BC Puffins and Such

Well, the winds and birds took me straight back to British Columbia… 

My mission, which I obviously chose to accept, was to fly to Vancouver, British Columbia, take a ferry over to Victoria, drive to Tofino, and take a boat to the North Pacific Ocean to see a Tufted Puffin.  But like all Mission:Impossible plots, it didn’t go exactly to plan, even though, through luck and planning and the need to succeed, the IMF team, or in this case the Whale Centre team, eventually finds a solution.

Let’s back it up to the beginning.  Or even further back.  I was just in BC.  But I was doing the interior for owls and such, and the mission plan did not yet include puffins. It had been a successful mission, and I came home not expecting to go back until September.  Back home in Ontario, I saw that a juvenile Little Blue Heron was being seen at Valens Conservation area in Hamilton, so once again I was home just on time for another rarity.  I headed over, and found it had flown from the little pond it was last seen in, but after about an hour of searching other ponds, I returned to the original spot and the young heron had returned to the scene of the crime, so to speak.  After getting some photos, I raced up the road to get a few other birders to come down and see it too.

Later that day I called The Whale Centre in Tofino to see when the best month was to come to see the Tufted Puffin.  Jen, one of the leaders out there, told me that my best shot at the Tufted Puffin was between now and the end of August.  Since Sue and I would be on the east coast until the end of August, now was the only option.  So, as Ethen Hunt, often does, I changed the mission plan and booked a flight, ferry, rental car an accommodations and planned my trip back to the west coast.

This was a lot of mission planning, as this was a last minute trip at the peak of summer travel season.  And failure was not an option.  Neither was sleeping in my car, but I was prepared for that.  Getting the rental car was the hardest part.  I tried to book for the actual days I’d be there and nothing was available.  Then with less than 48 hours before my trip, I checked to see what days they would let me have a car.  It turned out that if I reserved until August 1, instead of my return date of July 29, a car was available.  Go figure.  I just had to pay a higher day rate when I returned it early.  Happy to do so.

After a ferry ride and a long drive to Tofino, I turned in early for the night so as to be well rested for my morning boat trip with the John and the folks from the Whale Centre.  The pelagic I went on in May didn’t go well, so I was hoping summer weather, calm seas and plenty of anti-nausea meds would keep my insides in this time around.  And it all went well, except for the target bird, which was the Tufted Puffin.  We saw lots of great birds, including beautiful Heerman’s Gulls and  close looks at a Wandering Tattler, both Canadian Lifers and species 410 and 411 for the year, but try as he might, John couldn’t locate a Tufted Puffin.

I wasn’t in trouble yet, as I had scheduled two boat trips,( every IMF operative has a backup plan), knowing that sometimes birds work on their own schedule and have wings and can easily fly away from boats or hide in the waves.  The next morning, I allowed myself to sleep in a bit, and enjoyed a great breakfast at the Common Loaf in Tofino, but after that, things didn’t go exactly to plan as I was soon to learn. 

Here is the timeline of the events as they unfolded:

11:30: Fabulous breakfast at the Common Loaf Bake Shop. Your mission, and I implore you to accept it, is to go there if you’re ever in Tofino.

12:00: Jen from The Whale Centre informs me that the boat won’t be going close enough to the puffin colony because this was primarily a whale watching trip and the whales were in a different location.

12:30: We decided to wait and see if the 1:30 trip would get me to the puffins.

1:00: Jen informs me that the next whale watch trip will also not be pursuing puffins.

1:01: I tried to hide my disappointment.  I came a long way for just one bird, though I did get the Wandering Tattler, so can’t really complain.

1:10: Jen offers me a full refund and an invitation to come back at the end of August and try again.  I don’t think I can make it, as I will be on the east coast until the end of August.

1:15: I ask if a water taxi could get me near the colony island.  Jen tells me to hang on and makes a phone call or two and a call on the radio.

1:30: Jen announces that, though it is his day off, John will take me out on his boat.  Jen has received news from a competing whale watch that a Tufted Puffin was seen amongst the Rhinoceros Auklets and given the coordinates. I get suited up and wait.

2:00: John and I head out on his boat in search of a puffin.

2:40: We spot a single Tufted Puffin, and I celebrate and thank John profusely and we head back.

3:00: Jen meets me at the Whale Centre and is relieved to know I’ve seen the puffin.  She tells me to contact her in August to get details of the fall pelagic.  I can’t thank her enough for the efforts everyone put in to help me see my first Tufted Puffin in Canada.

Mission Accomplished!

Thanks to John and Jen and everyone at The Whale Centre.  I can’t wait to go back in September for their fall pelagic.

Oh and if you ever want to feel like a king on a throne while sitting on the toilet, check out the bathroom seating at The Whale Centre.  Unique, to say the least.

The next three days proved to be productive too.  I added a Cassin’s Vireo in Squamish, finally.  The next day I made my third trip up to Lillooet and this time saw a Chukar, as it ran down a hill, across the road in front of my car and vanished over another hill.  Later that same day I saw a pair of Spruce Grouse along the side of the road as I drove along the Cariboo Highway.  And lastly, I finished the day up at Tranquille Criss Creek where I counted species 416 for the year, a Dusky Flycatcher.  

The next day I was flying to Toronto and driving home to Brantford.  Time for some well deserved rest and down time.  In three weeks Sue and I fly to Sydney, Nova Scotia for her summer vacation.  I hope to add a few new birds between now and then and some good sea birds on the east coast.  In August I will be taking it a bit slower and gearing up for my next mission.  September’s missions may not be impossible, but they will be taking me from coast to coast and on boat trips in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  These missions, I will always choose to accept.  I just hope I am not caught or killed, as Sue will not disavow any of my actions.