabirds…gulls, cormorants, guillemots and more.
Getting close gave me a new appreciation of Glaucus-winged gulls. They are truly beautiful in full breeding plumage.
About 3000 pairs breed on the island, and they were already becoming quite territorial.
The monkey-flowers were already in full bloom when I arrived on the 29th.
And sea lions.
LOTS of Stellar’s sea-lions. I estimated about 240 or so. On a couple of nights their roars made it hard to sleep. On other nights they were completely quiet. Heaven knows why.
Although owned and managed by BC Parks, Mitlenatch is NOT a Provincial Park or an Ecological Reserve. It is instead a “nature park”, an unusual designation of which there exist only a few.
Home sweet home. Built mostly of driftwood, this cabin was built circa 1965 and is wonderfully sturdy, wind-sheltered, and very comfortable.
Especially with all the stuff we had to cart over the rocks. Gee whiz. You mean maybe I didn’t get asked to help just because of my brains and charm?
Who cares? After all, life is but a shooting star…
or a pot of gold…
to somebody…
This blue camas was just starting to think about blooming.
This one was a bit further ahead in its thinking.
My all-time favourite Latin name for something. Somehow Histrionicus histrionicus just seems right for the Harlequin duck.
I did not know this…but sea-lions have REALLY terrible breath.
Oh how I love springtime!
and white fawn-lilies
Wet. Cold. Rain. Horizontal. Alive. Five good words.
Morning. Light. Two more good words.
Ooooh. A mating ball of Western Terrestrial garter snakes. How sexy is THAT?
The harbour seals were typically curious and delighful to make eye-contact with.
I remember thinking “this is either a scene from a Monty Python movie, or Easter is just around the corner…”
In any event my wood was green and not yellow, and this particular path required no divergence…
My high count from a single vantage point was 18 oystercatchers…the sound was incredible.
They seemed always to be in a great rush to get somewhere else… …immediately… …and do something of great importance… What precisely that was I never figured out…but it did seem to me to be a familiar feeling…hmmm
In between squalls the lighting was occasionally spectacular.
more snake-lovin’
and harlequin romance
and just taking the Nikon out for a night-shoot.
Here are two of my nocturnal camp-mates. Note the improvised rodent live-trapping device…
I really liked the sensation of feeling the world turn, and watching our thin atmospheric blanket responding to huge mountain and ocean masses moving beneath it.
Song sparrows were abundant and making themselves very obvious…
Time to reflect!
The best part of visiting Mitlenatch in March is that one can explore the island without disturbing the nesting birds. So here’s the view from the secondary summit of what I called “Mitlenatch Peak”
And this is “Lake Mitlenatch”. A logical resting and staging point for intrepid souls facing the final summit push…
…as it turned out the final pitch was a bit anti-climatic – Ken Kennedy photo (thanks!)
but, as climbers and watchful sea-lions know… epilogue is prologue

 

from the CBC radio archives

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Base-camp for the 2004 marmot release, Haley Lake Ecological Reserve, Vancouver Island

Base-camp for the 2004 marmot release, Haley Lake Ecological Reserve, Vancouver Island

19 May 2015

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that these old radio interviews are still floating around – the internet has a long memory.  Thank You CBC!

– Protecting the endangered marmot with dirty laundry (aired 31 May 2004)

– Marmot 101 (aired 9 April 2003

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