…and our own travels via BHB.com included a recent trip to the Vancouver area in September. Highlight was our stay with members in the Vancouver area. We were impressed by how easy it was to contact fellow members through the website to plan our travels. The only difficulty we had was ultimately choosing a destination; there are so many members in that area willing to open their homes to fellow traveling birders, that it was a struggle deciding where to spend our time. We will admit to feeling a little apprehensive, asking complete strangers if we can stay with them for a few days. However, our hosts were birders and so friendly; we were immediately put at ease. 

Staying with members added a dimension to our vacation we wouldn’t have had otherwise. Our hosts were extremely welcoming and let us know about the birding hotspots in their area, as well as the local areas of interest. They even took us to their neighborhood Farmers Market. It was great fun getting to know them and learning about the conservation efforts they were involved in. We feel like we’ve made new friends. It was particularly interesting to hear about their recent birding travels in Australia. 

Our hosts introduced us to the Fraser River Estuary, a designated Important Bird Area (IBA) that includes the George C. Reifel migratory Bird sanctuary, Blackie Spit, Boundary Bay, Serpentine Fen, and Mud Bay Park. Although we were visiting during a relatively quiet time for birding, we were able to add a few lifers, including the Bewick’s Wren, a Spotted Towhee, and a Black-throated Gray Warbler. And although we’ve seen them before, it was nice for us mid-westerners to get good looks at the Black-bellied Plover and the Chestnut-backed Chickadee. Jennifer also had a fleeting glimpse of a Common Snipe as it was flushed by a passing canine, and Glen observed a Parasitic Jaeger from the deck of our hosts. 

While we were there, a Lewis Woodpecker had been spotted off and on for a few weeks at Cates Park in North Vancouver. Although we returned to the park several times, we were not able to locate the bird. We did however enjoy the varied scenery and other birds we observed in the park. 

We did do our one “touristy” activity and took the tram up Grouse Mountain. We are glad the commercialization and expense did not deter us from making the trip. The views from the top of the Mountain were magnificent, and we learned more about the flora, fauna, and natural history of the area on a guided nature walk.  Jennifer mustered the courage to overcome her fear of heights and ride the chairlift to the top.   We hope to post pictures of our trip on the website soon. 

Amongst all of that fun, however, we were glad to remember that our trip was grounded in, and ‘powered by’ the good things we know BirdersHostingBirders.com can conjure! We firmly believe that many new friendships and memories are constantly being created through your birding experiences. We’ll soon be asking for your stories and photos, so watch for those requests in the coming months. Until then, enjoy your spring (or fall—depending on which side of the equator you call home!) traveling birding experiences… 

Happy Trails,

Glen Unruh, Founder