Birds Love Delta

Think you have a long commute? Try 5,000 kilometres!

Did you see that flock of 30,000 birds come by last fall? I was the one on the left.

We snow geese spend our summers in arctic Russia, but winter here in Delta. Guess you could say we’re snowbirds!

When we’re not honking at each other, we spend our time eating wild plants and the special Winter Cover Crops that Delta farmers plant. they plant this for the health of the soil, and for us migrating birds. Which we deeply appreciate.

Thanks so much for sharing Delta with us.

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That pterodactyl you almost hit with your car? That was me.

… though I’m actually a Great Blue Heron. 

I live with a few hundred of my friends by the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. It's a great view. 

In your ditches and fields, I hunt fish and rodents. I can even swallow a vole. Whole. And I eat invasive bullfrogs. You’re welcome. My family stays here year round. Even though bald eagles ate some of our chicks this spring. That’s because, like you, I love Delta. 

Thanks for being good neighbours.

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I’m little. 

I weigh as much as your granola bar. But that doesn’t stop me from ambitious travel. I stop here on my way from Peru to Alaska in the spring. Yes, that’s an 18,000 km round trip. I love to rest and feed at Boundary Bay and Roberts Bank in Delta. So. Much. Food. One of our favourite snacks is biofilm - gooey stuff that grows on mud flats. High in Omega fatty acids! Delta is our safe spot (as long as the Peregrine Falcons aren’t around.) 

Thank you for sharing this special place with us.

Love, 

The Western Sandpiper

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The Fraser River delta and estuary, Boundary Bay and its adjacent uplands represent the most significant migratory waterfowl and shorebird habitat on Canada's Pacific Coast. The bay stretches to Surrey, White Rock and down through the United States. It has a variety of habitats including mudflats, eelgrass beds, salt marshes, sand dunes, grasslands and sandy shorelines. Mudflats along Roberts Bank can be many kilometers wide making excellent habitat for shorebirds. The mudflats support a number of invertebrates and microorganisms that are an important source of energy for migrating shorebirds. 

Agriculture is important to Delta’s economic, environmental and social sustainability. Over 50% of Delta’s land base is agricultural. Farm fields and their edges provide valuable habitat for local wildlife. Hedgerows provide habitat for song birds and overwintering waterfowl can be found digging for leftover root vegetables in local fields throughout Delta.

Old field habitat is typically long-abandoned agricultural land where a range of grasses and shrub species have grown up. This habitat mimics the natural prairie, grassland and salt marsh habitats which used to exist here in Delta. Examples of old field habitat can be found in the North 40 Park Reserve and Boundary Bay Regional Park. This environment provides habitat for a variety of birds and raptors (heron, owls, hawks, eagles, falcons), and small to medium mammals (voles, mice, rabbits, coyotes, deer).

Burns Bog supports 175 birds species including Bald Eagles and Greater Sandhill Cranes. The high diversity of wildlife in Burns Bog is due to the wide variety of habitats that the bog provides, such as open water in ponds and ditches, mossy fields, shrub communities, and forests.

Some farmers install hedgerows of native plant species along field margins that provide important year-round bird habitat. Delta farmers also plant cover crops that provide foraging habitat for migratory waterfowl and plant grassland set-asides which support birds of prey. Grassland set-asides provide tall grass habitat which is important for Townsend’s voles - the primary food source for many of Delta’s overwintering birds of prey. Farm fields and leftover crops after harvest also provide key food for migrating species. Supporting local agriculture helps support our bird populations.

Staying on trails and keeping dogs on leash reduces disturbance of birds using the forest to raise their young. 

Keeping dogs on leash during bird migration seasons allows birds to conserve their energy for their big trips. 

Plant a bird friendly garden with a focus on native plants that provide a good variety of bird food throughout the year for nesting, migrating, and wintering birds.  

Participate in citizen science bird watching and feeding programs with Birds Canada.

Learn how to reduce impacts from cats.

Birds Canada has a number of teacher resources including a downloadable and printable Junior Birder Journal and Activity Guide! Learn about birds, how to identify them, and what you can do to protect birds in your neighborhood.

The Vancouver Avian Research Centre Schools & Youth Program.

Friends of Semiahmoo Bay Society’s school programs are conservation-minded and provide a rich complement to classroom inquiry and study (particularly for grades two through seven) and are linked to BC Science curriculum.