by Keith and Heather Nicol
On a recent
visit to Vancouver in late March we visited The George C. Reifel Migratory Bird
Sanctuary near the community of Ladner.
For anyone interested in bird watching this is a must see location due
to the large variety of birds that can be seen. We were most interested in
seeing the sandhill cranes and a variety of ducks and geese and we weren’t
disappointed. The Sanctuary consists of nearly 300 hectares (850 acres) of
managed wetlands, natural marshes and low dykes in the heart of the Fraser
River Estuary on Westham Island. The Sanctuary is well located for millions
of birds seeking feeding and resting areas during their annual migrations along
the Pacific Coast.
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| We saw many colourful wood ducks |
The
Sanctuary is now over 50 years old and is now one of the more popular nature
viewing areas in the Greater Vancouver metropolitan area in southwestern
British Columbia and is ranked as one of the top ten bird-watching sites in
Canada. Each year, visitor use numbers over 70,000, and is a mix of
birdwatchers, birding and sight-seeing groups, photographers and students
participating in school programs. Allow about 45 minutes depending on traffic
to get to the Sanctuary from downtown Vancouver. We certainly plan to visit again since we saw
just a portion of the Sanctuary while we were there and bird life changes with
the season. For more information see: http://www.reifelbirdsanctuary.com/.
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| We loved watching the Sandhill Cranes |
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| Many children were having a great time feeding the ducks |
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