Burnaby Crows

For residents of Burnaby these crows are a common site, but they still amaze and perhaps frighten newcomers.

The large group of crows, called a murder of crows, is a topic Derek Matthews

of the Vancouver Avian Research Centre knows a lot about. He said he often gets calls from people curious about what is going on in Burnaby. 

"I try to get people to understand that it is not a "gang" of crows in their backyard but a family and that crows are not the villains they’re always made out to be but fascinating animals in their own right. No other bird has such a human-like personality and social system as the crow. They’re also really smart," said Mathews.

According to Mathews it isn't known why crows congregate in large numbers to roost but there are lots of hypotheses:

1. the birds simply are congregating in the most favorable spot (protection from predators, protection from the elements, the only trees suitable for roosting, etc.), and they don't mind doing it with a bunch of other birds.
2. the birds get some protection from predators by being in a large group - safety in numbers.
3. the area is an information center where information about profitable foraging areas is transmitted.
4. roosts congregate around large, non-defendable, reliable food sources – so first thing and last thing in the day, food is available.

This video shows how smart crows can be: 

A common location in Burnaby to see the crows. 

Enbridge Hearings in Vancouver

(Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Emotions ran high inside and outside Enbridge’s Northern Gateway hearings in Vancouver Monday night as protesters and speakers expressed their opposition to the proposed pipeline.

Outside the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, where the federal review panel hearings are being held, hundreds of protestors chanted and beat drums that could be heard inside the hearing.

Protestor Maryam Adrangi, of the Council of Canadians, said the snow and cold wouldn’t deter those opposed to the expansion of pipeline. She said she wanted “to get out the message. No consent, no project.”

 Adrangi said many communities have opposed the project on environmental grounds, but “Harper’s agenda is clear.” She said Prime Minister Stephen Harper would veto the decision of the Joint Review Panel if it recommended not going ahead. 

Inside the hearing, each presenter took to the microphone for ten minutes to speak about the planned 1,173-kilometre pipeline from central Alberta to Kitimat B.C. 

SFU professor Rosemary Cornell said she was “a scholar lamenting the future my grandchildren will inherit. “What will I tell my grandchildren?” asked Cornell as her voice cracked.

Activist Kathy Froncisz, whose name can be found on various petitions including Defend the Amazon and Stand up for BC, brought her seven-year-old daughter to the hearing. “Not one group of seven-year-olds would agree to a project like this,” said Froncisz. She said the pipeline could jeopardize the beaches and trees her daughter loves.

The emotion of the speakers and protesters was in stark contrast to the quiet reserve of the hearing’s public viewing venue at the Westin Bayshore where a group of approximately 28 people, mostly journalists, sat in the half-empty hall watching the proceedings on a giant video screen.

The Joint Review Panel Hearings continue in Vancouver for the rest of the week with public viewings at the Westin Bayshore.   thuncher@shaw.ca