The title doesn't sound very inviting but during migration periods this area is a fabulous place to bird. The sewage plant processes the effluent for Vancouver and vicinity. The bugs in the settling ponds attract a myriad of birds. A manmade jetty contains a pipe which carries the treated effluent 2.5 miles out into the Salish Sea-a body of water separating Vancouver Island from the lower Mainland. This jetty provides a rest area for many migrating birds. The trick is to be there when the birds are there. Reports of a Wandering Tattler sent us there today and we walked the 5 mile round trip to find it. Biking is the best way to explore the jetty.
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| The route we took. |
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| To enter the sewage lagoon area one must enter a security code and pass through a gate. |
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| One of the setting ponds. |
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| The mighty Fraser River enters the ocean beside the ponds. The shores are lined with rafts of logs waiting to be hauled to mills or sent to foreign countries. |
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| The perimeter of the ponds provides walking areas and the birds forage on the settling sewage remnants. |
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| Pectoral Sandpipers love this stuff. |
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| Pectoral Sandpipers |
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| A view from the ocean side looking towards the jetty. |
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| The jetty provides a trail for all types of physical activity. It is also directly under the approach to the Vancouver airport. |
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| Airplanes are constantly coming and going from every corner of the globe. |
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| Western Sandpipers are one of the species utilizing the jetty as a rest stop. |
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| The tip of the jetty looking towards Vancouver Island. |
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| A few Spotted Sandpipers were found along the jetty edge. |
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| The end of the jetty. As usual, if you want to find a rare bird look for the birders. |
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| The Wandering Tattler. It was almost at the tip of the jetty. We met a few birders on our way up who were returning and they could not locate it. Perhaps because it was just resting in a secluded spot. Dian spotted it here in the seaweed. |
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| Foraging |
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| It was finding some type of crustacean. |
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| Perhaps a sea louse?? |
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