Our activities include Hiking, Nature Walks, Birding, Bat Monitoring, Botanizing, Education and Outreach, Conservation and Monthly Meetings featuring informative guest speakers.
Non-members are welcome to participate in these activities as a way to preview our club and meet our friendly members prior to joining our group.
Visit our calendar of events for a list of scheduled activities.
Burke Mountain Naturalists (BMN) was formed in 1989 by local residents interested in enjoying nature, encouraging nature awareness, and conserving local green spaces.
We are a club based in Coquitlam, BC, with a focus on the enjoyment and awareness of nature through activities and education.
Whether you are starting your exploration of nature in the Tri-Cities area (Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam) or are an experienced naturalist, we invite you to join us. Meet people who share your interests such as hiking, walking, birding, nature appreciation, and conservation.
Come as a guest and drop in to one of our monthly meetings, or participate in an scheduled activity,to learn more about us.
BMN’s annual nest box cleaning season has arrived! Volunteers will be divvied into two teams and we will head out for a morning of work with the boxes at Minnekhada Farm and DeBoville Slough. Please join us, especially if you are good at climbing ladders and lifting nest boxes down for inspection and cleaning. We also need recorders and people who can carry supplies. Sign up at the January or February club meeting or contact Victoria Otton. We will meet in the large parking lot at the entrance to DeBoville Slough (at the intersection of Victoria and Cedar Drives). Dress for the weather, bring work gloves and wear rubber boots.
Two BMN members will be our presenters at this special puffin-themed meeting. Diane Kizik-MacDonald will describe her recent travels to the rugged coasts of Shetland where she followed her family’s footsteps around a series of lighthouses and nature reserves. Paul Steeves will begin the evening by showing his short photographic slideshow-set-to-music on puffins on the coast of Iceland.
This meeting will be held at
King of Life Lutheran Church
1198 Falcon Dr (SW corner of Falcon and Guildford)
Coquitlam BC
There is parking in the church parking lot, off the Falcon Drive entrance.
Here’s a chance to participate in an online bird census of wintering birds in your backyard (or anywhere else). For at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see. Submit each days’ checklist online. To register and for information, see gbbc.birdcount.org. The GBBC is led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society with Canadian partner, Bird Studies Canada.
Nest box cleaning at Colony Farm Regional Park. Meet in the parking lot at the end of Colony Farm Road (near the community gardens). Contact Victoria Otton or sign up at the February club meeting. Dress for the weather, wear waterproof boots if the ground is not frozen and bring work gloves
This event offers a rare opportunity to visit a regional-park-in-waiting. We often see swans out on the Pitt River and a sunny day will provide breathtaking views of Golden Ears and the Widgeon area. We will meet in the Quarry Road parking lot for Minnekhada Regional Park and carpool from there. Because access is through a locked gate, we must all enter and leave together. It is a good idea to bring a snack and drink as we usually work until at least 1:30 pm. While no washrooms are available, there is an abundance of bushes. Contact Victoria Otton or sign up at the February club meeting. Dress for the weather and bring work gloves.
Our last half-day of cleaning and maintaining nest boxes. Meet in the Quarry Road parking lot. Please contact Victoria (votton@sfu.ca) to sign up. Dress for the weather and bring work gloves
Getting a good image of a wild bird is challenging, especially when they are in flight. Learn some of the basics (and ethics) of bird photography from BMN member Vladimir Jan at the March 12th meeting of the Burke Mountain Naturalists. Vladimir has worked as a professional photographer doing family portraits, but now turns his lens to local wildlife and landscapes. To view a selection of Vladimir’s images, see his gallery on the website of the Pacific Digital Photography Club.
As a follow-up to this presentation, there will be a bird photography field trip with Vladimir to Port Coquitlam’s Blakeburn Lagoons later in the month. Details to follow.
This meeting will be held at
King of Life Lutheran Church
1198 Falcon Dr (SW corner of Falcon and Guildford)
Coquitlam BC
There is parking in the church parking lot, off the Falcon Drive entrance.
** Please note that this presentation is held on the Tuesday immediately prior to our regular Thursday evening slot. The church is not available to us on the Thursday for this month.
Join Larry Cowan and members of the Vancouver Naturalists for a half-day birding trip to Coquitlam’s DeBoville Slough and Minnekhada Regional Park. Osprey, hummingbirds and swallows should be back on their breeding grounds. Spring migrants will also be moving through the area. With luck there will be a glimpse of Sandhill Crane, Red Crossbill, Band-tailed Pigeon and Western Meadowlark. Meet in the main parking lot adjacent to the public washrooms at Cedar & Victoria Drives in Port Coquitlam at 9am. Some vehicles will be positioned in the parking lot off Quarry Road in Minnekhada Park for our return trip. For more info, contact the leader, Larry Cowan.
Our guest speaker this month is Dr. Veronica Wahl from the Institute of Urban Ecology at Douglas College. Veronica is the coordinator of the UNIBUG citizen science research project at the College. The goal of UNIBUG is to engage community volunteers in learning about the ecology of urban gardens, with a focus on beneficial garden insects. The UNIBUG project looks at attracting predatory and parasitic insects into urban gardens as well as studying pollinators and their habitat through identifying, counting bees and monitoring bee houses. In her April 9th presentation, Veronica will tell us how to encourage local and native bees in the garden, including mason bees and leafcutter bees.
This meeting will be held at
King of Life Lutheran Church
1198 Falcon Dr (SW corner of Falcon and Guildford)
Coquitlam BC
There is parking in the church parking lot, off the Falcon Drive entrance.
** Please note that this presentation is held on the Tuesday immediately prior to our regular Thursday slot. The church is not available to us on the Thursday for this month.
