On the Raptor Patrol

View from our restaurant watching life go by on the water

Today a friend arrived from Hong Kong to spend a few hours in Vancouver before flying to Toronto. Where to take him for a good impression of the city?

We went to Granville Island, which is below the Granville Street Bridge before crossing downtown. Granville Island used to be a sandbar before it was reclaimed land and then was a manufacturing industrial area, making heavy machinery for mining and forestry.

Then in 1979 the area was converted into a farmers' market where they could sell fresh produce directly to consumers, from vegetables and fruits to cheese, meats, honey and bread. Now there are also chocolates, bagels and cakes.

Poquito with his handler

As usual there was already a line at Lee's Donuts, and we spotted many people carrying the distinctive yellow box filled with freshly made donuts.

Before our lunch we hung out by the water when a guy with a raptor called Poquito came by. It was a medium-sized bird, its legs shackled and one leg even had a bell attached. 

He explained they were patrolling the area around lunchtime to deter seagulls from stealing people's food.

Yes -- it does happen! There have been local reports of these hungry birds swooping down to steal a slice of pizza when someone's not looking.

So as of last February, raptors and their handlers patrol the area. Poquito's owner explained just the raptor's presence alone was enough to deter the seagulls from coming too close, though sometimes he might be let loose from the roof of the public market and fly around to stretch his wings a bit.

I'd read about these birds of prey hanging out at Granville Island and now I got to see one in person!