When last I left you, I was staying with friends Kristina Kezes, Shea Wyatt, and their baby, Maya.  This, in itself was quite amazing, as they had just moved into their new home last weekend, and I am grateful for their hospitality.  Turns out that this would be a week of good deeds from a lot of people.

My plan for Wednesday morning was to do a bit of birding in the Fort Rupert/Port Hardy area.  In fact, I knew the trip to Balaklava Island wasn’t a sure thing, and I had decided that getting to spend a few days birding the north end of the island could be a pretty good way to spend some time, anyway.  Ivan wasn’t going to be able to come to get me until the tide reached a certain level, so I had at least until about 1 pm to look around.  Just as I got into my car, though, I got a call from Kim Beardmore asking if I would like to see a Black-throated Sparrow.  Well, obviously the answer was yes, but unless he was having it shipped to me, i figured it was probably at the other end of the island.  It was.  Kim and his brother Roger had found the bird at Whiffin Spit on Monday afternoon.  I helped Kim get the word out by calling and texting a few people, then went on my way fussing a little over missing this fantastic bird.

A text from Ivan indicated that the fog was lifting his way, although it was still pretty socked in at Fort Rupert. This was a good thing.  Although I was missing the sparrow in Sooke, things were looking promising for the oriole.  Ivan had seen it around 9 am, so it was likely still on the island.

At Storeys Beach, gulls and eagles were scrapping over fish scraps that had been left by a benefactor.

There were some Black-bellied Plovers and many ducks hanging in the fog.  I was just getting ready to go to the other end of Storeys Beach when a call came in from Ivan.  Not only was the fog rolling back in, he couldn’t get the winch in the boathouse to work, and that meant he couldn’t launch the boat.

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Rare Birds“, you’ll be familiar with the line, “Always have a Plan B, Dave, always have a Plan B.”  I’m not Dave, but Ivan and I had previously discussed other ways to the island.  I called the Cape Scott Water Taxi, but there was no answer.  Ivan texted George’s cell phone number and when I called, he answered right away.  If I could be at the dock in 15 minutes, I could get a lift on a trip that was about to leave.  I honestly didn’t even know where I was going, but I was sure going to get there!  I couldn’t bear the thought of missing the sparrow in Sooke AND the oriole on Balaklava.

Ivan got his aluminum skiff going and met us out in the channel.  We made a boat to boat transfer in the amazingly calm waters, and I was officially on the lookout for the Orchard Oriole.

I had inquired about the possibility of a return trip on the taxi on Thursday, but that wasn’t going to work.  George was taking a group out to the Cape Scott trail  and wasn’t coming back until Friday. That wouldn’t be ideal, but was a fallback plan.

Ivan gave me a tour of the lighthouse property.  For a fairly compact bit of land, it gets more than its fair share of interesting birds.  Ivan’s had Tropical Kingbird, Lapland Longspur, Eastern Kingbird and now Orchard Oriole in less than a year.  We hadn’t been looking long when the oriole popped into the bushes in front of us.  Ivan got some great shots and I got what I needed–a decent look and a couple of evidence shots.

The point is amazing.  I realized I was probably there on one of the last really nice days of the fall.  I could only imagine the seawatching that could take place from here, looking out to Pine Island and beyond.  Just casually watching turned up a Black-legged Kittiwake resting on a log. Hundreds of Pacific Loons, still in breeding plumage, passed through the channel.

After a spagetti supper, we set about finding me a way home. Ivan contacted the folks at the God’s Pocket Resort nearby, and they did have  a trip back to Port Hardy planned.  Only thing was that it was at 8 am, and they were 20 minutes away by skiff–if the fog wasn’t too thick and the winds light. We had a plan.  A plan that could have easily gone awry if Ivan hadn’t remembered that tides would come into play.  He needed 9 feet of tide to get the skiff out, and that would happen just around 7 am.  He offered to get up early and move the boat to the rocks in front of the lighthouse, but it would mean a scramble over some slippery, almost vertical shale to get into the boat. As the fog rolled in and the wind picked up, Ivan made his last weather report of the night and I settled in on the couch for some sleep.

By dawn, the fog had departed and things looked good.  Ivan went to move the boat and I went to look for birds.  I found some, but I also found a sea otter having an urchin breakfast!

The worst part about such an early departure was that I wasn’t going to get a better picture of the oriole, nor the chance to look for some of the other seabirds I had hoped to see.  The good part was that I just might be able to make it back to Victoria before dark (a day earlier than planned), and maybe, just maybe, I could see the Black-throated Sparrow.  Mary Robichaud and Donna Ross had relocated it on Wednesday evening and there was a chance it could still be there.
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God’s Pocket offers diving vacations, and the boat was packed with folks heading home from an excellent trip. I’d packed my camera for easy stowage, but was feeling a little unprepared without it. I really wasn’t expecting to see anything new, but another kittiwake flew by very close to the boat.  A picture would have been nice. Then, about halfway to Port Hardy, I noticed a very small brown bird on the water.  When I put my bins up, I saw the light rump patch, then it flew.  Leach’s Storm-petrel!!! One of my target birds, and much closer to shore than I expected.  The only camera within reach was my cell phone, and I managed to get a very short, very bouncy video.  Here’s a frame capture of this fast flyer:

 

Back on land, I was still a few kilometres away from where I’d left my car, but one of God’s Pocket’s crew, Tim, gave me a ride.  The crew had also given me a code name: Rare Bird!

I got into my car and hurried to Kristina’s, stopping just long enough to drop off a key and pick up the rest of my gear to head back to Sooke, a mere 473 kilometres away.  I only stopped twice for tea and communications, and managed to make it to Sooke by about 4:45.  There was a crowd of birders all looking in the same direction, a very good sign.  Sure enough, the sparrow was still putting on a show. Despite the odds, I was able to add another good bird–my third in two days–to my big year list.  Black-throated Sparrow (#256).

 

It was also a bit of  reunion.  Guy Monty, who I’ve seen more in a week than I usually do in a year, had been marshalling the bird and the crowds most of the day.  Kim Beardmore, who discovered the bird, came out to make sure that I found it. And Guy and I were not the only ones who travelled to see the bird, Melissa Hafting juggled her work shifts and came from Vancouver with her mom, braving the Colwood Crawl to get this sighting.

There were as many cameras as binoculars, and I think this bird might be the most photographed in the last little while.

 

As I left the spit and headed to the gas station (travelling on fumes), my phone rang. It was Barbara Begg with news of a possible Sage Sparrow seen by David Stirling, thankfully pretty close to home.  I’ll be heading down to Island View in a few hours to see if I might just squeek in one more bird this week!

Ivan is still stuck on Balaklava with a broken winch, and he did NOT see the oriole today.  It may still be there, but goes to show that if you’re doing a big year, you really need to get to the birds as soon as you can!

I am very grateful for all of the kindnesses that made this week’s adventure possible!