Visit Us

VARC stations operate with a wide open door policy regarding public visitation but all public visits must be scheduled in advance. This is to address potential liability issues in the areas in which we are banding.

When visiting the stations visitors are not permitted to walk the net lanes, unless invited and attended by the station Bander-in-charge. Visitors often are invited to walk the net lanes during net checks, but only on a case by case basis, depending on the volume of birds, people, and weather conditions. At the banding table, all visitors are invited to observe the banding procedures, view the birds close at hand, take photographs, and ask questions. Large group visits are typically scheduled well in advance.

Please keep in mind that the stations are only operational at weekends but banding is conducted year round - from mid-April to early-June during spring migration, and from late-August to mid-October during fall migration – from June to August for breeding bird banding and during the winter months when a feeder is operated adjacent to the rowing pavilion car park at our Burnaby Lake station.

For more information or to schedule a visit, please call Derek Matthews – Master Bander at: (604) 218-1191.

	Banding Stations
	Colony Farm Burnaby Lake

Colony Farm

Colony Farm Regional Park was established in 1996 following the Land Use Plan which identifies areas to be set aside for agriculture, wildlife and recreation. Greater Vancouver Regional District Parks (GVRD) is committed to implementing the plan and has initiated many projects that support it including extensive wildlife habitat enhancement projects including tree and hedgerow planting and wetland creation.
A field management program is also underway that includes mowing, ditch cleaning and controlling of invasive species such as blackberry and thistle promoting the diversity of grasses and the health of small mammal population and providing habitat for a wide diversity of breeding and migratory birds.

Burnaby Lake

Burnaby Lake is situated in Burnaby, British Columbia, which lies in the Coastal Douglas Fir (CDF) Biogeoclimatic Zone of British Columbia.

It is a 750 acre wildlife conservation area owned by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and is managed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) in cooperation with the City of Burnaby.