It's for the birds: Why Vancouver Island is a bird migration hot spot, despite unleashed dogs
It’s a common sight at local beaches, despite the fact that the southern tip of Vancouver Island, from the Esquimalt Lagoon to Ten Mile Point, is within the Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
“Migration is very hard on the birds. A lot of them die. … By the time they land and are feeding or resting in a place, they need that,” says Nightingale. What makes Victoria even more special is the “Island effect,” says Newell. Birds heading south during fall migration hit the southern tip of Vancouver Island, then have to cross Juan de Fuca Strait.
“And Victoria is an exciting place for spring migration too. The birds cross the Juan de Fuca Strait coming north and they are tired after the crossing, so they look for the first place to land to rest and refuel which is often the southern tip of Vancouver Island,” says Newell. Some birds, like the mergansers, crisscross the continent from northwest to southeast and the reverse.
“You know what time to start to look for the chipping sparrows and they occur in big numbers and are quite predictable,” she says. Two good sites to see spring songbirds are Mount Tolmie Park and Uplands Park, which are Garry oak ecosystems, says Newell. “The leaves are home to very large numbers of caterpillars which the birds feast on in the spring.”
“Obviously we need people to have beaches where they can run their dogs. So which beaches need to be protected for the birds and wildlife? And which beaches are less significant for them that we can be flexible on?”The rocky shoreline at the point itself is particularly important for migratory birds. At the low- and mid-tide levels, nine species of migratory gulls and sandpipers roost and forage in the rocks.
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