Wonderful Hardy Bay shore life…..
Beautiful British Columbia’s Hardy Bay on the North end of fabulous Vancouver Island.
A sunny day with an ebbing tide is perfect to get closeup photos of shore birds such as Plovers, Sandpipers, and other well known solitary avian hunters passing through coastal British Columbia. There is great relaxation on the waterfront, especially sharing outdoors experiences with family. Beach combing we are again bound together by nature… the wild kingdom’s irresistible draw just across the road from our Port Hardy home: Amazing shore birds fill tidal flats of Hardy Bay during the spring and fall months.
On this day winds were calm, sunshine high, a misty blue haze, and an outgoing tide offering a clear view of a multitude of fascinating shorebirds, foraging in Hardy Bay’s nutrient rich tidal pools. One’s imaginations is easily captured by a chorus of seabird sounds: Turnstones, sandpipers, seagulls, mews, plovers, loons, ducks, grebes, crows, ravens, and eagles chattering it up. Many different species harmoniously mingle together eating breakfast consisting of crustaceans, small fishes, seaweed. An amazement right here for all to see on this bit of North Vancouver Island paradise, under this morning’s clear azure skies of Canada’s Pacific Flyway.
A tall silhouette is spotted off in distant tidal shallows, backgrounded by the Queen Charlotte Sound to the North, The mainlands Coast Mountain Range to the East. Excitement…. a Great Blue Heron inching forward attentive to any movement in the blue shallows. Curious we decided to get a closer view.
Each step held many wonders to catch our attention… Coastal BC, is home to thousands of resident marine birds, as well as traveling avian visitors on their annual migration to northern breeding grounds. Port Hardy Bay and estuary is a grand refueling stopover for birds on route to points as far away as the high Arctic, such as the male Black Bellied Plover encountered below…. A welcome chance meeting, his black tuxedoed attire simply something one cannot forget…. amazing.
Difficult to approach, Plovers usually take flight when disturbed tending to fly out over the water, circle, and land again behind the antagonist. We were lucky… this handsome wanderer allowed a close encounter with him…. Rosie, our Aussie shepherd laying low and whisper still.
Black Bellied Plovers are medium sized heavy bodied migratory shore birds with a short thick black bill, and black underparts. They fly over British Columbia on their way to their preferred nesting grounds; thousands of kilometers North. They are phenomenal long-distance travelers, migrating almost half way around the world (5,000-13,000 Kilometers one-way). Remarkably energy efficient flyers, Plovers fly about 3200 kilometers nonstop, before a rest & refuelling stopover! We bade this marvellous traveller a safe flight to his Arctic destination.
Moving forward we encountered another fabulous estuary migratory visitor: A Greater Yellow Legs foraging about barnacles, rocks, and seaweed looking for worms and other tidbits. These fine birds are one of the larger sandpipers, are a common North Vancouver Island visitor. This medium sized bird with a mottled brown back and white lower belly has unmistakably long bright yellow legs and a long slightly upturned bill. They breed in marshy & tundra areas across Northern Canada. Although the Greater Yellowlegs is common and widespread, its propensity to breed in inhospitable, mosquito-ridden muskegs make it one of the least-studied North American shorebirds. We bid our goodbyes and continued towards our Great Blue Heron.
We finally connected with our Great Blue Heron, who had moved in amongst the tidal pool vastness of seaweed, barnacle, and mussel covered boulders. Clean pollution free North Island Tidal pools afford herons and other shore birds a healthy choice smorgasbord. Entrees include delights of sculpins, crabs, hermit crabs, limpets, snails, periwinkles, mussels, sea stars, chitons, sea urchin, and more.
We are fortunate to get close to this magnificent foreshore sentinel… Seldom is this wary forager comfortable with close viewing. Normally this patient but wary stalker will fly with the least provocation…. scolding the interloper with a loud prehistoric sounding screech of distain.
Nature’s magnificent long legged hunter strutted slowly here and there, on a living carpet of green seaweed covered boulders. Bright yellow rimmed eyes darted around ever watchful for a tasty morsel to grab with its long yellow swordlike bill. Herons will stand perfectly still for minutes, head cocked, eyes intently on guard for that flicker of movement signaling breakfast…. under boulders, above pools, and crevices … Then with a sudden burst of lightning speed thrust his yellow bill… a meal was caught, sliding noticeably down its long slender neck.
Great Blue Herons are year around residents here, and the tallest of our regular shore birds… standing about 116 -138 cm tall. Imagine their incredible 195 – 208 cm wing span! They are surprisingly light-weight, tipping the scales only around weight between 1.82–3.6 kg. It seemed heavier. While their preference is to hunt alone they nest locally in groups high in treetop colonies called “heronries,” which can be quite large. They hatch out 3 to 5 eggs to begin a life that can be about 15 years.
Feeling very satisfied we headed home through a chorus of coastal chattering and goings on. Indeed a wonderful day, a tidal adventure filled with amazing natural beauty, and hundreds of shore birds on a stopover after flying from southern wintering grounds thousands of kilometres away. Once refuelled with crustaceans and other delights, up they’d fly continuing their journey to Northern summer nesting grounds.
Christine, Rosie and I had a remarkable day exploring nature, well rewarded by witnessing a unique variety of migratory birds… having a quick stopover on the shores of Hardy Bay. Everything was perfect, sunshine, gentle breeze, clear skies. We feel grateful all our subjects cooperated, and look forward to our next adventure exploring wildlife somewhere else on North Vancouver Island’s pristine bountiful coastline.
Safe travels,
Gord
Photos © Christine Patterson