As the BC Bird Trail expands throughout the province, we wanted to shine a light on the people on the ground in these communities. Learn more about the bird-watching experiences in these destinations through the eyes of the experienced locals with our BC Birders profile series.
Anne Murray is a keen lifelong birder, nature writer, conservationist, and active member of the Delta Naturalist Society in Delta, BC. Anne is also the author of the books “Nature Guide to Boundary Bay” and “Tracing Our Past”.
Anne has lived in Delta for more than 30 years and enjoys watching the area’s great variety of birds, including shorebirds, waterfowl, and warblers. Delta is an ideal city for someone enthusiastic about birds, with plenty of habitats such as beaches, forests, and farmland. “Just head for anywhere there is water or water views,” she suggests.
“I have enjoyed watching birds all my life, from my earliest memories in London, England. I looked at birds in books, outside in the garden, and on the city duck pond. Birdwatching is ingrained in me.”
Anne Murray
Bird field guides or the online Audubon app are great for beginner birders, and Anne always uses eBird to log her sightings. For identifying bird calls, she recommends the Merlin app but also uses the website Xeno-Canto, which has a huge database of calls and songs. Anne recommends 8 x 30 or 8 x 40 binoculars as they are lightweight and quick to focus, making them easy for adults and older children to use. She advises against purchasing a heavy pair, as there is often a lot of walking and standing around when birding! Although a good-quality telescope can be wonderful for seeing birds up close, Anne considers purchasing one an unnecessary expense for beginners.
Go-to locations for birdwatching in Delta? Anne’s include the long Dyke Trail that runs around Boundary Bay and the Fraser River shorelines, Boundary Bay Regional Park, Deas Island Regional Park, and the famous George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. She appreciates not having to drive far to enjoy her passion. Ideal birding times are early morning for songbirds, an hour or two before high tide for shorebirds, and the evening for owls. Anne loves watching the sanderlings (a type of shorebird), “They’re so fun to observe, like clockwork toys running up and down the beach, dodging the waves,” and shares that it’s always a thrill to see owls, “so still and quiet.” Delta is a major stop on migration for hundreds of thousands of birds of hundreds of species. Two spectacular migratory birds are dunlin, a small shorebird that nests in the Arctic and winters in Boundary Bay in huge flocks, and snow geese from Wrangel Island in Russia.
Every year Anne participates in the annual Christmas Bird Count, which takes place across North America. “It is a little competitive between communities! But all citizen science like this event contributes to the knowledge base, and it is very satisfying that our findings can help protect birds and habitat.” Anne has observed about 300 species in the Delta area, including an extremely rare Acorn Woodpecker a few years ago. “That was very unusual. It was only the second record in BC.”
Local nature and birding clubs offer walks that are open to the public. Anne is a member of the Delta Naturalists Society, which hosts walks 2-3 times a week. “Bird watching is very accessible and inclusive; it is nice like that. Also, like music, there are many different ways to participate. It is a universal language.”
Anne’s day-to-day life includes birds, “there is never a dull moment.” If she could watch any bird worldwide, she says it would be Birds of Paradise, as she once lived in Papua New Guinea but did not have the opportunity to see many of them then. “They are really beautiful, unusual, and wacky birds!”
Her last bit of advice? “When you head to a more popular place to watch birds, if everyone is staring up in a tree, go have a look!”
Looking to start your own birding adventure in Delta? Check out the Delta Itinerary on the South Fraser Bird Trail!
