We were thrilled last fall when we were approached by the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to create a giant banner to hang under the Granville Street Bridge and help spread awareness of the many birds who make False Creek their home.

From the City of Vancouver website:

With spring migration in full flight just ahead of World Migratory Bird Day on May 12, the Vancouver Park Board will be installing a huge bird banner today under the Granville Street bridge on the edge of False Creek. 

The Birds of False Creek banner illustrates native birds found in and around the waterway: Canada goose, Barrow's Goldeneye, Great Blue Heron, Horned Grebe, Northwestern Crow, Gulls, Cormorants, Bald eagle and Vancouver’s official City bird, Anna’s Hummingbird.

False Creek, as well as English Bay and Burrard Inlet, are designated as an Important Bird Area by Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada.

Banner celebrates importance of birds

The 17 metre long, 3 metre (high) banner is a celebration of the beauty and ecological importance of birds, and will serve to welcome delegates and visitors to a major international ornithological conference in August. Designed by local designers at Banquet Workshop, it will be installed today on the south side of the north abutment of the Granville Street Bridge. It will be highly visible from Granville Island and from the water.
 
“Birds are a vital component of biodiversity in Vancouver. From feeding on insect pests and filling our neighbourhoods with their melodic songs, birds are also a barometer of the ecological health of our city” said Vancouver Park Board Chair Stuart Mackinnon.
 
Migratory Bird Day education, awareness, and activities support the Park Board’s Biodiversity Strategy and Bird Strategy. The bird banner is one of many bird themed initiatives supported by the Park Board. These include a newly opened Backyard Bird Garden at VanDusen Botanical Garden and a live streaming Heron Cam to support conservation and education about the Pacific Blue Heron colony in Stanley Park. We have our first chicks in the heron nests this week!

If you live in Vancouver take a trip to Granville Island where you have a clear view across False Creek to the pier supporting the north end of the Granville Street Bridge. Look for the pink!