The George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

My recent visit to the legendary Lower Mainland birding hotspot

For some background, I lived in Vancouver/the Lower Mainland for over twenty years, but really only got into birding about twelve years ago. During those years, I explored many popular birding spots, and Reifel continues to be one of the most magical places to visit. Considered to be one of the best birding locations in Canada, it is a fantastic place to visit at any time of the year.

A little Black-capped Chickadee

The park is located about an hour from downtown Vancouver in Ladner, in the Fraser River Estuary, and is part of the 750 square km Boundary Bay, Roberts Bank and Sturgeon Bank Important Bird Area. While the park consists of nearly 300 hectares, there only about 7 km of gravel trails. The walkways are flat, and while some of the trails are narrow, they are mostly accessible for strollers and some wheelchairs/walkers.

Sign at the entrance to the sanctuary

The first thing you need to be aware of is that you need a reservation to enter/park the Reifel bird sanctuary. Reservations only open up three days prior, and when I visited at the beginning of March, I only booked my spot the night before. But seriously, if you only take one thing away from this post, you must book in advance! When I arrived, I saw three cars in front of me who were turned away due to lack of reservations. Book your reservation here.

Reifel visitor information

Admission was $8 per adult, and at the admission booth you can also purchase bird seed. They have bags of both duck and Chickadee food for $2, the latter is black-oiled sunflower seeds. It is against the park regulations to bring your own bird seed or to feed birds in any areas marked as 'no-feeding' zones, like the parking lot.

A Red-winged Blackbird eating out of my hand

There is some controversy over hand-feeding wild birds, which I won't really dive into here, but I will say that something definitely 'clicks' when people feed a wild bird for the first time. It is wonderful seeing the joy in peoples faces when they hand-feed the birds. Even my non-bird-loving friend enjoyed himself!

Red-winged Blackbird having a snack

The birds of Reifel Bird Sanctuary

299 species of birds have been recorded at the sanctuary since they began record-keeping. You can find the weekly sanctuary sightings both online and at the entrance to the park.

A pair of resident Sandhill Cranes

You are likely to spot the pair of resident Sandhill Cranes- they can usually be found on the trails (when it is outside of breeding/nesting season). This pair are extremely unafraid of people, and will approach you for seeds. I am not aware of any other place where you can get so close to a Crane- they will happily eat seed from your hand (if you are brave!) and are actually quite gentle while doing it.

A young Sandhill Crane

While I was there in March, the pair of cranes had a juvenile with them, which I am guessing is one of last years colts. From my understanding, the parents will flush the youth out once they are ready to nest again.

A beautiful male Wood Duck

Apart from the Sandhill Cranes, there are many other bird species found year round at Reifel. On my short visit in March I saw: Black-capped Chickadees, Mallards, Green-winged Teals, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Fox Sparrows, Golden-crown Sparrows, American Coots, Canadian Geese, Wigeons, Mergansers, a Great-blue Heron, Flickers, a Northern Harrier, House Finches, Robins and Dark-eyed Juncos. This was in about an hour! Also, at the entrance, one of the park guides had a scope focused on a sleeping Black-crowned Night Heron (sorry I don't have a photo).

A Northern Saw-whet Owl snoozing

I was also lucky to see the local celebrity, the Northern Saw-whet Owl! I normally wouldn't post owl photos with their location, but it is absolutely not a secret that there are Saw-whet Owls at Reifel. This particular one was accompanied by the park guide, who was leading a bird walk. Folks were very respectful, and all photos were taken at a distance. Please, if you find one of these owls on your walk be quiet (they are sleeping), stay on the trail, do not alter or modify anything to get a better view, and turn off your flash.

No matter how many times I see these little guys, I am shocked at how truly little they are.

Post Reifel Refreshment

After my birding walk I stopped in at Barnside Brewing for a beverage.

Some nice hazy beers

Barnside Brewing has a beautiful, huge patio, which was completely packed as it was a gorgeous spring weekend. The brewery is in Delta, and is about a 20 minute drive from Reifel, and conveniently (or dangerously?!) close to Four Winds Brewing if you want to stop for another on your way home.

Cheers!