Birding in the Kootenay Rockies gives you the chance to view some of BC's most intriguing bird species.
More than 250 of them call the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area home, while the Columbia River provides wetland habitat for waterfowl, herons, ospreys and eagles. Moberly Marsh near Golden protects the northern portion of the Columbia River Wetlands, and the Wasa Sloughs (north of Cranbrook) are home to waterfowl, eagles, osprey, herons and turkey vultures as well as Canada geese.
Wings Over the Rockies is an annual spring bird festival with more than 50 events over a weeklong period, including nature walks, paddling tours, photography courses, and heritage tours.
Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area
In the Creston Valley, where the Kootenay River overflows its bank each spring, you'll find a wetland area teaming with life. The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area comprises 7,000ha/17,000ac of land preserved as a bird and waterfowl refuge. More than 250 bird species call this area home. From plovers and sandpipers to osprey and kingbirds, the rich and diverse life here draws thousands of visitors who also get the chance to spot moose, deer and river otters.
Admission to the centre includes hands-on wildlife activities and discovery programs. The management area is a 10 minute drive west from Creston, on Highway 3.
Columbia River Wetlands
Flowing through 26,000ha/64,000ac of marshland and sedge meadow, the Columbia River provides wetland habitat for waterfowl, great blue herons, ospreys and eagles. The Columbia River Wetlands hosts the second largest concentration of great blue herons in western Canada, and single-day counts have revealed some 15,000 waterfowl in the autumn and more than 1,000 tundra swans during the spring.
The valley-bottom wetlands of Brisco stretch alongside the Columbia River, offering shorebirds, songbirds and waterfowl places to nest and feed. You'll also encounter deer and elk here. Nearby, Wilmer provides a vital habitat for trumpeter swans, wood ducks, buffleheads and hooded mergansers.
The "Golden Spring to Life Celebration" takes place in nearby Golden every May. The festival features daily, guided bird watching walks, "birdathons," river floats, nature exhibits and more.
The Columbia River Wetlands is located along Highway 93/95 between Canal Flats and Donald.
Moberly Marsh
Burges and James Gadsden, a pioneer couple of the Columbia Valley, donated the original portion of the land for this provincial park in 1965. The Burges and James Gadsden Provincial Park encompasses much of Moberly Marsh and protects the northern portion of the Columbia River Wetlands that stretches 185km/115mi between Canal Flats and Golden.
The world-renowned Columbia River Wetlands are home to an abundance of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates. These wetlands of the Pacific Flyway are critical resting and feeding areas for resident and migratory birds. The area's diverse habitat of cat-tail sloughs lined with cottonwoods, spruce, birch and willow provide habitat for beavers, muskrats, river otters and mink. You'll also find raptors such as hawks, eagles and ospreys here, as well as blue herons, yellow-headed blackbirds, ducks and geese.
Moberly Marsh is a 10 minute drive west from Golden, between Highway 1 and the Columbia River.
Wasa Sloughs
Diverse species live in unexpected harmony at this wildlife sanctuary. Home to waterfowl, eagles, ospreys, herons, and turkey vultures, you'll also find Canada geese nesting atop muskrat houses. The muskrats don't eat the eggs and would be foolish to try: geese are fierce creatures.
The area consists of 79ha/196ac of marshlands and shallow lakes, with a small area of dry upland. Dry benchlands rise steeply, scattered with evergreens and bunchgrass, along the eastern side of the lake and the marsh below it.
Wasa Sloughs is located approximately 25 minutes north of Cranbrook, off Highway 93/95.
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