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March 08, 2009
Reifel Island Bird Sanctuary

In the heart of the Delta there is a little resting spot for the birdies. After a drive over some man made dykes we got to the Island. The Dykes and causeways have a multi purpose on the island. They create waterfowl habitats and allow for a connection of Reifel Isand to the rest of Westham Island. George C. Reifel built these himself and ran successful real estate and brewery businesses, Reifel Farm, as it became known. I was also very successful during WW2. Reifel Farm was responsible for over one-third of the sugar beet seed production of Canada.

In the 1960's, his son, George H. Reifel, granted the first lease to the British Columbia Waterfowl Society for a Bird Sanctuary to be named after his late father. Ducks Unlimited Canada was brought in to assist with the water management of the many wetland habitats on the site, and has continued to be an active partner in the management of the area. The provincial government supplemented this effort by establishing a game reserve on the adjacent intertidal foreshore. By 1972, there was widespread recognition of both the real estate value and the wildlife habitat value of the Reifel homestead, waterways, farm fields, and Sanctuary area. To conserve the entire area, the Reifel family agreed to a combination of land sale and donation to the federal government on the condition that it would continue to be managed for the primary benefit of waterfowl and that the Sanctuary would continue to bear the name of George C. Reifel.

Thanks to these conservation efforts we saw plenty of birds today. My favorite was the sandhill crane. Got to see a few of these up and close. Very beautiful with a red crown. Also saw blue heron, bald eagle, hawk, Canadian Geese, red winged blackbird, sandpipers, snow geese, ducks and off in the distance 5 trumpeter swans that were just taking there leave as the winter migration is over. We were lucky to catch them at this time of year and I vowed to come back again next year in the winter to see some of the larger water fowl and owls that come from early October to December. Also I think not as many people would be there and it would be a better opportunity to see some of the shier birds as well and it would be a more peaceful experience than having all these ducks honking at you for bird feed and tons of people throwing seeds at them.

It was a great experience though. A beautiful day you can see birds here and have a great time here all year round. It was only a few kilometer's tho but some nice stairs up to a lookout got some good hike in there. A more of a laid back day though as far as hiking goes. Lots of time for cameras and binoculars though. Seen a Japanese tour bus go by and every one of them had a huge camera with lens. As we were leaving we saw hundreds of snow geese on a field all grouped together making them look like a sheet of snow. And a little further down another blue heron was on the road to say one last goodbye to us. An awesome exit to an awesome island.