Vancouver/Coquitlam in July (1 Viewer)

[Simon Elliott]

Hi,

I'm travelling to Coquitlam with my mum for a surprise holiday at the end of July. I'd be very grateful for any information about the best birding spots, firstly in and around the Coquitlam area itself but also slightly further afield. We should be hiring a car. I'd be particularly interested in seeing raptors such as Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, the various hawks and owls, but also the woodland species such as Woodpeckers. I've checked the websites such as birding.bc.ca and would be interested to get a view on the best sites from local birders.

Thanks in advance

Simon

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Hi Simon. We had a few hours to kill whilst waiting for our flight a few years back and had Northern Harrier whilst walking along the coastal path in Richmond I think it was.

I've read that the Reifel Bird Sanctuary is supposed to be good as well though I haven't visited myself.

Hope you have a great trip,

Rich

 

[njlarsen]

I was in the general area a little earlier in the year, and the following is from memory, so bear with me if there are any inaccuracies:
West of the airport there is something called Iona Island Causeway which led past some good habitat with lots of Bald Eagle.
The Gold Coast (ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Gibsons) has some nice marine birds and behind the airstrip in Sechelt was some nice shrub, bush and forest habitat.
We went inland on 5/3 to Manning provincial park for some high elevation birds and saw black bear, and the valley beyond (Okanagan) had some great birds including Lewis' Woodpecker - a good place to escape to if Vancouver becomes too rainy.

Niels

 

[Peter C.]

Simon -
One thing that I would like to know before I suggest a spot - how long will you be staying (with the hire car)?

 

[Simon Elliott]

Thanks Rich, Niels and Peter for your speedy replies. I'll look closely at the areas you suggest. Niels you get about - I've just seen you on the Portugal thread!

Peter we should have the car for the whole 10 days we are there, if that helps. However it's not really a birding trip as such, more a family visit and my mum won't be able to go too far.

Thanks again

 

[njlarsen]

Niels you get about - I've just seen you on the Portugal thread!

Thanks again

I definitely try to :king:

The funny thing is that both my visit to Vancouver and my visit to Portugal included a conference in the very same society

Niels

 

[sonelta]

Vancouver/Coquitlam best birding spots IMHO

Hi,

...any information about the best birding spots, firstly in and around the Coquitlam area itself but also slightly further afield. We should be hiring a car. I'd be particularly interested in seeing raptors such as Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, the various hawks and owls, but also the woodland species such as Woodpeckers....

Hi Simon,

I have been in Vancouver a couple of years now and explored a few places for birding. Reifel bird sanctuary is a great place (one of my favourites) and has a wide variety of birds - including bald eagle, hawks, owls, woodland species etc. It costs $5 entrance. Well worth a visit. Near Reifel (Ladner/Delta area) it might be worth a walk along the dyke - in winter that is where we got to see the snowy owls, short-eared owls and northern harrier, plus lots of bald eagles along the road to the golf course and the dyke. :t:

Iona and Sea island in Richmond, near the airport is a good place. Nature Vancouver does some good walks/birding stuff there. The walk along the pipeline can also be pretty nice. No cost.

I also like Jericho Park (Point Grey area towards UBC - near the water). I've seen a fair bit there including the hummingbirds. No cost, except for parking (unless you find a spot along one of the local roads before you get to a parking lot).

Queen Elizabeth Park is in metro Vancouver, and is a place some go to watch but not so much in summer.

Nearer Coquitlam is a place called Colony Farm that is also reasonable. When we went however, we didn't see a whole lot and there were a fair few cyclists around. However, it still involved a fair amount of sightings and a good amount of walking.

i have not yet made it out to places in Burnaby/Langley for birdwatching. North Vancouver has some places, and one I have been to is the Maplewood flats (conservation area) off Dollarton Highway. That has some pretty good areas, with shorebirds and woodland.

I can give you more info on other places too if you want, such as Lynn Valley/Canyon, Seymour and Cypress along with Bowen Island (if you fancied a day trip)

I am not an expert but Reifel comes tops on my fave place to go birdwatching, along with Jericho. I am very close to pacific spirit park but have only ever gone cycling in there rather than birdwatching - mainly because I did not want to go in there alone!!

