Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary | |
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Location on Vancouver Island Location in British Columbia | |
Location | Sidney, British Columbia, Canada |
Coordinates | 48°40′20″N 123°24′39″W / 48.67222°N 123.41083°W |
Area | 150 ha (370 acres) |
Designation | Migratory Bird Sanctuary |
Established | 1931 |
Governing body | Canadian Wildlife Service |
Website | Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary |
The Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary is a migratory bird sanctuary on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. More than 40 species of birds are found there.[1]
There are marinas and boat moorings within the sanctuary and development on its shoreline.[2] A ship partially sank in the bird sanctuary in 2022, raising concerns about environmental impacts to the wildlife there.[3]
Among 92 MBS in Canada, Shoal Harbour MBC is 146 hectares big and one of the early establishments made under the Migratory Birds Convention Act.[4] Migratory Birds Sanctuaries’ main goal is to protect migratory birds from numerous threats and to provide a safe, warm shelter during winter when their habitats are mostly frozen.[5] This is one of the implementations to accomplish the environmental missions that Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has called along with the Species at Risk Act to sustain biodiversity.[6]
About 35-40 species of birds inhabit the Shoal harbour area.[1] Three areas are composed of Shoal Harbour: Protected waters, Sidney Channel Bird Important Area, and Outer Coast.[7] Each area has extinct characteristics, as particular species of birds are found in each sector.[1] With IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature) evaluation, the birds are distinguished into not evaluated, data deficient, least concerned, near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, extinct in the wild, and extinct.[7]