It's bad news for a pair of resident Sandhill cranes at Ladner's George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
While the duo had successfully laid two eggs, a pesky raccoon thwarted their latest chance of raising young.
The incident, which was captured on trail cam video, occurred in the early hours of May 10.
The footage shows a raccoon displacing a panicked crane and raiding the nest while being harassed by a Canada goose.
According to the sanctuary: "The raccoon population makes its rounds along shorelines this time of year and half a dozen goose nests in the main ponds were also torn apart over the weekend. Raccoons are probably the main reason for crane nest upsets here in the past few years. Our Sandhill pair can defend their nests from mink, crows, and gulls but may be in danger themselves from raccoons. Our female is missing a few back feathers after that night attack."
In a separate video posted to Twitter, a pair of Canada geese slept on the abandoned nest site and even defended their new turf against a raccoon the next night.
Sandhill cranes are tall wading birds with a nearly two-metre wingspan. They have been present at the Reifel sanctuary for over 30 years but raising young obviously comes with certain challenges.
The birds also nest in the wilder peatlands of Pitt Valley, Douglas Island, Derby Reach, Burns Bog, and parts of Richmond.
