Vancouver, British Columbia

Dates: Wednesday, December 27, 2023–Tuesday, January, 2, 2024

Leader: Rick Wright
Registrar: Evelyn Huang

Please note this trip is only available to participants who are up to date on their vaccinations as recommended by the CDC (for adults this means a booster in addition to primary series vaccination), and participants will be required to wear masks while riding in shared vehicles.

British Columbia’s Lower Mainland is a birder’s paradise, with an ever-changing constellation of species throughout the year. In winter, much of the excitement is on the water, and we’ll spend a large part of our time in aquatic habitats, where we should find a good variety of waterfowl and shorebirds to complement the forest specialties of the lush Pacific Northwest. Among the birds we can expect to see—some of them in impressively large numbers—are Black Brant, Trumpeter Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Harlequin Duck, Pacific Loon, Brandt and Pelagic Cormorants, Black Turnstone, Mew and Thayer Gulls, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pacific Wren, Varied Thrush, Sooty Fox Sparrow, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Our total species list is likely to be between 90 and 120, and surprises are always possible at this season.

Additional Trip Details and list of possible birds available here:
BUDGET:
Common Costs of about $700 (depending on the number of participants) will be payable shortly after registration. Common costs will cover shared expenses such as the van rental, ferry tickets, gas, insurance and the leader’s other expenses. Unspent common costs will be refunded after the trip. Participants will then be responsible for their own hotel, flights, lunches and dinners (the hotel rate includes breakfast).

HOTEL:
Participants are responsible for booking their own hotel room. The recommended hotel is Hampton Inn Vancouver Airport, and currently rooms are around $200 per night. You are strongly advised to book this hotel. If you stay elsewhere, you are responsible for arriving at the Hampton Inn Vancouver Airport each morning prior to the group’s departure time and for getting back to your hotel from the Hampton Inn Vancouver Airport each evening.

Estimated Individual Participant Expenses:
Hotel $1200 (Hampton Inn Vancouver Airport)
Food $350 (50 per day estimate)
Total: $1550
Plus the $700 common costs
Total estimated trip cost per person: $2250 inclusive of everything except airfare.

Please read The Linnaean Society of New York COVID-19 Field Trip Guidelines before registering.

Please click here to register. Registration closes at 6pm on Thanksgiving Day (November 23).

Please read the About Our Trips page, especially if you’re going on a field trip for the first time. It details our field trip policies, recommends what to bring on a trip, and offers other useful information.

If after visiting the About Our Trips page, you still have questions, feel free to contact the registrar via email (or phone, if listed) between the hours of 9 am and 9 pm.