Vancouver birds?
Looking back at this year's blog posts I see that Vancouver, where I technically live, has barely received a mention. Has the birding really been so bad here? Part of the problem is that COVID has really affected how the homeless population is handled and my favorite 5MR birding spots have been completely overrun with camps. Seeing natural areas being destroyed is hard. Seeing people suffering is also hard. My mixed feelings generally turn into frustration and make me want to avoid birding my 5MR spots. That said there's been decent birding outside my 5MR recently. Back in fall of 2014 I chased a couple of Acorn Woodpeckers reported by a local birder at Fort Vancouver. They stayed the winter but weren't reported there again until a single bird this spring. In October two showed up again and November brought a third bird. Fingers crossed for a future colony! Jacob and I visited them a couple weeks ago for a combined birding/dog-walking outing. As we walked the dogs a
