I know that I said that my next post would be about one of the many topics we discussed in my Molecular Biology course last month, however, something’s come up. Last Wednesday, I played hooky with the two resident ecologists at the University and we went to the
George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC, Canada. My colleagues were
investigating the area as a potential site for a field trip for their ecology course. My excuse was that I have to oversee everything for the life sciences courses (haha – what a thinly veiled excuse for playing hooky!). The snow geese were said to be in town, and lured by the prospect of a sighting or two (or a thousand), we headed to Delta.
It was a delightful day, not least of which was due to the fantastic weather we enjoyed. This was my third visit to the Reifel Sanctuary. This time, I was accompanied by bird watchers. If you have the opportunity, it’s really worthwhile to visit this site with people who love birds. Not only
will they point out where the birds are (you are very likely to miss out if you are not an avid birder), but they will also tell you about the natural history of each species, and (this turned out to be important for my personal safety) which birds have a mean temper and that you should keep a safe distance from…
We saw many bird species. Bald eagles, sand hill cranes, snow geese, mallard ducks, more mallard ducks, still more mallard ducks, wood ducks, other ducks I could not name, blue herons, some other type of heron that was perched on a tree, chickadees, pigeons, coots, hawks, red robins, trumpet swans, and others I could not name. No owls (although we were told they were on site). And most impressive of all, the sky was FILLED with migrating birds. There’s a constant background noise made by the migrating flocks of birds that’s quite soothing.
All and all, a very good day, and I recommend it to all… I think Nobi and Mai have decided to bring their students there for their ecology courses in the coming months… I wonder if there’s any way to link this to Molecular Biology somehow? Why should they have all the fun?
I know that I said that my next post would be about one of the many topics we discussed in my Molecular Biology course last month, however, something’s come up. Last Wednesday, I played hooky with the two resident ecologists at the University and we went to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC, Canada. My colleagues were 
investigating the area as a potential site for a field trip for their ecology course. My excuse was that I have to oversee everything for the life sciences courses (haha – what a thinly veiled excuse for playing hooky!). The snow geese were said to be in town, and lured by the prospect of a sighting or two (or a thousand), we headed to Delta.
It was a delightful day, not least of which was due to the fantastic weather we enjoyed. This was my third visit to the Reifel Sanctuary. This time, I was accompanied by bird watchers. If you have the opportunity, it’s really worthwhile to visit this site with people who love birds. Not only 
will they point out where the birds are (you are very likely to miss out if you are not an avid birder), but they will also tell you about the natural history of each species, and (this turned out to be important for my personal safety) which birds have a mean temper and that you should keep a safe distance from… 
We saw many bird species. Bald eagles, sand hill cranes, snow geese, mallard ducks, more mallard ducks, still more mallard ducks, wood ducks, other ducks I could not name, blue herons, some other type of heron that was perched on a tree, chickadees, pigeons, coots, hawks, red robins, trumpet swans, and others I could not name. No owls (although we were told they were on site). And most impressive of all, the sky was FILLED with migrating birds. There’s a constant background noise made by the migrating flocks of birds that’s quite soothing.
All and all, a very good day, and I recommend it to all… I think Nobi and Mai have decided to bring their students there for their ecology courses in the coming months… I wonder if there’s any way to link this to Molecular Biology somehow? Why should they have all the fun? 
1 comment:
In my view, the Reifel Sanctuary is really just a big backyard bird feeding operation. The local birds are very dependent on the feed. This is not a natural environment.
I agree that the migrating birds are spectacular up and down the coast at this time of year ... well worth your while to seek out the places where they gather.
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