Yesterday we went on an adventure to Iona Beach park and bird sanctuary in Richmond. Iona is where the city of Vancouver dumps it’s purified waste water (read: treated sewage) into the ocean. The main attraction for non-bird watchers is a massive sewer pipe that runs straight from the beach 4 km into the water, and the nice gravel path on top that follows it all the way out.
Look who washed up with the tide
When I was young, my family would go ride bikes at Iona from time to time, and usually we would also watch planes take off and land from the nearby Vancouver International Airport.
Iona top left
Genetically predisposed to babushkas
Low tide at Iona exposes massive sand flats that provide plenty of food for the birds that nest in nearby sanctuary. The problem is that it only looks like sand on the surface. Beneath the good looks is a strange black muck with the consistency of tar and the trapping ability of quicksand. If you try walking on it, you’ll quickly realize that it can’t support any weight, and by that time you are already stuck.
Spotting the pipers
I found this out the hard way when I was young by getting trapped up to my knees. Darina, stoked on a huge flock of sandpipers, did not realize what was about to happen when she ran out onto the flats about halfway down the pipeline.
She sunk in pretty quickly, and before she escaped the muck ate a good chunk of leg, and sucked her shoes off. Luckily there was a hapless log nearby for refuge.
Once she made it back to the pipe, we walked for a bit more (Darina in her socks), but in the end we decided that a warm house and a good meal were more attractive than the next 2km of windy pipeline. We’ll be back to do the whole walk when it’s a bit warmer. Maybe with some rubber boots. Squish squish.
