After finishing up my “must do” list on Friday morning, I left Victoria about two hours later than expected, eating well into any time that I might have had to go birding en route. My GPS said that I had three hours to spare if I wanted to get the 6:40 pm ferry to Malcolm Island. I had originally planned on taking the 7:40 which stops at Alert Bay en route, ending up at Sointula around 9. Annie Koch, coordinator of the Doug Innes Memorial Spring Bird Count recommended the earlier ferry so that I could partake in a pot luck dinner that had been arranged. So I headed north (or northwest if you are a cartographic stickler) passing birding spots and Tim Hortons all along the way. Okay, I did stop at a couple of Tims and I did spin by the Little Qualicum estuary for another chance at a glimpse of the avocet, but other than that and a quick stop for some groceries, I stuck to the plan. My GPS is a wonderful tool, and I especially like the estimated time of arrival feature, but it clearly overestimates my capacity to follow the most direct and timely route. It also doesn’t know about the capability of my van to do (or not do) the speed limit for some hilly or curvy stretches. I noticed on my last trip that the speedometer in the car actually reads about 10% higher than my GPS. This is not the case in my Honda. I wonder how many campervan/motorhome drivers think they are going the speed limit when they are actually travelling an annoying bit under it!
As on my trip to Woss earlier in the year, the highway north of Campbell River was almost birdless. A few robins and ravens crossing over the field of view, but nothing else. Lots of tempting places to stop, but I was on a mission. Just as well, too, as I arrived at the Port McNeill ferry terminal a mere half hour before the 6:40 sailing.
Finally out of the van, I was able to do a bit of birding. My first Port McNeill birds and new additions to my Mount Waddington county list. There was only one surprise—a Greater Yellowlegs on the shore, but great looks at Red-necked Grebes made my evening. Crows, gulls, a few ducks, most of them new for my eBird records.
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The crossing to Alert Bay takes about 45 minutes, and then there is another 35 minutes aboard as the ferry heads to Sointula. I was looking forward to this mini-pelagic. I headed straight to the sundeck and watched for the seabirds as we made the crossing. The combination of the low sun and the calm waters made for some interesting shots. As we approached the island, I snapped a picture of Alert Bay.
We docked and the boat unloaded. I wondered how the cars from Alert Bay would board, as we were nose in to the dock. Years ago, I had to back onto a ferry in Digby, NS under a similar situation. Would they do that here as well? I leaned over the sundeck railing to watch and saw the crew member advising the cars in my lane to back up and go around. Around??? Around me!!!! I flew down the stairs to find mine was the only vehicle on the ferry and the folks on shore were waiting for me to clear the deck. For future reference: The 6:40 ferry goes directly to Sointula on Malcolm Island. Embarassing!
Birders from Comox had also travelled to Malcolm Island for the count and I met up with them and Annie at the Sea 4 Miles cottages. Art Martell, Fran, Pat, Maj Birch, Dave and Sue were all there!They’d saved me some dinner and dessert and we had time for some good conversation before turning in for the night in preparation for the next day’s count.
One thing I can tell you from a brief sunset foray is that the Townsend’s Warblers and Fox Sparrows on Malcolm Island don’t sound like the ones from southern Vancouver Island. Doug Innes was studying the warbler dialects, but I think RPBO may have a special interest in investigating the Fox Sparrows on Malcolm!