Flora and Fauna of Burns Bog
Wildlife in Burns Bog
Burns Bog is a rare habitat type in the Lower Mainland. At last count, the bog supported 175 bird species, 41 mammals, 11 amphibians, 6 reptiles, and an estimated 4000 invertebrate species. Fish have been found at the edge of the bog, but they have a hard time in the bog itself due to the low pH (too acidic) and the lack of oxygen (stagnant water).
The reason for the high diversity of wildlife in Burns Bog is the wide variety of habitats that the bog provides, such as open water in ponds and ditches, Sphagnum fields, low and high shrub communities, and several different types of forest.
Numerous rare and endangered species persist in the bog:
| Common Name (bird) |
Latin Name |
Provincial Listing |
| Peregrine Falcon |
Falco peregrinus anatum
Falco peregrinus pealei |
red-listed |
| Purple Martin |
Progne subis |
red-listed |
| American Bittern |
Botaurus lentiginosus |
blue-listed |
| Great Blue Heron |
Ardea herodias |
blue-listed |
| Green Heron |
Butorides virescens |
blue-listed |
| Trumpeter Swan |
Cygnus buccinator |
blue-listed |
| Greater Sandhill Crane |
Grus canadensis tabida |
blue-listed |
| Short-billed Dowitcher |
Limnodromus griseus |
blue-listed |
| Caspian Tern |
Sterna caspia |
blue-listed |
| California Gull |
Larus californicus |
blue-listed |
| Barn Owl |
Tyto alba |
blue-listed |
| Short-eared Owl |
Asio flammeus |
blue-listed |
| Hutton’s Vireo |
Vireo huttoni |
blue-listed |
| Common Name (mammal) |
Latin Name |
Provincial Listing |
| Southern Red-backed Vole |
Clethrionomys gapperi occidentalis |
red-listed |
| Pacific Water Shrew |
Sorex bendirii |
red-listed |
| Trowbridge’s Shrew |
Sorex trowbridgii |
blue-listed |
| Common Name (amphibian/reptile) |
Latin Name |
Provincial Listing |
| Red-legged Frog |
Rana aurora |
red-listed |
| Painted Turtle |
Chrysemys picta |
blue-listed |
Burns Bog is one of two Sandhill Crane nesting sites in the Lower Mainland. The bog is also situated on the Pacific Flyway. The bog lands are a very important part of the stop-over for tens of thousands of migratory birds each year, particularly in stormy weather.
Aside from birds, the most common animal we see in Burns Bog is the Black-tailed deer. Coyotes have been spotted a number of times, and the elusive Black Bear gives the occasional hint that he/she is still in the neighbourhood.
For a more detailed description of the wildlife found in Burns Bog, see the Burns Bog Ecosystem Review (2000).
Plants in Burns Bog
Prior to drainage and development, Burns Bog was fairly uniform in vegetation. Low shrubs, lichens, and a thick carpet of Sphagnum mosses with scattered pine trees was the norm:
After the impacts of drainage, peat mining, and other recreational disturbances (e.g. all-terrain vehicles), the bog developed a very diverse vegetation cover. There are about 14 different plant communities in Burns Bog today, including fields regenerating from peat mining and forests that have grown up since the bog was drained:
The most important plant communities in Burns Bog are “peat-forming” – those that have a high water table and an active layer of Sphagnum moss. These are the plants that form the bog ecosystem. We are working to promote further growth of these “peat-forming” plant communities to help the bog recover from peat mining and re-grow into a healthy raised bog system.
 Sphagnum regenerating in a peat-mined field |
The plant communities that grow in Burns Bog are rare in the Lower Mainland. There used to be bogs covering large parts of Richmond, Burnaby, Surrey, Pitt Meadows, and Langley. Most of these bogs are now either vastly reduced in size or completely gone, while Burns Bog remains close to its original size.
Since bogs are now rare in the Lower Mainland, so too are the plants that inhabit bogs. There are lichens and fungi that only grow in bog environments, and several species in Burns Bog are isolated populations (‘islands’) that are growing at the southern limit of their range in North America. These rare plants include:
- cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus)
- bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)
- crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)
- velvet-leaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides)
In addition to rare plants, Burns Bog also contains rare plant associations that are provincially red-listed (endangered or threatened), including:
- Lodgepole Pine – Sphagnum
- Western Red Cedar - Douglas Fir - Oregon Beaked Moss
- Grand Fir – Foamflower
 Yellow pond lilly and bog clueberry on Sphagnum (Photo: Angela Danyluk) |
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