The Vancouver Island region has water to thank for its incomparable birding opportunities – more than 220 bird species are sighted here every year. Ocean, marshes, lakes and rivers support a vast array of bird species, including bald eagles, brant geese and trumpeter swans. There are forests with birds such as owls and songbirds aplenty, too.
While bird numbers swell considerably during the spring and fall migrations, hundreds of species live year-round in the area, so anytime is a good time for birding on Vancouver Island. Some birding hotspots on Vancouver Island include Somenos Marsh Wildlife Refuge (Duncan), Courtenay River Estuary, the Pacific Northwest Raptors Visitor Centre, Swan Lake (Victoria), Esquimalt Lagoon (near Victoria), and Goldstream Provincial Park (near Victoria).
Most Vancouver Island birdwatching areas allow for self-guided birding tours, but there are also birding specific guided tours are available in some locations.
Somenos Marsh Wildlife Refuge
The wetland ecosystem of Somenos Marsh attracts many bird species all year long, with their numbers swelling significantly during the spring and fall migrations. Species commonly sighted around the water include Canada geese, mallards, wigeons, wood ducks and black-headed grosbeaks. Watch for owls in the woods around the marsh and listen for songbirds such as marsh wrens and warblers in the wet meadows nearby. Ospreys, northern harriers, red-tailed hawks and merlins use the marsh as a feeding ground.
Somenos Marsh Wildlife Refuge is located in Duncan, about a one-hour drive north from Victoria via Highway 1.
Courtenay River Estuary
The Courtenay River Estuary is internationally recognized as a crucial staging area for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. In springtime, spawning herring provide a feast for ospreys, eagles, loons and various other marine birds. The estuary is also a nesting and over-wintering habitat for thousands of birds, including over 2,800 trumpeter swans (10% of the North American population). There are four viewing shelters in the estuary but no blinds. Goose Spit is a good vantage point for viewing wintering ducks and seabirds, including grebes, wigeons, scaups and mergansers.
Courtenay River Estuary is located in Courtenay, a one-hour drive north from Nanaimo via Highway 19.
Pacific Northwest Raptors Visitor Centre
This centre specializes in training captive-bred raptors and their handlers as well as educating the public about birds of prey. Watch for owls, hawks, falcons and eagles on the grounds, which consist of woodlands and open fields. In addition to many species of raptors, the centre also houses a small number of injured wild birds. Flying demonstrations occur twice daily, weather permitting. Guided "hawk walks" are available. Visitors should be aware that there's an admission fee in effect.
The Pacific Northwest Raptors Visitor Centre is located in Duncan, about a one-hour drive north from Victoria via Highway 1.
Swan Lake
The birding is excellent year-round at Swan Lake, but it's particularly good in late winter/early spring when the lake floods and expands into a wide, waterfowl-welcoming marsh. The fall migration also brings birds to the lake in great numbers, and don't discount visiting in winter when great blue herons, pied-billed grebes and other waterfowl are in residence. Swan Lake offers excellent viewing conditions: surrounded by fields and hedgerows, a 250m/820ft floating boardwalk runs through it, while floating wharves and bird blinds facilitate up-close viewing.
Enrich your experience of Swan Lake by visiting its Nature House, which features interpretive displays, a native-plant garden, a live bee "house" and a natural history reading room. There are also interpretive signs along the boardwalk to help you identify bird species as they come into view.
Swan Lake is a 10 -15-minute drive north from downtown Victoria.
Esquimalt Lagoon
Esquimalt Lagoon is a federally designated migratory bird sanctuary. Double-crested cormorants and other shorebirds use an island in the middle of the lagoon for a favourite roosting place.
At low tide, gulls lounge in great numbers on several exposed gravel bars. Look carefully to spot Heermann's, Bonaparte's, ring-billed or California gulls lounging among more common species. Listen out for American robins, northern flickers or Steller's jays. Eagles, turkey vultures and Cooper's hawks swoop overhead from time to time.
The best time for viewing is during the spring and fall, when migratory birds take up residence. At these times, visitors can expect to see black oystercatchers, black-bellied plovers, sanderlings, killdeers and myriad other species.
Esquimalt Lagoon is a 25-minute drive west from downtown Victoria via Highway 1A.
Goldstream Provincial Park
Bald eagles are the avian stars of Goldstream Provincial Park. They return here annually to feed on the salmon spawning in Goldstream River. In recent years they've been turning up in record numbers. While December is the peak time for sighting eagles, the viewing is excellent anytime from mid-November through January. A video feed and telescopes in the Visitor Centre provide clear, close views of the eagles' activities. The centre also has a life-sized bald eagle nest on display and naturalists on hand at all times to answer visitors' questions.
Goldstream Provincial Park is a 25-minute drive northwest from downtown Victoria via Highway 1.
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