Hi all

I just got back from one of those weekend get-a-ways that make the PNW the
greatest spot on the planet. I stayed with a friend at his cabin on Gambier
Island that is on a bluff about 100 ft above Howe Sound and overlooks Twin
Islands as well as Bowen and Keats. The property is covered with mostly
second growth Firs, Cedar, Hemlock and some significant mature stands of
Broad-leaf Maple. Lining the outer edge of the forest is Arbutus and Pines.
When the area was logged, around the turn of the century, several ancient
firs were left standing and one of these contains a Bald Eagles nest.

The birding was quiet with not much happening either on the water or in the
forest. All the birds on the following list are visible from the sundeck at
one time or another although I actually had to walk into the forest to find
a couple of them.

o Double-crested Cormorant - 10 + on morning or evening fly-bys
o Great Blue Heron
o Canada Goose
o Mallard
o Surf Scoter - 50+ on early evening fly-by
o Hooded Merganser - 2f, 1m
o Black Oystercatcher - 3 of the most raucous birds on the planet
o Glaucous-winged Gull - various numbers
o Bonaparte's Gull - 80+ at one time and some hawking for termites in the
evening
o Band-tailed Pigeon - 10+ would come to check out the feeders
o Belted Kingfisher
o Northern Flicker - very vocal in the morning
o Red-breasted Sapsucker - 2 that haven't discovered the aluminum ladder -
yet
o Downy Woodpecker
o Steller's Jay - always gorgeous
o Northwestern Crow
o Common Raven
o Chestnut-backed Chickadee - pished one down eyeball to eyeball
o Red-breasted Nuthatch - heard all weekend but just a quick glimpse
o Brown Creeper - most distinctive silhouette in the forest
o Winter Wren - the keepers of the brush piles
o American Robin
o Yellow-rumped Warbler
o Black-throated Gray Warbler - nice surprise
o Spotted Towhee - lots....they hawk for termites from the ground
o Song Sparrow - only 1
o Dark-eyed Junco - 15+
o House Finch - 8 to 10 feeder junkies

It's not a great list but an enjoyable one.

Good birding

Roger Craik
Maple Ridge BC
rcraik at home.com