I recently went on vaction up the Charlottes and had a very good birding
trip with one new lifer, Horned Puffins. I recommend the trip to anyone
looking for a new NW location.

The trip up the Inside Passage on BC Ferries is very scenic and the
stretch of open ocean north of Pt. Hardy before the start of the passage
had a good variety of alcids, phaleropes and Sooty Shearwaters.

The ferry from Prince Rupert to Skidegate in the Charlottes was like a
mini-pelagic trip with Sooty Shearwaters, Sabine's Gull, Parasitic
Jaeger, alcids, and loons (including Yellow-billed).

In the islands, we took an eight day kayaking tour with Queen Charlotte
Adventures that brought us through the southern part of the islands.
The scenery was outstanding with old growth forest down to the shore and
the Haida village of Ninestints on Anthony Island was worth the trip in
itself.

Near Anthony Island, I was able to see Horned Puffin, Tufted Puffin,
Rhino Auklets, Murres, Pelagic Cormorants from about thirty feet in the
kayak while they had a feeding frenzy.

This was only the second time I've been kayaking but I found it fairly
easy and a great way to go birding. We went at the beginning of
September and caught some of the shorebird and sea bird migration and
the tail end of the summer birds.

The kayaking trip we went on would probably be outstanding during the
summer breeding season because both Puffins, Rhino and Cassin's Auklets,
Storm petrels and several other species all have nesting colonies here.
I hope to return and try that out.