(bird) Sanctuary

sanc·tu·ary

noun \ˈsaŋ(k)-chə-ˌwer-ē\

pluralsanc·tu·ar·ies

 

1: a consecrated place

2: a place of refuge and protection

 

Last year my in-laws moved out of their home of 30+ years, to a lovely townhouse 10.9km south.  Despite the close proximity to the old house, this new area they are in has many new lovely places i've never seen or explored.  George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary is one such place.  Thousands, 70,000 at count January 2012, of snow geese travel from Wrangel Island in Russia, make a few stops along the way, and then spending the winter in BC at the sanctuary... they put my family's migration to shame. 

 

Sadly, we did not check the tide charts on our trip there and when we arrived all the geese were out visiting sealife.  The grounds and walk and things to see were amazing even without the geese.  Signs to educate you on the ways and kinds of fowl were everywhere.  Great bird watching of course, and the birds were friendly enough to eat out of your hand.  Not my thing, but my dear mum-in--law and daughter could have spent the day acting as trees and enjoying the little chickadees that came around. 

 

On our trip home from the Sanctuary we stopped at the local library to find out where exactly Russia was, gather an idea on what 10,000s of something looked like, and find out why the snow geese had black tipped wings.  A journal entry was completed, detailing the afternoon, though most of it was focused on chickadees and what they liked to eat and the importance of being still while they visited.  We were pretty disappointed to miss seeing geese, not knowing about the role the tide plays... there is an awesome lesson in the future there.

 

The geese are causing quite a problem in areas, so much so there is call for a cull.  Though we didn't go into it in our lesson this time around, it'll make an interesting conversation and lead all over the place.. 

 

On a different line, if you get a chance to get out to the Bird Sanctuary, do stop in at one of the fantastic farmers stands along the way.  Westham Island Herb Farm is right there and deserves the stop, offering delicious CSA boxes.  Emma Lea Farms is right on the way as well, and they have ice cream!  And last that we experienced (though i'm sure there are others we missed) was Westham Island Estae Winery with award winning fruit wines and also dessert wines of course.  I don't care for the overly sweet, but the rhubarb strawberry was oh so good, and i would drive many miles out of the way for the black currant.  The sell cheese from local peeps as well.  Cheers!

 

 

This final picture was at the tip of the bird sanctuary--somewhere out there thousands of geese were feasting.  The peace in this photo i'd like to carry with me and taking a moment to thank our amazing family for providing us with sanctuary these past months.  Love you.