This may seem like a small thing to get prickly about, and may come as
startling news to some, but we in BC are not, repeat *NOT*, part of the
'Pacific Northwest'! Iona and Boundary Bay are in *southwestern Canada*.
The equivalent, were things to be reversed and Canada to be the dominant
culture, is to call Gray's Harbor part of the Pacific Southwest, an obvious
nonsense.

It is ironic to a Canadian birder to see a book entitled 'Shorebirds of the
Pacific Northwest' and realise that a fair bit of that book is comprised of
records from sites in southwestern British Columbia in Canada's Pacific
Southwest.

To take a strictly geographical approach in a N. American context, Alaska
is the Pacific Northwest; BC, Washington and Oregon constitute the
Mid-Pacific Region, and California and Baja California, the southern
region. May I suggest referring to sites in southwestern BC as belonging to
the Mid-Pacific?

A helpful hint for Americans when dealing with Canadians: correcting such
American geographical solecisms as this is seen as a drearily unending
chore by many Canadians, and we wonder when, and even if, Americans will
ever realise you *share* a continent instead of owning it. Please make at
least a perfunctory bow in a northward direction for courtesy's sake before
incorporating us in your books, articles, and postings.

Other than that, I find the postings on Tweeters rich in wit, knowledge,
and thoughtfulness, and am happy to have subscribed.

Michael Price
Vancouver, BC, Canada

michael_price at mindlink.bc.ca