The Ellis Bird Farm has officially welcomed their new Site Manager and Biologist Sandy Van Dijk.

Van Dijk grew up in the Central Alberta area before earning a degree in natural resource management from the University of Northern BC. After graduating, she moved to Calgary for work doing pre-construction wildlife surveys.

Although she enjoyed her time at her previous job, she is looking forward to working with the wildlife at the Ellis Bird Farm.

“I come from a science background and I'm pretty interested in getting out onto the Bluebird Trail and actually seeing the birds and banding them and that kind of thing.  I'm really looking forward to the spring,” said Van Dijk.

Over the holidays, she organized a bird count at the farm that was considered a success.

“Unfortunately, we couldn't have groups of people. It was a pretty limited event, but we did see some pretty cool birds at Ellis Bird Farm. One bird that we haven't seen at Christmas Bird counts in the past was a Northern Flicker. It was a pretty typical Christmas bird count for Ellis Bird Farm,” explained Van Dijk.

As for her plans for the farm, her biggest goal is to continue on honouring the legacy of Charlie and Winnie Ellis the founders of the farm and Myrna Pearman who was previous Site Manager for 33 years.

“I think we're hoping to start keeping the site open a little bit for the winter and host different types of events throughout the fall and winter. That might be one change that you see this year. Other than that, you can expect the same type of visit that you would normally see when you come to the Ellis Bird Farm,” said Van Dijk.

Van Dijk says she is working to move some programming into an online format in case kids can’t participate in programs in the spring due to coronavirus.  

As spring approaches, the farm is also working to get their owl nest camera set up which will be on the Ellis Bird Farm’s Youtube Channel. She noted that the owls generally start to nest in February.

Overall, VanDijk is very happy to be working with the animals, people, and legacy of Ellis Bird Farm.

“I'm really excited to be at Ellis Bird Farm. I'm really interested in education and research and just meeting all the people that come to Ellis Bird Farm. I know there's a lot of visitors who are repeats and love the work that we do here.  I'm excited to meet those people. I'm just really excited to start my journey here.”