Carol Patterson

INSPIRING EVERYDAY EXPLORERS Through wildlife tales and trails

Carol Patterson

In search of albatross

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My story on my quest to find Canada’s albatross and my struggle to avoid projectile vomit is now available at Roadstories.ca http://bit.ly/2irfONj

Do you have what it takes to see these beautiful birds only found far offshore Canada’s coast?

Although the Black-legged Albatross is found in Canada, it never sets foot on Canadian soil. They are pelagic birds living their entire life on the open ocean except when stopping in Hawaii to reproduce. If you want to find an albatross you have to go far beyond where whale watchers and recreational fisherman venture.

To find out how you can go where few venture, click here. 

Shorebirds: Tofino’s understated tourists

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Drive to the western edge of Vancouver Island and you’ll find the surf-mad village of Tofino. Toque-wearing surfers cycle by, their surfboards clipped to a small trailer, the money saved on petrol buying them more time in this rainforest paradise. Motorhomes that were popular in the 70’s – and worn-out in the 90’s – limp along highway 4 as surfers coax more life from them; neoprene wetsuits dry on car mirrors as shaggy haired guys heat soup and discuss surf conditions.
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Weaving around the world’s hardiest surfers – waters are bone-chilling cold even in July – are other travelers who stroll the Pacific Rim National Park beaches. Some of them chow down on crab and mac cheese at Long Beach Lodge Resort, or hop a boat for a tour of Clayoquot Sound. Others are pecking the sand for their lunch, their trip to town accomplished by wing flapping. These are the shorebirds that fly thousands of kilometers from South and Central America to their breeding grounds in the north. They are the tourists not counted by visitor bureaus but Tofino is very popular with traveling birds.

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Plovers are one species of shorebird seen in Tofino

Behind the hotels and spas that pamper human visitors are the Tofino mudflats, gooey coastal wetlands that at low-tide serve up a nutrient buffet for sandpipers, whimbrels, and plovers. Shorebirds fly long distances, sometimes half-asleep with one eye open and one eye closed (similar to a red-eye economy flight for humans). In addition to being some of the world’s longest migrators shorebirds are also some of its biggest eaters. They consume about a third of their body weight each day as they prepare for migration and eat so much they poop every two minutes!

Tofino mudflats
Tofino mudflats

In late April, Tofino boasts impressive numbers of shorebirds. “Our most prevalent shorebird is the western sandpiper,” said Andy Murray, Tofino Sea Kayaking guide and naturalist, “150,000 Western sandpipers can pass through here in three weeks!”

The beach in front of Long Beach Lodge Resort is a comfortable place to look for shorebirds
The beach at Long Beach Lodge Resort is a comfortable place to look for shorebirds

The town celebrates these understated tourists by holding the Tofino Shorebird Festival each year. From April 29- May 1, 2016 you can take a kayak tour with Murray, learn to photograph birds, hop on the M.V. Lady Selkirk to look for Tufted Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklet, or if you’re really adventurous, journey to the offshore Continental shelf break to see pelagic birds.

If you decide to go:

Register for festival events at http://raincoasteducation.org/events/tofino-shorebird-festival

Reserve your hotel in advance. Hotel sponsors with great birding onsite are:

Look for shorebirds at the end of Sharp Road (the turn-off is by the Dolphin Motel). Best viewing is mid-tide rising.

Warm up after birding with a Forest Sour cocktail at the Great Room. http://www.longbeachlodgeresort.com/site/cuisine/great-room.html

 

Five nature festivals to get your spring on

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Five nature festivals to get your spring onWinter has its own beauty but after five months of dark evenings (and mornings), scraping car windshields, and dressing like the Michelin man before heading outside, I am ready for spring! It is a time of renewal for Mother Nature and her enthusiasm for new life invigorates mine. (I’m also enjoying the extra sleep since I put the shovel away.)
If you’re looking for a way to celebrate spring why not head out to these Northwestern nature festivals and enjoy spectacular wildlife, yummy food, and entertaining speakers?

The Brant Festival in Parksville-Qualicum Beach, British Columbia runs until April 17. Thousands of Brant geese take a break from their northward migration to feast and rest. You can follow their lead and enjoy spring-themed dinners, art displays, and relaxation ocean-side while you watch the avian action. Dolphins and whales sometimes join the party. http://www.brantfestival.bc.ca

Drop into Hoquiam, Washington for Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival May 6 – 8. You won’t be the only one from out of town. Shorebirds from as far away as Argentina stop before heading north to the Arctic – a 15,000 mile round trip if you’re counting – and you can see tens of thousands of birds in the Grays Harbor estuary. To get your tickets for bird tours or a special presentation on butterflies head to http://www.shorebirdfestival.com

Wings Over the Rockies in Invermere and B.C.’s Columbia Valley May 9 – 15 is one of North America’s longest running and largest nature festivals. There are seven days of hikes, paddles, horseback riding, and evening presentations. I’ll be speaking Friday, May 13 at 7pm with my stories and pictures in “A travel writer with a birding habit”. Tickets for all events go on sale April 11 at http://www.wingsovertherockies.org

Utah’s Great Salt Lake Bird Festival May 12 -16 has a great lake and great birding. The birds come for the lake, the people come for the birds and for the celebrities who love birding. James Currie from Nikon’s Birding Adventures TV appears this year and will get everyone excited about our feathered friends. One year at this festival I had the pleasure of meeting Brad Harris – the record-setting birdwatcher played by Jack Black in the movie The Big Year – and realized I’d become an official bird-nerd! Get your binoculars on at http://www.GreatSaltLakeBirdFest.com

British Columbia’s Meadowlark Nature Festival May 19 – 23 highlights overlooked attractions in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. You can canoe, hike, participate in indigenous cultural events, stargaze, paint watercolors, or be a rock gummy (geologist for a day). Tickets go on sale April 9th at http://www.meadowlarkfestival.ca

These are some of my favorite festivals but there are more. What’s the best festival you’ve attended?

Carol

Sandhill cranes one of North America’s greatest wildlife migrations

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Ever wonder what wildlife viewing was like when John Muir and Aldo Leopold were alive?

I have and wondered if it’s possible to see a fraction of what they witnessed before economic growth and urbanization destroyed many wild areas.

It turns out you can still get an inkling of what they felt when surrounded by a large biomass of living creatures. Each spring hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes pass over Nebraska’s Platte River. By mid-March thousands of cranes are gathered along the river and in neighboring fields and photographers and birdwatchers flock to the area (pun intended).

Two years ago, I huddled on a wooden bench as the cold sunk into my bones, squinting through a small opening in a wildlife blind as cranes landed on the dark marsh. The guttural cries of several thousand Sandhill Cranes washed over me and made my birdwatcher’s heart smile. I wasn’t too late to see one of North America’s greatest migrations!

The cranes stay in Nebraska for several weeks to add much-needed body weight before flying north to breed. When they arrive in their nesting areas it may be weeks before the food becomes easily available.IMG_0673

The best places to see the cranes are between Kearney and Grand Island, Nebraska including:

To see how it feels to sit among thousands of cranes watch my video click here.

The migration usually lasts until mid April. If you are wondering if it is worth traveling all the way to Nebraska to see a bunch of birds, consider that Dr. Jane Goodall loves to watch the crane migration. If one of the greatest animal lovers on the planet considers it worth her time to visit Nebraska, perhaps you should too!

Carol