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BCnature Winter 202228sandwich board frames, four beautiful informative mushroom posters, create new “perennial” signage, and sign “patches” to be able to re-use previous signage.We’re so grateful to the anonymous donor for helping to make all we do so much better, more efficient, and, we expect, more effective in connecting people with nature. Certainly, in our case, one person made a huge difference. Our 130 members all thank you deeply. We believe that both communities and nature in our area will benefit a great deal due to your generosity. ΩBirding at Colony Farm On a morning of early sunshine after weeks of grungy weather we arrive at Colony Farm, a half-hour drive from Vancouver. A regional park nature reserve of 260 near vie a Common Loon, the hectares, its heritage dairy mead-ows, hedgerows, and marshlands are punctuated by raised farm dyke trails and by the meandering Coquitlam River. Northeast in the distance lies the massive Coastal Range—snowy Garibaldi and the Golden Ears. We set off in golden light for the millenial walking bridge adjacent to the Indigenous Kwikwetlem lands, startling a Great Blue eron Hin a lily-slough. Meadow hay and rushes are flattened now after snow and frosts; sodden tangles of leaves dot the open country. Downstream, the Port Mann Bridge across the broad Fraser River towers in the distance. A pair of Red-tailed Hawks converse above, clicking in delight with long piercing calls in the rare bright sun, clearly a mated pair. They swoop athletically, almost touching, kissing. Ambling past last summer’s horsetails, rosehips and Salmonberry thickets, we crunch along the quiet trail with birds in stylish Red-breasted Mergansers showing their lovely colours, an American Wigeon, its white-striped head, a Varied Thrush, orange with its black chest-band, then Evening Grosbeaks and Northern Flickers nibble berries. Crossing the foot-bridge past damp sheaves of bracken we ,spot a Harbour Seal and scattered, diving grebes. Our terrier sniffs everywhere; the bush is alive with unfamiliar scents—beaver, otter, mink. We glimpse unexpected views: Wood Ducks on an unfamiliar patch of river, dried rush-stalks still used for thatching back in Ireland. One gleaming peak on the horizon practically shouts for attention. A Downy oodpecker pauses Wknocking on wood, then dips away bobbing in flight. The marsh flats glisten, slightly warmer, drained by ditches hand-dug last century. The rich dairy meadows were cultivated from backbreaking labour. You can ramble for hours. Our red-tails return in brilliant light, careening in big, lazy circles, displaying their marvellous feathers—red, umber, gold, white. Nearer the earth, blackberry thorns draw Song Sparrows, finches, Spotted Towhees; once the smaller birds flit in they see predator in our gaze, hide and wait us out. We pause at the beloved rattling of a Belted Kingfisher and reach for our warm thermos. My wife spots the regal Osprey unsettling a pod of Mallards. An American Robin, with its red breast flashes a yellow eye. Nature is filled with wonder. Ω Trevor Carolan is an author and avid birder. In appreciation and in homage to Al and Jude Grass, from whom we’ve learned so much.Author - Trevor CarolanNatureWILD - NatureKids BC NewsAuthor – Rebecca Clapperton Law, Executive Director NatureKids BCWinter is here with a Nature celebration to ac-knowledge – it’s called Winter Solstice, and it falls on December 21, the shortest day of the year. Across the globe, it is recognized by bringing light (often in the form of candles or campfires) into the darkness and sharing time with loved ones to remind us of joy, even in the coldest time of the year. NatureKids BC is grateful for a very full and healthy year throughout 2022. This past autumn harvest season, we explored community gardens walked searching for edible ,plants, guided by Indigenous ethnobotanists; and even enjoyed the pumpkin patch! Continued from page 26Continued page 29Wood DuckPhoto: P. Lim