BCFO 2018 Conference & Annual General Meeting Hope – Valleys and Mountains
June 1st to 3rd, 2018

Note: On-line registration opens 9:00 am PDT, 1 April 2018

Registration:

Via the BCFO website (PayPal)

Go to the AGM Payments tab under the Events > Annual Conference drop downs, or follow the <link here> (Opens 1 April 2018). Here you will find a fillable registration form for completion. To pay for more than one registration, simply make sufficient single payments for each person you wish to register.

Via regular mail

Complete the Registration Form from BC Birding or <download here> and mail it along with your cheque for payment to:

British Columbia Field Ornithologists
P.O. Box 61670 RPO Brookswood
Langley BC
V3A 1K0

Note: The only way to register for the extension trip is via the website.
Payment may be made either by cheque, or via the PayPal button.

Go to the Extension Payments tab under the Events > Annual Conference dropdowns. Complete the fillable registration form, submit and scroll down to complete payment.

Field Trip Selection and Waiver Forms
Field trip selections for the morning of June 2 will be made when checking in on Friday, June 1. At the same time, you will be asked to complete your conference waiver form. To ensure fairness, field trip selection will be opened at 1700 on June 1. Field trip selection for June 3 will be available immediately following the AGM on June 2.

Conference Schedule

Location: Hope Golf & Country Club, 900 Golf Course Rd, Hope. All conference activities and field trip departures take place from here.

Friday, June 1
5:00 pm to 9:00 pm – Registration and Social (appetizers & cash bar). Pick up your conference package, socialize with fellow birders, and confirm your field trip selection for the Saturday trips.

Saturday and Sunday, June 2 & 3
Breakfast: 5:15 to 5:45 am, prior to field trips (both days).
Conference Field Trips: 6:00 am departures both days from the golf course parking lot.
Trip 1 – Cheam Lake Wetlands
Trip 2 – Thacker Marsh and Thacker Mountain
Trip 3 – Hope Airpark/Jack Delair Property
Trip 4 – Silver Lake, Skagit Valley
Trip 5 – Manning Park (Spruce Bay, Strawberry Flats).
Lunch: 12:00 to 1:00 pm (both days).
Afternoon Speaker: 1:15 to 2:00 pm, Saturday. David Manning: “The Old Man & the Vultures.”
Annual General Meeting: 2:15 to 3:30 pm, Saturday.

Field trip selection for the Sunday trips will occur after the AGM.

Social Hour: Cash Bar: 5:00 to 6:15 pm, Saturday.
Banquet: 6:15 to 7:15 pm, Saturday.
Steve Cannings Award presentation: 7:15 to 7:30 pm, Saturday.
Banquet Keynote: 7:30 to 9:00 pm. Kelly Pearce and Scott Denkers: “The Bird Blitz Legacy.”

Field Trips
Thacker Marsh & Thacker Mountain
Thacker Marsh is a Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) park located within Hope. It offers great bird habitat and accessible shoreline trails, including access to the Coquihalla River. Willow Flycatcher, Cedar Waxwing and Red Crossbill should be seen. We then drive up to nearby Thacker Mountain which offers a different birding habitat.
Guest Leaders – Scott Denkers, Kelly Pearce
Scott and Kelly both work for Hope Mountain Centre and co-manage the Manning Park Bird Blitz and the Skagit Valley Bird Blitz.

How To Get There
Leaving the Hope Golf Club, cross the bridge and turn left onto 7th Avenue. Travel to the end of 7th and turn right onto Wallace Street. Follow Wallace to 6th Avenue and turn left. Follow 6th Avenue over the railway tracks and past the recreation centre, turning left onto Kawkawa Lake Road. Follow Kaw-kawa Lake Road over the bridge and take an immediate left at the end of the bridge, onto Union Bar Road. After a short distance, you’ll see a parking lot on your right.

Hope Airpark & Jack Delair Property
The Hope Airpark has the longest grass runway in BC, at 6,000 feet in length. Birds like to drop in here too, and many species gather in the forests that line the edges of the runway. We will look for Western Kingbird, MacGillivray’s Warbler and Lazuli Bunting. We’ll also visit the adjacent farm owned by Jack Delair, a local naturalist whose property is a paradise for birds.
Guest Leaders – Jude and Al Grass
Jude and Al hardly need an introduction, being, as they are, legends in the world of birding. They’ve been coming to Hope for many years and have an intimate knowledge of the rich birdlife found here. Jude and Al played a key role in establishing the Skagit Valley Bird Blitz.

How To Get There
Leaving the Hope Golf Club, cross the bridge and turn left onto 7th Avenue. Travel to the end of 7th and turn right onto Wallace Street. Follow Wallace to 6th Avenue and turn left. Follow 6th Avenue over the railway tracks and past the recreation centre until it ends at Old Hope-Princeton Highway. Turn right and follow Old Hope–Princeton High-way to the intersection beside the over-pass. Turn left onto Flood Hope Road, travel up a hill and down into the community of Silver Creek. Stay on Flood Hope Road, passing through Silver Creek, and over an overpass that cross-es the Trans-Canada Highway. Immediately after the overpass, turn sharply right onto Tobina Road and follow to Yale Road, turn left, and follow Yale Road over the railway tracks. After the tracks, turn left and follow Yale Road to Airport Road. Turn right on Airport Road and stay on it for about 1 km. Keep an eye on your left for the airpark administrative building, where you can park.

