Birds of a Feather

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n a trip to Stewart Island, I found myself hiking through its forested landscape with a guidebook of the island’s birds in hand, clasping it possessively like a valued treasure map. Every time I spotted one of the camouflaged creatures, I felt compelled to make a declaration to my husband – which resulted in my nickname “Bird Nerd” for the remainder of the trip.

Recently, I decided to embrace that moniker and take a trip to B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, where hundreds of bird species can be found. The valley not only hosts resident birds but also serves as a migratory route and breeding ground for many other species, inviting transient visitors (myself included) to spots like Kelowna, the valley’s largest city sited on the shores of Lake Okanagan.

As a weekend destination, Kelowna undoubtedly conjures up images of boating on the lake or going wine tasting at any of the dozens of wineries or tasting rooms around the area. But for nature lovers, fall brings with it an opportunity to step outside and follow the call of birdsong instead.

It takes about four hours to get from Bellingham to Kelowna, climbing over mountain peaks before descending into the valley. After a short bridge crossing from the western side of the lake, you’re greeted with a view of the eastern shore and its sprawling waterfront: the first stop along my exploratory path.

Rotary Marsh Park is located just north of the massive Delta Hotels Grand Okanagan Resort and accessible from the footpath that runs along the waterfront. The day was cool and overcast, but that simply meant fewer people out on the marsh. With some of B.C.’s most statuesque high-rise condos incongruously abutting the park, it’s nevertheless an easy way to catch some high-flying locals enjoying their day.

In the summer months a pair of ospreys breed atop a massive platform in the middle of the marsh, but according to local sources, in the fall you can spot hooded mergansers (with their oversized crest and thin bill), ring-necked ducks (identifiable by their distinctive peaked head), American widgeon (look for the males’ iridescent green slash behind the eyes), mallard (perhaps the most familiar of all ducks), bufflehead (a tiny, buoyant bird that pops abruptly into the water), and lesser scaup (who like to swim in groups) on the marshes’ ponds. Along the shoreline is a good place for spotting Lapland longspur (tiny songbirds that can consume thousands of seeds and insects per day), as well as various sandpipers and gulls.

Next up was Sibell Maude-Roxby Bird Sanctuary. A short drive from the busy waterfront scene, the sanctuary is nestled between Lake Okanagan and a tiny residential neighborhood. Walk through a non-descript opening in a fence and follow the footpath to the sanctuary which ironically sports a sign decrying the overabundance of Canada geese – a protected species in the U.S. (In all fairness, one site I checked noted their numbers have “ballooned” to about seven million in North America alone, apparently because they don’t migrate very far these days.)

I didn’t spy a single Canada goose but was on the lookout for some early fall arrivals, amongst them the belted kingfisher (which perch on dead limbs to dive for fish), aggressive white pelicans, elegant swans, or great blue herons – which seem to impersonate cast-iron sculptures as they wait patiently for their prey.

The raised boardwalk, winding its way through the marsh, has several viewing platforms and the occasional bench to stop, look, and listen to the life around you. Though it wasn’t what I was there to observe, I nevertheless appreciated the signage at the entrance that read, “Dragonflies spend most of their life underwater eating insects and tadpoles (who knew?) before molting into airborne mosquito hunters, and cattails are self-pollinating overachievers that can produce over 250,000 seeds, grow up to 10 cm per day, provide food, cover, and nesting materials for marsh-life, and help hold soil in place while filtering out pollutants.”

From there, I found my way to a spot off a busy street and down a small country road to visit Munson Pond, (AKA Kelowna’s Hidden Jewel). The 3.8-hectare wetland started out as a gravel pit until the city purchased the pond and some surrounding land for park development in the 1990s. Today, the pond is a tiny treasure you can walk to from the parking lot then stand on an observation deck to watch dozens of birds enjoying a freshwater romp.

In the fall, you’re likely to see some of those overabundant Canada geese, but other migrating geese species (among them the snow, greater white-fronted, and cackling) have also been spotted. Though any dedicated birder should already have them on hand, be sure to bring your binoculars as most of the action is on the far side of the pond.

Although my last stop, Mission Creek Regional Park, didn’t deliver on the bird-spotting scale, it is such a spectacularly lovely place that it earns an honorable mention. Large numbers of eastern kingbirds, western tanagers, gray catbirds, northern flickers, warblers and vireos are likely to be heard or seen in the surrounding forest.,

Regardless, take a minute to read the informative panels that recount the story of restoration efforts to help the land-locked Kokanee salmon spawn. The display explains that at four years of age, the Kokanee leave their lake homes to spawn, “guided by their sense of smell to Mission Creek where they were born. This occurs from mid-September to mid-October.”

Imagine if you were lucky enough to witness that water-bound migration alongside the airborne one that occurs every fall in the Okanagan. Which, for me, is more than enough reason to return.   X