Swallows, swallows, swallows... oh, and some other new birds

Since my pelagic boat trip, I've reached my goal – and passed it! I'm now at 128 birds.
In the last few days I've seen short and long-billed dowitchers, blue-winged teal, a peregrine falcon, red knots, golden plovers and black scoters, northern rough-winged swallows – which I have also seen in the last few days are one of my favourite swallows and I'm sad because these adorable plump little brown birds are often overlooked in comparison to the beauty of violet-green, tree or barn swallows. Every bird has its own special personality and I can't choose a favourite.
Thanks you for all the help from Adrian Dorst, Pete Clarkson and Artie Ahier. It is very nice for me to live in a community with some of, in my opinion, the best birders in BC.

After our martial arts demonstration at SOBO restaurant,
Pete Clarkson told me there were red knots at Greenpoint.
We raced out there with 30 minutes of daylight left and ... there they were!

Last year we had two barn swallows that built a nest under the ramp at the Crab Dock. They've returned this year and are building another nest in the same spot. I've had some really fun times with these two swallows and have named them Rufus and Tawny. I can't tell them apart but I still feel like they need to be named.

Our Pelagic Trip, photos by Marla Barker

Black Footed Albatross

Black Footed Albatross and gulls

Northern Fulmar

 

Prawn Dragger

Birdy

Dad and ornithologist, Mark Maftei

Birdy and Dad

Rhinocerus Auklet

By the Wind Sailor jellyfish (velella velella)

Fur seal thermoregulating

Northern Fulmar

Adventures at Sea!

This last week was the Tofino shorebird festival, during which I went on two birding trips as part of the celebration. 

The first was a trip to Cleland island.  I was sponsored by Jamie’s Whaling Station and saw 6 new birds! (see list, at http://birdymcbirdface.blogspot.ca/2016/04/2016-list-of-birds.html

The next day I went on an Ocean Outfitters 9-hour pelagic trip, 30 miles offshore, to Clayoquot, Loudoun and Barkley canyons, where you could barely see land, but you could see: albatross, shearwaters and northern fulmars eating the by-catch from a prawn dragger; a few Cassin’s auklets scooping up plankton from the surface; three red-neck phalaropes sitting in the deep water; the occasional fur seal thermoregulating, (sunning their flippers, to maintain their body heat); my first ever sperm whale, and – another first! – the second biggest whale in the world, the fin whale! Now I am at 119 birds – just one away from my original goal!

I am very thankful to Jamie’s Whaling Station, https://www.jamies.com Ocean Outfitters https://www.oceanoutfitters.bc.ca/ and Mark Maftei www.harbourliving.ca/event/event/pelagic-seabirds-of-the-bc-coast-mark-maftei/2016-03-03/ our guide for both trips, who helped me a lot.
Also thank you to Marla Barker for these photos:

Here are a few and more are coming soon.

Just leaving Tofino

Birdy Mcbirdface in action