Michael Smith asked about Tofino rarities as well as places to go birding in
Tofino. I am planning on preparing some sort of birder's guide to Tofino
that should appear in a 'Winging-It' newsletter prepared by the ABA. I
might even be able to produce one that would appear on a web-page. Time will
tell

The following is a list of vagrants that have been seen over the years in
the town of, or near Tofino, BC.
Sorry if the list is not in good order, the locations downtown Tofino and
waterfront are essentially the same since the whole town is surrounded by
water. Obviously one of the best places to look for birds is the town
itself. However one should note that the resident birders, spend most of
their time birding in town. More often than not, vagrants are found by
accident when local birders are running errands in town!

Laysan Albatross: seen flying over town
Great Egret: airport
King Eider: 2 seen off Stubb's Island
Falcated Teal: Grice Bay (has returned once already)
Garganey: Wickanninish beach
Hudsonian Godwit: Chesterman's Beach
Black-tailed Godwit: Grice Bay (unconfirmed)
Snowy Plover: long beach
Spotted Redshank: not sure if this has been confirmed
Solitary Sandpiper: sewage pond
Wood Sandpiper: sewage pond
Prairie Falcon: airport
White-winged Dove: Ucluelet
Oriental Turtle Dove: Tofino waterfront
Eastern Kingbird: Tofino waterfront
Western Kingbird: Tofino waterfront
Tropical Kingbird: seen 4 times
Ash-throated Flycatcher: Ucluelet
Blue Jay: downtown Tofino
Clark's Nutcracker: downtown Tofino
Black-billed Magpie: not sure where
Abert's Towhee: unconfirmed
Nashville Warbler: not sure where
Chestnut-sided Warbler: sewage pond
Bay-breasted Warbler: seen twice, downtown Tofino, Wickanninish
Blackpoll Warbler: Tofino waterfront
American Redstart: Ucluelet
Hooded Warbler: downtown Tofino
Prairie Warbler: unconfirmed
Harris' Sparrow: many times, at least 4 records
Lark Sparrow: seen in Ucluelet
Clay-colored Sparrow: long beach parking lot
Rustic Bunting: Tofino waterfront
Lazuli Bunting: Tofino waterfront
Dickcissel: once in downtown, once in Ucluelet
Common Grackle: Tofino waterfront
Tri-colored Blackbird: unconfirmed seen in town
White-winged Crossbill: seen on two occasions once in town
Red-throated Pipit: Tofino waterfront
Cheers,

Don Cecile
Port Alberni, B.C. Canada
dcecile at cln.etc.bc.ca.