I was fortunate enough today to meet Mr. Rich Toochin at Iona Island,
Vancouver, BC. He was handing out his newly-produced checklist for the
Island. I highly recommend acquiring a copy. You can do so by writing:

BC Environment
c/o Wildlife Watch
10334 - 152A Street
Surrey, B.C. Canada
V3R 7P8

Or, phone at (604) 582-5200.

It starts as a typical checklist one might pick up at a NWR. But it adds
value to the theme by stating the number of accidentals recorded, the
four-letter code for the bird, a good paragraph on hypotheticals, and great
descriptions of the spotting sights around Iona. No map, but he properly
refers interested people to the map readily available at the site. Rich
has worked very hard on this project, and it shows.

No space on the kiosk yet for the list. A footnote indicates that this
first printing is 10,000. He credits financial support to:

Vancouver Natural History Society

Greater Vancouver Regional District Parks Department
(those nice people you frequently see at this place)

Faradyne System Group, Inc.

It's nice to see efforts of this type being supported by a combination
of personal effort, non-profits, governement, and private enterprise.

As I said, highly recommended if you like Iona.

Marty Cassidy
Seattle, WA
cassidym at delphi.com

P.S. Got 6 snow buntings there today!!! Pretty bird, my favorite now.