By Keith and Heather Nicol
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Andy Murray did a great job trying to find us shorebirds |
On Sunday May 1 we
joined guide and naturalist Andy Murray with Tofino Sea Kayaking for a fine day
on the water. Tofino Sea Kayaking had organized 2 “birding by kayak” trips as part of the shorebird festival and
we opted to take their Sunday tour. The weather was ideal for paddling and it
was our first time sea kayaking in the Tofino area. There were 11 of us plus 2
guides and the plan was to visit a variety of islands and likely shorebird
habitats over the course of a 4 hour paddle. We used double kayaks for
stability since it is easier to use binoculars and a camera from a double
kayak. We certainly saw lots of birds but only distant flocks of shorebirds that
seemed to be always heading away from us. Near one island we saw some Brants
and numerous Common and Pacific Loons diving in the water. Further along there
were pairs of common mergansers and a couple of lone red necked grebes.
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Paddling with Meares Island in the background |
The scenery is
magnificent in this area and at one point we could see snow capped mountains
which made for a picturesque backdrop. We stopped to set up the scope on the
Arakun mud flats where there were a couple of eagles perched along the shore,
but no shorebirds anywhere in site.
Andy
explained that usually shorebirds have a 3 week window in which many of them
pass through this area and it is hard to know in advance which weekend will
have the most birds. Then just as we were about to end our tour Andy spotted
several shorebirds on a small island and we all paddled over to
investigate.
There along the water’s
edge was a small flock of Short- billed Dowitchers busy feeding.
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We saw a small group of Brants on an offshore island |
The Tofino area certainly has much to offer
the beginner and advanced sea kayaker and Tofino Sea Kayaking (TSK) has an
ideal launch point for accessing the maze of channels and islands just
offshore. TSK (
http://tofinoseakayaking.com/) also has a small coffee shop with a great view and they sell
kayaking supplies so check them out on your next visit to this scenic area.
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Short-billed Dowitchers feeding along the shoreline |
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