I recently spent a wonderful day at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary and I can highly recommend making the trip out to Delta to visit. The sanctuary is made up of more than 800 acres of marshes, wooded areas, and wetlands, intersected by trails that connect the varying landscapes. It’s a resting spot for migratory birds, making it a perfect place to get an up-close look at several species, all in one place.

The predominant denizens are ducks and other water fowl, naturally, but I’ve never seen so many different types in one place. You’ll almost always see heron in the marshes, finches, geese, swallows, other common birds, and huge sandhill cranes walk the pathway like they own the place. But during the right season you can spot rarer species, including owls, eagles and woodpeckers. I’ve heard they even have baby beavers.

My personal favourite are the tiny chickadees. For a few dollars you can purchase a bag of bird seed, hold out your palm and these adorable little birds will fly over and eat right out of your hands. There is food for ducks and geese as well, and you can easily spend a few hours walking the paths and climbing the towers located throughout the sanctuary, for a special, bird’s-eye view of the landscape. Pun intended.