Cheam Lake Wetlands
Cheam Lake Wetlands is an FVRD park located between Hope and Chilliwack. It offers wonderful bird habitat, accessible via shoreline trails, floating walkways, and viewing platforms. In addition to wetland habitat, there is adjacent forest and trails nearby. Species to look for will be Wood Duck, Band-tailed Pigeon, Black Swift and Bullock’s Oriole.
Guest Leader – Gord Gadsden
Gord is an FVRD park ranger and an expert birder who founded the Fraser Valley’s leading website for birds (www.fraservalleybirding.com).

How To Get There
Travel east from Hope on Highway-1 for 35 km. At exit 138, leave the high-way and turn right at the first intersection, connecting with Yale Road East. At Yale Road East, turn left and travel to Popkum Road. At Popkum Road, turn right and travel to Elgey Road. At Elgey Road, turn left and drive to Cheam Lake Wetland. Total travel time from Hope is about 30 minutes.

Manning Park – Lodge, Lightning Lake, Strawberry Flats
(Also, the Alpine Lookout if access is available)
Manning Park is an excellent location for birding at a higher elevation and in the transition area to the dry interior of BC. Our first stop after leaving Hope will be the Manning Park Lodge which often has turned up some interesting birds on the surrounding grounds. We then head to the Spruce Bay parking lot and hike the trail along Lightning Lake for about an hour. Our next stop will be Strawberry Flats where we will look for higher elevation birds such as Mountain and Boreal Chickadee, American Three-toed Woodpecker and Sooty Grouse. If the road to the alpine lookout is open, we will adjust the timing at some of the stops so that we be able to take advantage of the birding opportunities along this route. Clark’s Nutcracker is usually found at the lookout.
Leader – Marian Porter
Marian is a former park naturalist at Manning Park and is very familiar with the birds in the park. She is a long-time member of the BC Field Ornithologists as well as a past president.

How to Get There
Drive east out of Hope on Highway-3, traveling for 60 km until you see Manning Park Lodge on your right. Park in the parking lot in front of the main lodge and gather there. Vehicles will stay in a convoy as you move to various birding areas with-in the park.

Silver Lake, Skagit Valley
Silver Lake is a popular birding hotspot enjoyed by birders as they travel into the Skagit. You can bird the road that runs along Silver Lake’s eastern shore, visit the Provincial Park on the west shore, and explore the flood plain at the lake’s southern end (protected by the Nature Trust of BC). Species to look for include Harlequin Duck, Black Swift, Black-throated Gray Warbler and Black-headed Grosbeak.
Guest Leader – To be announced

How To Get There
Leaving the Hope Golf Club, cross the bridge and turn left onto 7th Avenue. Travel to the end of 7th and turn right onto Wallace Street. Follow Wallace to 6th Avenue and turn left. Follow 6th Avenue over the railway tracks and past the recreation centre until it ends at Old Hope–Princeton Highway. Turn right and follow Old Hope–Princeton High-way to the intersection beside the over-pass. Turn left onto Flood Hope Road, travel up a hill and down into the community of Silver Creek. As you pass through Silver Creek, a bridge will take you over Silverhope Creek, then take the first left onto Silver Skagit Road. Follow Silver Skagit Road for 8 km until you reach Silver Lake. Eventually the road turns from pavement to gravel, but any two-wheel-drive vehicle can navigate the road. A Bailey bridge on your right takes you to the Provincial Park on Silver Lake’s western shore. If you avoid the bridge and stay left, continuing to follow Silver Skagit Road, you will arrive at Silver Lake’s Eastern shore. Continuing south along the eastern shore, you will eventually come to the southern end of the lake where an access trail on your right takes you to the floodplain protected by the Nature Trust.

Accommodation – Hope
All conference events will be held at the Hope Golf & Country Club so there will be no host hotel. There are many accommodation choices in Hope including hotels and motels, bed and breakfasts and campgrounds. Some of the possible accommodation choices are listed below:

Hotels
Colonial 900 Motel
900 Old Hope Princeton Way, Hope BC V0X 1L0.
604-869-5223; toll free: 1-866-508-5223

Skagit Motor Inn
655 – 3rd Ave, Hope BC V0X 1L0.
604-869-5220; toll free: 1-888-869-5228
<www.skagitmotel.ca>

Park Motel
832 4th Ave, Hope BC V0X 1L0.
604-869-5891; toll free: 1-888-531-9933
<www.parkmotel.ca>

Heritage Inn
570 Old Hope Princeton Way, Hope BC V0X 1L0
604-869-7166; toll free: 1-888-869-6577
<www.heritageinnhope.com>

Windsor Motel
778 3rd Ave, Hope BC V0X 1L0
Phone: 604-869-9944; toll free: 1-888-588-9944

Bed and Breakfast
Chateau Rouge Retreat
Contact: Kate and Tairyan, 604-671-2919
<www.airbnb.ca/rooms/3022828>

High Hopes B&B
Contact: Pauline, 604 – 863-0330
<www.highhopesbedandbreakfast.com>

Campgrounds
Coquihalla Campground
800 Kawkawa Lake Rd, Hope BC V0X 1L0. toll free: 1-800-869-7118. <www.coquihallacampground.ca>

Telte-Yet Camp Site
600 Water Ave, Hope BC V0X 1L0
Phone: 604-869-9481