Lesser snow geese fly 5,000 km from Wrangel Island, Russia, to the Fraser estuary. See them at Reifel in Delta, mid-October to mid-December. Book first.
The white geese filling the fields around Ladner every fall come from Arctic Russia. The lesser snow geese at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary nest on Wrangel Island and fly 5,000 km between there and the sanctuary, it says.
Best viewing is from mid-October to mid-December, so the season is on now.
The trip
- 5,000 km between Wrangel Island and the sanctuary, with stops in the Russian mainland, the Bering Sea, western and southern Alaska and the mouth of the Stikine River in northern BC.
- 2,500 km non-stop: some tagged geese have flown from Alaska to the sanctuary in under 36 hours.
- 135,000 birds in the Fraser River and Skagit River flocks at the January 2021 mid-winter count.
They arrive by early October and move between the Fraser estuary and the Skagit estuary in Washington. From late December to February nearly all of them are in the Skagit, and they come back to the Fraser in spring before leaving for Wrangel Island in April.
Look for orange heads
The geese dig up marsh plants such as bulrush for the starch in their roots. Delta's soils are rich in iron, and the sanctuary says digging in the marsh stains their heads orange.
Plan your visit
- When: mid-October to mid-December for the geese, and again mid-March to mid-April.
- Hours: 9 am to 4 pm. Closed Mondays, except some statutory holidays. Everyone must be out by 4 pm.
- Book first: reservations are free and required for all visitors. They open three days ahead and close at 8 am on the day. Weekend spots go fast.
- Admission: adults $10, seniors (65+) $8, children 2 to 14 $7.
- Getting there: the sanctuary is on Westham Island, 13 km west of Ladner. There is no public transit.
- Rules: no dogs, even in the parking lot; no bikes, drones or outside bird seed; stay on the trails.
- Avian flu: the sanctuary asks visitors not to feed birds from their hands, to throw any seed on the ground instead, and to wash their hands after a visit.
Most visitors spend 1 to 1.5 hours walking. Check the sanctuary's site before you go for weather closures.
Sources
- George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary: Lesser Snow Geese
- George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary: What to See
- George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary: Planning Your Visit
- George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary: Booking Your Visit
- George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary: Home (dogs not allowed, including the parking lot)
- George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary: Update on Avian Flu
