special profile
The Snow Goose
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.
special profile
The Great Blue Heron
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.
Home with a Nest
Great Blue Herons along the coast of BC are part of the Coastal (fannini) subspecies. This group of herons are a Provincial Blue-listed species which means they are vulnerable to disturbance by Bald Eagles and humans. Most of these herons breed in the Strait of Georgia. This non-migratory species is isolated in part from continental herons by the high mountain ranges to the east.
They live individually or in heronries (colonies) with tens or hundreds of birds. They come back each year to nest. There are two large colonies in the Delta area. The biggest with up to 400 nest is near the BC Ferry terminal in the Tsawwassen First Nation.
It is interesting thought - most heron colonies have one eagles nest in them. It is thought that the eagles nest in the colony provides protection from all the other eagles in the area. Another term used for the colonies is Rookery.
Vancouver Park Board Heron Cam
There is a heron colony at the Vancouver Park Board office in Stanley Park. This colony of heron have become used to human presence and nest right over walking paths in the park. You can watch heron’s nesting with the Heron Cam. This is the largest urban heron colony in North America.
A Varied Diet
Herons can be seen wading at the beach during low tide, in farm fields and along river banks and ditches. They eat small fish, crabs, frogs, salamanders, snakes and large insects. They also catch mice and voles in farm fields. The heron uses its long, powerful bill to grab its prey.
Source: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/heron_s.pdf ; http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/bmp/devwithcare/Fact-Sheet-11-herons.pdf;
More Information
The biggest Great Blue Herons are taller than many Grade 3 students! However, they weigh only 2 to 3 kilograms, about the same as a small newborn baby. Herons can live to be over 15 years old!
In flight, and many other times, the Great Blue Heron curls its neck into a tight “S” shape.
Learn more information about herons at these websites:
http://stanleyparkecology.ca/conservation/urban-wildlife/herons/
https://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/birds/great-blue-heron.html
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/id
https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=292
special profile
The Western Sandpiper
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
Sandpiper Migration
The Western Sandpiper travels between South and North America along the Pacific Flyway. Degradation and loss of habitat, especially from the draining and conversion of wetlands at wintering and migration stopover sites, are major threats to Western Sandpipers (Franks et al. 2014).
One of the Western Hemisphere’s most common shorebirds, nearly the entire population of Western Sandpiper passes through stopover sites in coastal British Columbia during spring and fall migration. Boundary Bay, Roberts Bank and Sturgeon Bank form one of the richest and most important ecosystems for migrant and wintering waterbirds in Canada. This Important Bird Area supports globally significant populations of over 15 species of birds. With rufous and gold markings on the head and wings, breeding adult Western Sandpipers are the most colorful of the tiny North American sandpipers known as “peeps.” One-day peak counts in Delta range between 120,000 - 180,000 birds.
Map Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Sandpiper
Biologist Myles Lamont captured this video of the Western Sandpiper Migration at Roberts Bank, BC on April 28, 2018.
Biofilm
In intertidal areas, Western Sandpipers, like other peeps, eat “biofilm,” a frothy, scum like mixture of diatoms, microbes, organic detritus, and sediment. They eat this material by skimming or slurping it. This food is critical for shorebirds migrating along the Pacific Flyway.
You can learn more about shorebirds from the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN). WHSRN is a science-based, partnership-driven, conservation initiative for protecting the ecological integrity of critical habitats for shorebirds throughout the Americas. The Fraser River Estuary is part of this network.
This 1-minute animation from Hakai Magazine explains how a slime called biofilm forms on the mudflats of Roberts Bank in British Columbia's Fraser River Delta, and how the western sandpipers slurp it up with their special bristly tongues.
Western Sandpiper feeding along the mudflats.
Complete the Western Sandpiper Worksheet and have some fun learning about this great bird!