George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Like always, please remember to make a booking to guarantee a spot as we will likely be busy for the first few weeks of reopening. We are excited to finally be able to open again after these three long months and look forward to seeing you all soon!

Sanctuary Reopening Announcement With the announced reopening of the Westham Island bridge for 7 PM on Saturday March 28th, we are finally able to plan for the reopening of the Sanctuary. Our official reopening date will be Tuesday March 31st at 9 AM.

A few more

Here are some photos to give a little glimpse into what we have been dealing with the past few weeks. Wet conditions for the first two weeks made doing repairs harder and take longer than anticipated. We appreciate everyone patience over the course of the closure.

The George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary will be reopening on Saturday January 24th, 2026 for public use. Booking spots will open up on Wednesday, January 21st - three days prior to the reopening date. Book you visit at reifelbirdsanctuary.com

Due to recent weather events, the Sanctuary will be closed to the public for maintenance. At this time, we are not taking any booking for visits and do not have a re-opening date set. When the Sanctuary is re-opened, booking spots will become available on our website again.

We are currently experiencing issues with our phone line and are unable to receive calls at the moment. If you would like to contact the Sanctuary, please send us an email at bcws@reifelbirdsanctuary.com. Sorry for the inconvenience, we hope to have the phones working again soon!

2025 Sanctuary Holiday Hours: Christmas Eve, Dec 24 - 9 am to 2 pm Christmas Day, Dec 25 - CLOSED Boxing Day, Dec 26 - 9 am to 4 pm New Year’s Eve, Dec 31 - 9 am to 2 pm New Year’s Day, Jan 01 - 9 am to 4 pm Book your visit at reifelbirdsanctuary.com

Remembrance Day Long Weekend Hours: Saturday November 8: 9 AM to 4 PM Sunday November 9: 9 AM to 4 PM Monday November 10: Closed Tuesday November 11: 9 AM to 4 PM Remember to make a reservation on our website as we are always busy on long weekends. reifelbirdsanctuary.com/index.html

Labour Day Long Weekend Hours Saturday August30: 9AM - 4PM Sunday August 31: 9AM - 4PM Monday September 1: 9AM - 4PM Tuesday September 2: Closed Please remember to make a booking at reifelbirdsanctuary.com. Enjoy your Labour day long weekend!

BC Day Long Weekend Hours Saturday August 2: 9AM - 4PM Sunday August 3: 9AM - 4PM Monday August 4: 9AM - 4PM Tuesday August 5: Closed With good weather in the forecast, we anticipate a busy long weekend. Remember to make a booking at reifelbirdsanctuary.com

Canada Day Long Weekend Hours: Saturday June 28: 9am - 4pm Sunday June 29: 9am - 4pm Monday June 30: CLOSED Tuesday July 1: 9am - 4pm Please remember to book your visit online at reifelbirdsanctuary.com for the long weekend. We expect to be busy as we are every long weekend!

Victoria Day Weekend Hours: Saturday May 17: 9 AM - 4 PM Sunday May 18: 9 AM - 4 PM Monday May 19: 9 AM - 4 PM Please make sure to make a booking on our website at reifelbirdsanctuary.com as it will likely be a busy weekend!

Hopefully all things go well and we see some young crane colts running around on or just after the Victoria Day long weekend. Photo by Stephanie Troll

On April 19th, our resident Sandhill cranes sat down for their second nesting attempt of the year. By 1:30 PM on April 22nd, we confirmed that there were 2 eggs being incubated by our pair.

Easter Holidays Hours Update Good Friday (April 18): 9am to 4pm Easter Sunday (April 20): 9am to 4pm Easter Monday (April 21): CLOSED Remember to make a reservation before you come out. We expect to be very busy. Hopefully our cranes have some Easter eggs for us by then!

Family Day Update: We will be open from 9AM - 4PM on Family Day (February 17) and closed the following Tuesday (February 18). Make sure to wear good footwear and rain gear as there is still some snow on our trails and the weekend rains may make things even more slick!

Lot's of snowfall overnight but we are open for the day. Currently in the process of clearing the driveway and parking lot of snow. Also, lots of snow on the roads of Westham island. Drive carefully and make sure you are dressed for the snowy weather!

This is so we can all get on roads and get home safely before the conditions deteriorate to much. Stay Safe out there, and enjoy the snow if you can!

Weather update: We are open this morning but with the bit of snow from overnight and the projected snow for the rest of the day, we will be closing in the afternoon. There will be no entry after 11 AM today and we are asking all visitors to leave by 1 PM.