Gulf Islands National Park Reserve

National Park · Canada

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Photo © Michal Klajban — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Where the Pacific Northwest's temperate rainforest meets the Salish Sea, an archipelago of over 15 islands and numerous islets creates one of Canada's most ecologically precious marine reserves. Windswept Garry oak meadows clothe the higher elevations, while rocky shorelines give way to kelp forests that sway in nutrient-rich currents below. This mosaic of coastal ecosystems—from sheltered bays to exposed headlands—harbors an extraordinary concentration of biodiversity compressed into just 14,600 hectares, making it a hotspot of endemism and ecological rarity within British Columbia's marine landscape.

For wildlife photographers and birders, few destinations offer such reliable encounters with iconic Pacific species. Bald eagles reign supreme here, fishing from ancient cedars and congregating in numbers that astound even seasoned observers. Spring migration brings warblers and shorebirds in spectacular waves, while orcas and harbor seals patrol the emerald waters year-round. The soft, golden light of the Gulf Islands bathes islands in photographic perfection during early morning sessions, and the reserve's accessible trail network allows visitors to move seamlessly between habitat types without compromising the wilderness experience that makes this place irreplaceable.

Website parks.canada.ca/pn-np/bc/gulf

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Pigargo Americano

Great Blue Heron

Pelagic Cormorant

Urile pelagicus

Cormorán pelágico

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

Cormorán orejudo

Dark-eyed Junco

Junco Ojioscuro

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Gaviota de Bering

White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Chingolo Coroniblanco

Black Oystercatcher

Haematopus bachmani

Ostrero Negro Norteamericano

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Poecile rufescens

Carbonero dorsicastaño

Melospiza melodia

Chingolo Cantor

Pileated Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

Picamaderos Norteamericano

Cárabo norteamericano

Pipilo maculatus

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Carpintero escapulario dorado

Histrionicus histrionicus

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

trepador canadiense

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Martín gigante norteamericano

Anna's Hummingbird

Colibrí de Anna

Brandt's Cormorant

Urile penicillatus

Cormorán sargento

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Cuervo Americano

Hairy Woodpecker

Leuconotopicus villosus

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus ruber

Chupasavia Pechirrojo

Haemorhous mexicanus

Camachuelo Mexicano

Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

Pico Pubescente

Charadrius vociferus

Chorlitejo Culirrojo

Haemorhous purpureus

Camachuelo purpúreo

Certhia americana

Agateador Americano

Passer domesticus

Gorrión común

Anas platyrhynchos

Thryomanes bewickii

Cucarachero Colinegro

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Estornino Pinto

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Halcón peregrino

Marbled Murrelet

Brachyramphus marmoratus

Mérgulo jaspeado americano

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

busardo colirrojo

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Cernícalo americano

American Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimus

Mito Sastrecillo

Loxia curvirostra

Piquituerto común

Gavilán de Cooper

Meleagris gallopavo

Guajolote Gallipavo

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Pavo real común

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Búho americano

Short-billed Gull

Larus brachyrhynchus

Gaviota de Alaska

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Reinita de Wilson

Red-necked Grebe

Podiceps grisegena

Somormujo Cuellirrojo

California Gull

Larus californicus

Gaviota Californiana

Podiceps auritus

Zampullín cuellirrojo

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

Reyezuelo sátrapa

Red Fox Sparrow

Passerella iliaca

Chingolo Zorruno

Troglodytes pacificus

Chochín del Pacífico

Northern House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Chochín criollo

Black-headed Grosbeak

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Picogrueso Cabecinegro

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Corthylio calendula

Reyezuelo rubí

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Añapero yanqui

Larus glaucoides

Gaviota Groenlandesa

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Gaviota de Delaware

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Archibebe patigualdo grande

Dendragapus fuliginosus

Gallo Fuliginoso

Cistothorus palustris

Cucarachero Pantanero

California Quail

Callipepla californica

Colín de California

Branta canadensis

Barnacla canadiense grande

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Porrón osculado

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Barrow's Goldeneye

Bucephala islandica

Porrón islándico

Melanitta perspicillata

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Serreta Mediana

Pluvialis squatarola

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Porrón acollarado

Red-throated Loon

Colimbo del Pacífico

White-winged Scoter

Melanitta deglandi

Negrón aliblanco

Pigeon Guillemot

Cepphus columba

Rhinoceros Auklet

Cerorhinca monocerata

Alca unicórnea

Correlimos tridáctilo

Black Turnstone

Arenaria melanocephala

Vuelvepiedras Oscuro

Calidris virgata

Correlimos de rompientes

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Zampullín picogrueso

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Gavilán americano

Turdus migratorius

Golondrina purpúrea

Brown-headed Cowbird

Tordo Cabecipardo

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Golondrina aserrada norteña

Hirundo rustica

Golondrina común

American Goldfinch

Jilguero Yanqui

Western Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis

Mosquero del Pacífico

Catharus guttatus

Zorzalito Colirrufo

Setophaga coronata

Reinita Coronada

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

Chingolo Cejiblanco

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Reinita Coroninaranja

Townsend's Warbler

Setophaga townsendi

Reinita de Townsend

Hydroprogne caspia

Pagaza Piquirroja

Pandion haliaetus

Águila pescadora

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Chingolo Sabanero

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Gaviota de Bonaparte

Bucephala albeola

Porrón albeola

Branta bernicla

barnacla carinegra

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

Golondrina Verdemar

Tachycineta bicolor

Golondrina Bicolor

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Serreta Capuchona

Jilguero de los pinos

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Correlimos Menudillo

Western Sandpiper

Correlimos de Alaska

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Chorlitejo Semipalmeado

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla

Chingolo Coronidorado

Ixoreus naevius

Calidris alpina

Correlimos común

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Silbón americano

Plectrophenax nivalis

Escribano Nival

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Sargento Alirrojo

Bombycilla cedrorum

ampelis americano

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Piranga Carirroja

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Zorzalito de Swainson

Ancient Murrelet

Synthliboramphus antiquus

Mérgulo antiguo

Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanni

Gaviota Mexicana

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

Correlimos de Baird

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Chorlo Trinador

Townsend's Solitaire

Myadestes townsendi

Solitario norteño

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Mascarita común

Cyanocitta stelleri

Chara de Steller

Odocoileus hemionus

North American River Otter

Lontra canadensis

Nutria de río norteamericana

Nutria paleártica

Common Fallow Deer

Northern Raccoon

North American Beaver

Castor canadensis

Castor Americano

Ondatra zibethicus

Ondatra zibethicus

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

Ardilla gris de las Carolinas

Cervus canadensis

Western Deermouse

Peromyscus sonoriensis

Peromyscus sonoriensis

Musaraña enmascarada

Visón americano

Eastern Cottontail

Sylvilagus floridanus

Conejo Americano

Eptesicus fuscus

Murciélago moreno norteamericano

Little Brown Myotis

Myotis lucifugus

Miotis norteamericano

North American Red Squirrel

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

Ardilla roja americana

California Myotis

Myotis californicus

Murciélago ratón de California

Myotis yumanensis

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Corynorhinus townsendii

Murciélago orejón de Townsend

Townsend's Vole

Microtus townsendii

Topillo de Townsend

Western Meadow Vole

Microtus drummondii

Microtus drummondii

Long-eared Myotis

Murciélago oreja larga

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