Last month, my husband and I joined a nature tour on Vancouver Island on the coast of British Columbia in Canada. The main goal of the tour was to see bears and whales. My hope was to look for opportunities to see birds, even though the itinerary was a busy one. Birding with a non-birding tour is challenging, but it can be done.
Our first night was spent in Victoria, which is the provincial capital. Also, it is located on the harbour. From our hotel room’s balcony, I could hear the screams of Glaucous-winged Gulls and see those birds on neighbouring hotels. They are the common gulls on the west coast.
Chestnut-backed chickadee
The balcony proved a good location to spot birds in the tree tops. Chestnut-backed Chickadees called to each other as they gleaned leaves for insects. A juvenile male Anna’s Hummingbird would perch on a wire above our heads. He would fly out to snag an insect, then return to the wire. He only left his perch to chase another hummer from his territory.
Anna’s Hummingbird – male
On our first day of the tour, a naturalist/birder took us for a walk in Beacon Hill Park. This park had different habitats, which offered a variety of birds. Most of the tour participants were not birders, so they were wowed when a Red-tailed Hawk flew into a tree. I was more interested in the other birds he identified for us, although I had seen them all on a previous trip. There was a Western Flycatcher, a Bewick’s Wren, and a Dark-eyed Junco’s Oregon form, which has a chestnut back and rusty sides.
Dark-eyed Junco Oregon Form – male
In the afternoon, out of the harbour, we went on a marine field trip to look for marine wildlife. We saw a family of seal-hunting Orcas (a mammal lifer) and we saw a Humpback Whale, which was exciting. I was delighted to see some birds with the help of the on-board naturalist, when the vessel wasn’t speeding across the water. There were Red-necked Phalarope, Rhinoceros Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot, Common Murre, Surf Scoter, Pelagic Cormorant, and Sabine’s Gull (see photo at top of blog). Three of the Sabine’s Gulls were fighting with some Glaucous-winged Gulls. The Sabine’s Gulls were a lifer for my trip.
Pigeon Guillemot
On our last day in Victoria, we went to the Deep Bay Marine Field Station. While the rest of our group listened to the docent talk about oyster farming, I was peeking out the windows. I had a flock of Band-tailed Pigeons fly over. I saw Steller’s Jays calling to each other in the trees.
Band-tailed Pigeon
In my next post, I’ll share some more bird sightings. Also, I will write about our adventures with Grizzly Bears.
Note: All photos are from Wikipedia Commons, an online source of copyright-free photos: Sabine’s Gull by Ómar Runólfsson; Chestnut-backed Chickadee by Minette Layne; Anna’s Hummingbird by Kevin Cole; Dark-eyed Junco Oregon form by Rhododendrites; Pigeon Guillemot by Yathin S Krishnappa; Band-tailed Pigeon by aroid.
Leave a Comment