Hello Tweeters,
Really need to get out and do my neighbourhood bird survey; it's been over a
month! Don't want to miss any good birds (although all of them are good
birds). Anyway, I am surprised I am actually here right now considering the
neat adventure I had on the weekend. I was planning on going on a VNHS
(Vancouver Natural History Society) field trip from Sidney, kayaking over to
Sidney Island. The leader (Kyle Elliott) and I were supposed to meet up with
another person, but we could not locate that person. So we headed out just
the two of us. We caught the 7:00 am ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay.
Then we got on the bus to Sidney. Unfortunately, it took quite a bit of
walking (carrying all our gear for the overnight trip) and a couple of bus
rides until we finally found the place we had rented the kayaks from. Kyle
had been kayaking before, while I had just had one lesson before this trip!
I now know that I am certifiably crazy! While there was not bright sun
(which was probably for the best), the conditions over were almost perfect.
Of course I was apprehensive at first, but Kyle encouraged me. We made the
crossing in about an hour and a half. Then Kyle scouted out a campsite, we
unloaded the gear, and set up the tent. Then we got dry clothes on, and went
for a walk. We saw some pretty neat birds: Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Brown
Creeper, Orange-crowned Warbler, Varied Thrush, (on the kayak trip over:
Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet), Red-breasted Nuthatch,
Wilson's Warbler, Juncos, Savannah Sparrow. This walk took quite a while. We
had dinner when we got back to the campsite. While we were eating, we also
watched some Chipping Sparrows (a new species for me!)and some Canada Geese.
Then we went for another walk in a different direction. It was starting to
get dark, and I had brought my flashlight, but we tried not to use it. I
loved walking through the forest in the almost total dark! Before dark,
though, we stopped in the meadow, and sat down for a while. Little time
later, 4 Fallow Deer came out (the island is populated with them). We then
made our way to Sidney Spit. There we set up my scope and saw Double-crested
Cormorants and Gulls nesting on Mandarte Island. Down by the shore were a
huge flock of Brant. The highlight was a pair of Black Oystercatchers. One
was doing the broken-wing display, but we did not find a nest. There were a
good number of Great Blue Herons, a Belted Kingfisher, a Barn Swallow, Downy
Woodpecker, Swainson's Thrush. After this walk, we got back to the tent, and
retired for the night (I at least was so tired the Tree Frogs did not even
keep me awake!). The next morning, we got up about 7:30 am. We had a quick
breakfast, then did another walk. I could spend weeks on this Island. It was
so beautiful. We found a dead small bat that Kyle put in a bag to take back
to identify it. When we got to the beach, we saw literally hundreds of clam
worms washed up on the sand. Kyle wanted to take one back to the Vancouver
Aquarium to positively identify it. Conditions looked good, so we took off
in the kayaks about 10:05 am. Halfway across, the conditions got terrible:
huge swells, strong wind, and even some rain. I felt like we were not making
any progress at all. Luckily, a sailboat showed up, and the captain asked if
we would like a lift! Of course we agreed. So we climbed aboard, and he
towed the kayaks back! My time is up on this library computer, so that's it
for now!
Laura Jordison
Intrepid Adventurer
VNHS Marine Biology Section
lebaron85 at hotmail.com






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