Snowy Owls in Vancouver

Carmella and I stepped out of the car at the Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta.  After a 45-minute drive, we were happy to arrive.  On this grey, overcast day, the pothole-filled, gravel parking lot was almost empty.  A big full-sized pickup truck was there, the driver idly chatting on his phone.  A few other vehicles were present, but not the numbers we were expecting.  Where were the bus loads of kids, the nature guides, and the live-on-location radio station trucks?

Instead, there were a number of birds swooping around, a quiet construction site, and the cold waters of Boundary Bay.  It was cold and windy, and very quiet.  A few intrepid souls were out walking their dogs and toddlers, and a small disgruntled teenager stormed by.  This seemed like a regular day, and we joined the locals on the trails.

Cold and desolate. 

We came to this park looking for birds, because Delta is a popular bird-watching area.  The Fraser River delta is globally significant for birds as it's on a major migration route, and a popular wintering destination.  250 species occur annually in the region.  (Head over to Birding BC for more.)

While working last week, Carmella heard that there were Snowy Owls in the Vancouver area.  Since this happens only once every four or five years, all the kids at pre-school were encouraged to see them.  There was a poster showing where the birds were, and how to get there.

No Snowy Owls here!

We didn't have that poster with us, but there were no Snowy Owls here.  I stopped a couple of septuagenarians who were out for a walk, and asked if they'd seen the Snowy Owls.  They were happy to stop and chat, and said they've never seen them here, but they figured they'd be more north.

More north, as in the Arctic Circle?  That's where Snowy Owls usually live.  Their white speckled plumage blends in with the tundra, where they hunt lemmings and try not to lose body heat through their beaks.

Thankfully, more north meant just a few kilometers up the coast and we'd be able to drive there pretty quickly.  We were told we should take 72nd Street, another entry to the Regional Park, and where you can access the dike.  Before heading out to continue the search, Carmella noticed a few birds sitting in the nearby trees.

After a quick stop we were on our way.  We found 72nd street, and also found that while we neared its foot, there were cars parked on the sides of the street.  A tour bus was parked on the shoulder of the road, and people were walking along the gravel with big cameras.  Thankfully there were no live on location radio trucks!

We knew we had come to the right place.  There were lots of people walking along the dike, often clustering in spots.  There were lots of cameras there that had lenses longer than my forearm, mounted on tripods and monopods.  Success!

The Snowy Owls were in attendance too.  They were just sitting on the ground, waiting until they got hungry I guess.  Photographers trained their cameras on them, and the really serious ones banged off numerous rapid fire shots whenever the owls moved.  Which wasn't very often.

It was an interesting how the Snowy Owls just sat on the ground, and also how their feathers contrasted with the surroundings.  It obviously wasn't their normal habitat, but it made it easy for all of us to find them. 

Two nice women with high-powered birding telescopes set them up, trained them on the birds, and invited Carmella and I to take a look.  It was amazing!  They were so close, and their feathers ruffled in the wind.

The women told us that owls can move their heads 270 degrees, and that's because their eyes don't move, so owls have to pivot their whole heads to shift their gaze.  I saw the owl blink too.  The owl's version of eyelids live at the bottom of their eye, and move like an upside down venitian blind when in action.  The birds like to sit in wide open spaces that mimic the tundra surroundings.  They also sit on the ground, because they're not used to the concept of trees.

Carmella asked if we could take a picture of the birds through the telescope, and they said we could, offering a few tips.  We got some great pictures!  I've decided to leave them as they are instead of cropping them since it reminds me that they were taken through a telescope.  Carmella took the first, and I took the second.

The Snowy Owls come to Vancouver every few years, when their food sources in the tundra aren't reliable.  While it's nice to have them here, I think I'd prefer if they stayed up north.  If they come down here to eat, it means that things aren't going so well for them at home, and I hope climate change isn't the cause for their being here this winter.

It was an excellent day, and I'm so happy we were able to find the Snowy Owls. While heading back to the car, we noticed lots of BC license plates parked along the road, numerous Washington ones, and even one from Alaska.  So the Snowy Owls being here are a big event, attracting people from everywhere.  I'm glad we got to be part of the action.