Two barred owls along Hoy Trail in Coquitlam, BC, Canada (Photo: Ed Paulino)
On August 23rd, volunteer members of Hoy-Scott Watershed Society joined members of the City of Coquitlam parks team to clear invasive Himalayan Blackberry at Hoy Creek in one area north of the Hoy Creek Hatchery. The blackberry had grown over a fallen log and was so thick it was blocking the creek.
With the anticipated salmon return in October we worked for approximately 4 hours to remove the invasive from that section of the riparian area.
Rodney shows the area that has blocked Hoy Creek (Photo: Robbin Whachell)
We had an unexpected guests! Two barred owls were observed first in the high trees watching us. One of the owls flew down to a branch hanging over the water, and continued to obverse us, not bothered by our talking and noise. The one owl then dropped to the water and began bathing itself. We were able to capture this video.
Later in the week, other members of our society spotted the barred owl couple closer to the hatchery. (CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO)
Work removing large swaths of blackberry. The roots were also dug out after (Photo: Robbin Whachell)