Our flight had landed in Vancouver at about 16.40 so despite being rather tired we decided to visit Stanley Park in North Vancouver as it was on the way to our first Airbnb.
Heading for Beaver Pond in the park for an hour seemed a good plan and as usual with any foreign trip it took me a little while to get my eyes and ears in - but this was a good place to do it. My first new bird of the trip proved to be the diminutive Anna's Hummingbird, quickly followed by Townsend's Warbler and Steller's Jay. The area also had confiding Song Sparrows, Great Blue Heron, American Robin, Wood Duck, American Crow (formerly Northwestern Crow), Red-winged Blackbird, Canada Goose, Glaucous-winged Gull and Double-crested Cormorants. At our digs a Northern Flicker was in the neighbouring garden.
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The next day saw us heading west to Horseshoe Bay for the ferry to Vancouver Island. Having made an early start we had plenty of time to visit Klootchman Park and nearby Lighthouse Park en-route. We spent most of our time at the former and it was a great start to proper birding with mega views of Townsend's Warbler, Western Tanager, Bald Eagle, Black Oystercatcher, Pacific Wren, Spotted Towhee and both Black-capped Chickadee and Chestnut-backed Chickadee.
At Horseshoe Bay while waiting for ferry departure we added Violet-green Swallows, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Cliff Swallow, White-crowned Sparrow and a Pelagic Cormorant perched close to the boat.
The ferry journey takes about 1 hour 45 mins and that time yielded quite a few goodies - best by far was a very distinctive dark 1w/s Heerman's Gull with a Western Gull running it close. Flocks of White-winged Scoter and Surf Scoter plus Brandt's, Pelagic and Double-breasted Cormorants, Pacific Diver and Red-throated Diver made the time fly!
After disembarkation and before the long drive north to Campbell River we did a lap of Buttertubs Marsh on the edge of Nanaimo. The highlights here were 2 ticks of Bushtit and Tree Swallow plus Purple Martins, Anna's Hummingbird, Yellow Warbler, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck and the ubiquitous Red-winged Blackbirds.
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