Oliver is a bird watching treasure. Wetlands, grasslands, forests and mountain meadows provide ideal nesting and resting habitat for birds that make this their summer home, winter haven or stopover during migration season.
Oliver's Golden Mile Trail is part of the National Bluebird Trail and Vaseux Lake hosts a bird sanctuary and summer banding (bird marking for identification) station. Few places in North America offer such a variety of easily accessible terrain where it is quite feasible to go birding in dry desert sage brush and subalpine tundra in the same day. Bring binoculars.
Marshes & Wetlands
Look for such species as mergansers, loons and grebes in wetlands at Haynes Point Provincial Park, Anarchist Mountain, Kilpoola Lake, Osoyoos Oxbows, Hack's Pond and Vaseux Lake.
Antelope Brush & Sage Grasslands
White-throated swift, Say's Phoebe and the very rare black-throated sparrow are among the species that may be spotted in the highly endangered arid grasslands. Check out the West Osoyoos Benchlands, Mount Kobau, Throne Ecological Reserve, Chopaka, Camp McKinney Road and the Golden Mile Trail.
High Elevation Forest
High elevation forest species include spruce grouse, White tailed Ptarmigan and Boreal Chickadee. Look for these species on Mount Baldy, Camp McKinney Road and Venner Meadows.
Vaseux Lake Provincial Park - Waterfowl Sanctuary
Vaseux Lake Provincial Park, 14km/8.7mi north of Oliver, offers a short easy walk with excellent bird watching opportunities. A boardwalk leads to an observation tower and blind in the Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada Waterfowl Sanctuary. Birdwatchers look for a wide range of species including golden eagles, trumpeter swans and western meadowlarks.
Vaseux Lake Banding Station
In August and September a migratory bird banding station is set up in the riparian area between the Okanagan River dikes and the remnant oxbows at the north end of Vaseux Lake. Visitors are welcome, but be careful of the mist nets.
Endangered Environment Still Bird Friendly
Riparian and wetland areas in the valley and grasslands on the surrounding benches and hillsides have suffered serious destruction. Flood control measures have restricted the Okanagan River to a channel that abandoned its meandering oxbows. That, together with the filling in of wetlands for development, has impacted up to 90% of this critical habitat in the Okanagan Valley. In addition, heavy cattle grazing in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the subsequent invasion of non-native plant species, has badly damaged the grasslands leaving this area among the most seriously endangered ecosystems in Canada. Yet concerned citizens are working to save what remains and rehabilitate areas such as the oxbows. Local naturalists and volunteers regularly identify over 110 species in the annual Christmas bird count.
Stop by the Oliver Visitor Centre (6431 Station St) for suggestions on birding locations or to buy a copy of The Okanagan Valley Birding Trail.
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