On Oct 23rd, 2024, 10 members and one guest (soon to be a member) ventured out for a morning walk in the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary near Ladner. It was a sunny and relatively warm day for late October with not a drop of rain in sight! As was expected for this time of theyear there was a wide variety of wintering birds and a few migrants, some familiar and others new to the general group. With the assistance of Phil Henderson and his spotting scope unfamiliar birds were identified and scrutinized at closer range. Information regarding the characteristics and/or male and female differences were also highlighted by Phil. This was very helpful- thanks Phil.
With so many birds to see, our outing lasted two hours. Time flew by (corny I know). The group was enthusiastic, enjoyed spotting birds and learning about species unfamiliar to them. We explored the trails, checked out one of the bird blinds and, for those of us who could, climbed a viewing tower for a more expansive view into the taller trees, ponds and marshes. For a mid week outing the Sanctuary was not crowded and this enhanced our experience. The birds, being used to people, weren’t not disturbed by our presence and remained comfortable in their habitat. A bird list below identifies most of the birds we observed.
We saw –
Canada Goose 
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Widgeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Ring-necked Duck
Hooded Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
American Coot
Dowitcher (Long-billed?)
Anna’s Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Bird Watchers Extraordinaire!
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Godlern-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Interested in joining us? Email membership.branch2100@bcgrea.ca to ensure you’re on the email list – our next walk will be in January 2025. Date and location to be determined soon.
Majestic Eagle
Super Brave!