Check out nature vancouver for info too http://naturevancouver.ca/Birding_Birding_Sites

ALSO, if your mum has difficulty getting about, and you have family with you - I would def. opt for Reifel as it has good paths, very accessible, toilets at the entrance, a portable toilet half way around by the tower, and benches dotted about. Good for family, and those who may not fully share a passion for birding as it is pretty beautiful and lots of families take kids there as they can feed the ducks!!

 

[Simon Elliott]

Thanks Sonelta for the detailed reply. I'll definitely be going to the places you suggest. I read various websites for good birding spots, but wasn't sure which ones were good in the summer. details for any slightly further afield would also be welcome.

Best wishes

Simon

 

[Peter C.]

Simon-

Well, I don't have good really local sites that are good - all my favourites are on Vancouver Island, which I suppose would count as "far", given that it's a bit of a drive and a ferry ride away! (It seems a shame, though, to go all to way to the west coast and not see Pacific Rim N.P.).

Slightly less time-consuming, but still a bit much in terms of distance (I suppose), is E.C. Manning Provincial Park, two hours' drive to the east. There's an easy drive up to some sub-alpine meadows along the beginning of the Dry Ridge trail, the flowers should be excellent next month! Also a likely place for Sooty Grouse (although probably damned hard to find if they're not 'calling'!)

Sonelta, naturally enough, will have better local gen than I, but my impression of Reifel (which I've visited twice) is that it's pretty dead outside of the migration periods - still probably a good place for Bald Eagles, and I saw Sandhill Cranes (which seemed oddly tame) on a visit in June.

Peter

 

[Simon Elliott]

Thanks Peter for taking the time to reply.

I would definitely be interested in your view of the best sites on Vancouver Island. I'm sure I can fit in at least one visit, and had it in my mind to go whale watching anyway. A couple of hours drive doesn't bother me, I drive a lot at home.

Cheers, Simon

 

[Peter C.]

Thanks Peter for taking the time to reply.

I would definitely be interested in your view of the best sites on Vancouver Island. I'm sure I can fit in at least one visit, and had it in my mind to go whale watching anyway. A couple of hours drive doesn't bother me, I drive a lot at home.

Cheers, Simon

Oh, goody! I get to :brains:!

I have travelled - quite literally - from coast to coast in this country (albeit, not all in one go!); the Arctic territories are the only regions I have (as yet) missed.

After all that travelling, the place I recommend most to visitors (i.e., "if you go to only one part of Canada in your entire life...") is Pacific Rim National Park, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I've been three times, but unfortunately only one of them since becoming interested in birds. This means that I can't say much about the bird-watching potential, although Bald Eagle, American Black Oystercatcher, and Stellar's Jay are givens there. The littoral life is just unbelievablely rich, and the beach and the forest are pretty darn good too. Don't know what will be around when you're there, but if there are any whales, you're sure to be able to get a tour boat at Tofino (town motto: "Last Stop Before Japan").

It is a bit of a slog, because you need to take the ferry and then drive a bunch, but it's worth it (when I was a teenager, a bunch of us drove from Calgary to Pacific Rim in a day-and-a-half - but that was just crazy). I recommend taking the North Vancouver route - take Highway #1 west to Horseshoe Bay and then cross over to Nanaimo - rather than the southern ferry out of Tsawwassen. Fewer ferries (I believe) but more direct.

Another plus about taking a trip across Van. Is. is that the road takes you right through MacMillan P.P., where you can stop to look at this.

Cheers,
Peter C.

 

[snowyowl]

All kinds of good advice on here for you. Keep your eyes open during the ferry ride to Vancouver island. You should see lots of birds, including eagles, and Orca are a strong possibility as are dolphins. One of my fav. spots on the Island is Sydney Spit Marine Park. Lots of eagles and I've seen whales during the ferry ride out to the spit. You may not have time for that sort of side trip. It's been a few years since I lived on the west coast (Vancouver Island and Haida Gwai) but in my experience there were birding opportunities around every corner. Have fun!