This year, a celebration is planned at Lillian Hoffar Park, North  Saanich, starting at 11am, hosted by the Town of Sidney, the District of North Saanich, and Member of Parliament Elizabeth May.

Green  Party Leader and Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands will be  presenting a private member’s bill asking for October 15th to be  declared National All Buffleheads Day in honour of the duck.

“The Bufflehead is known as the Spirit Duck because they are such  spritely little things.  They are so punctual that when you see them  arrive, you know the date instantly.  However, with climatic shifts  occurring, we need to keep a close eye on this little duck,” said May.

Naturalists are watching to see if the timing of the Bufflehead  migration changes, as it may provide a signal of climate change.  In  Britain, scientists have already noted changes in arrival and departure  dates of migrant birds which they attribute to the changing climate.

“With a precise timeline like we see with the Bufflehead, it really  brings home how carefully synchronized nature’s cycles are,” said May. “The Bufflehead has been very stable over many decades.  If we start  seeing changes in its migration patterns, it will be an indicator of  environmental change that deserves notice.”

Within May’s riding, the District of North Saanich and the Town of  Sidney have both long worked hard to protect Bufflehead habitat in Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary, established in 1931.  The duck is  part of the official crest of the Town of Sidney.  Sidney and North  Saanich have already proclaimed Oct. 15 to be All Bufflehead’s Day.

The Bufflehead’s small size is an adaptation to fit into the vacant  nest cavities of one species of woodpecker, the Flicker, which makes its home in Aspen trees. Thus, Buffleheads have evolved with and are  dependent on the Flicker.  Its speedy movements, constant activity, and  “water-skiing” posture during mating make this important species  particularly endearing and a delight to watch.  The Bufflehead is unique to North America, and has been called a truly Canadian duck.

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As the Member of Parliament for the area, May has been working hard towards this initiative and during her conversations with the Minister had been advised by him that this would be moving ahead.

“This is such an important initiative for the protection of biodiversity along our coastline.  It will also help us to meet our domestic and international legal commitments toward protecting our coast,”said May.  Canada has commitments to protect marine habitat under the Oceans Act, Migratory Birds Convention Act, National Marine Conservation Areas Act and the UN Convention on Biodiversity.

“Parks Canada, the Town of Sidney, the District of North Saanich, non-profits and First Nations have all played important roles in seeing this project toward fruition.  I sincerely hope this feasibility study has a positive result.  With only 0.1% of Canada’s ocean under protection, a new National Marine Protected Area is urgently needed,” said May.

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