Birds have always fascinated me. Although I don’t consider myself a birder, I find joy in watching their flight. Some birds are master gliders, expertly catching air currents so they rarely need to flap their wings. Others seem to beat their wings continuously, as if missing a beat might send them plummeting to the ground.
In Gwaii Haanas, seabirds offer clues about the life beneath the waves. I learned that when a flock of gulls circles a particular spot on the sea, it often signals fish schooling near the surface. This usually means a whale is nearby, corralling the fish before making an appearance. (Click the image to see a slideshow of birds.)
For years, I struggled to capture images of birds in flight. It requires not only a fast camera but also the skill to track a bird in motion. After much trial and error, I finally have the right equipment and settings dialed in. Tracking birds, especially at high zoom, took me quite some time to master, but over the past few years, I’ve become more proficient.
I’ve also picked up some tips from expert photographers. One tip that I found hard to believe is that a perched bird will often poop just before taking flight, supposedly to lighten its load. While I haven’t personally observed this phenomenon, I do know that many birds prefer to lighten their load while in flight—sometimes landing on unsuspecting observers like me!
The birds featured in this slideshow are from various parts of Gwaii Haanas. Gulls were a common sight throughout the area. The tufted puffins and horned puffins we spotted were nesting on small islands along the southwestern side of Gwaii Haanas. Puffins tend to choose islands with dirt and grass, where they dig burrows for their eggs during the nesting season.
Cormorants were perched on bare rocks on a small island, usually in groups. Eagles, both juveniles and adults, were abundant along the shore of a river we visited. Later in the year, when the rains come and the river swells, salmon will begin their journey upstream—and the eagles will be waiting to intercept them.
We saw and heard many other birds, some of which were familiar to me from previous travels or from my own area. Seeing them in Gwaii Haanas was a delight. Birds truly bring a place to life.
Birds We Observed
Downy Woodpecker
Fox Sparrow
Bald Eagle
Oystercatcher
Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Plover
Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Rhinoceros Auklet
Glaucous Winged Gull
Pigeon Guillemot
Brant’s Goose
Tufted Puffins
Horned Puffins
Pacific Wren
Horned Sparrow
Golden Crowned Kinglet
Common Murre
Red-necked Phalarope
Common Loon
Hermit Thrush
Red-necked Grebe
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red Crossbill
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