Winter Wildlife Watching in Vancouver

In Vancouver, the wildlife watching season extends into winter. It's a great time to year to spot seals, beavers, bald eagles, and dozens of bird species.

Winter Wildlife Watching Tips

Winter is a tough time for most wildlife. They need to stay warm, avoid predators, and find enough food. Show these beautiful animals respect. Stay quiet and still while giving them lots of space to maintain their natural behaviours. Use binoculars or the zoom on your camera to get a closer look.

Many animals are the most active at dawn or dusk, so that's the best time to see them. Bundle up with warm and waterproof clothing - it can be chilly and wet in winter.

Never feed wild animals. While it might seem kind to help them out with some food, it's not a good idea. Human food is junk food for animals and can lead to dietary problems. As well, fed wildlife can lose the ability to find their own food and become reliant on humans.

Stanley Park

Stanley Park is a 405-hectare natural oasis in the heart of Vancouver, which makes it one of the best places to watch wildlife in the city.

Lost Lagoon is home to many species of birds including ducks, geese, and songbirds. You can also spot raccoons, squirrels, and skunks skulking around the shoreline or along the nearby trails. Stop by the Nature House, run by the Stanley Park Ecology Society, to learn more about plants and animals in the park.

The park is also a great place to spot Canada's national animal, the beaver. Head to Lost Lagoon or the aptly named Beaver Lake in the interior of the park around dawn and dusk for your best chance at sighting one.

You'll also find a huge colony of Great Blue Herons in Stanley Park near the tennis courts on Beach Avenue. At its peak, there are over 100 nests clustered in the trees. The adults begin to arrive in the nesting grounds in late January and February, so it's possible to see these huge birds in the winter.

George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

One of the best places to see birds in Vancouver is the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Ladner, south of Vancouver. The sanctuary has 300 hectares of marshes and wetlands in the Fraser River Estuary.

Follow paths between the ponds and marshes to spot dozens of birds. You can also observe from inside hidden bird blinds or atop the observation tower.

The sanctuary is part of the Pacific Flyway, an important route for migratory birds. But some birds spend their winters in the sanctuary thanks to its abundance of natural food sources.

You can spot several species of ducks including mallards and mergansers along with small songbirds like black capped chickadees. Be sure to look up to see raptors like hawks and eagles soaring overhead. If you're lucky, you might spot some of the giant Sandhill cranes that overwinter here or the resident Great Horned and Northern Saw-whet owls.

Admission is charged and you must book your visit in advance on the sanctuary website.

Boat Tours

While summer is whale watching season in Vancouver, you can still see lots of other wildlife on winter boat tours.

Vancouver Water Adventures runs their City & Seals Tour all winter long. The 1.5-hour tour sees you zipping along the coast in a Zodiac to visit a seal colony. You can also spot majestic bald eagles and get incredible views of the city from the water.

If you want to move at a more leisurely pace, book a kayak tour. Deep Cove Kayak offers a Daily Winter Explorer Tour of Say Nuth Khaw Yum/Indian Arm and Jericho Beach Kayak can set you up with a private kayak tour in English Bay. Both locations are great for chance encounters with seals, spotting seabirds, and great scenery.

It's not a conventional boat tour, but you might spot seals and water birds from your seat on the False Creek Ferry or Aquabus. These little boats flit back and forth across False Creek. They are a scenic way to get between major landmarks like Olympic Village, Granville Island, and Yaletown while enjoying some bonus wildlife sightings.

Squamish and the Harrison River Valley

Winter is the best time to see bald eagles near Vancouver. These huge birds of prey gather in large numbers between late October and January in Squamish, north of Vancouver, and the Harrison River Valley, east of Vancouver. The bounty of spawning salmon attracts the eagles in the fall, then they stick around through the colder months to feed on the decaying carcasses and rest up until the weather warms up.

In Squamish, the best place to view the bald eagles is Eagle Run Dyke in the Brackendale neighbourhood. The top of the dyke has a walking path that provides a great vantage point to gaze across the river to see dozens of eagles roosting and feeding in Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park. There are also interpretive display panels inside the viewing shelter that explain the lifecycle of the eagles and their favourite prey, chum salmon.

The Harrison River Valley also sees hundreds of eagles each winter. To see the most eagles at once, head to the eagle-viewing gazebo at the Sandpiper Resort. It provides a great view of the Chehalis Flats, known as Lhá:lt in Halqemeylem, the language of the Sts'ailes Nation. To get a different perspective on the eagles, book a Bald Eagle Viewing Boat Tour with Harrison Eco Tours. They will take you on a cruise along the Harrison River to see the Chehalis Flats from the water.

BC Bird Trail

Vancouver is a great place for bird watching year-round. The BC Bird Trail has tons of birding locations around the city. Use their guides to explore birding spots in Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, and more. Each regional bird trail includes recommendations for bird watching locations, info on which bird species you can see in the winter, and picks for local cafes and restaurants to warm up while you review all those bird photos you just took.