Birds of the West Coast – Weekend Field Course
The west coast of Vancouver Island features some of the best birding opportunities in North America. Lying directly along the Pacific Flyway, this region hosts huge numbers of migrating birds of all kinds each spring and fall. In the winter, the diversity and abundance of non-breeding birds remains high thanks to wide range of habitats and a mild climate.
Expansive mudflats near Tofino provide an ideal stopover site used by tens of thousands of shorebirds each spring and fall, highly productive coastal waters sustain several large colonies of seabirds and a mix of coastal rainforest and deciduous forest habitats attract a wide variety of breeding songbirds. A little further south down the coast, Amphitrite Point in Ucluelet offers some of the best sea watching opportunities on Vancouver Island.
In this weekend workshop (Friday evening until Sunday afternoon), participants will be introduced to the general ecology and biology of birds with an emphasis on commonly encountered species. This course is specifically scheduled to overlap with the peak shorebird migration as well as the presence of large numbers of other migrating species.
Topics covered will include: basic ID skills, breeding biology, physiological adaptations, migration ecology, and conservation issues. This course is designed as a way to learn more about birds in general rather than how to ID specific species. Extensive birding experience is NOT required.
Course registration is $330 per person
About the Instructors
Ken Wright's fascination with the bird world goes back as long as he can remember. He has an insatiable curiosity for the natural world and gets out birding pretty much on a daily basis. He has worked as a wildlife biologist and seabird research technician in many parts of British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska. Ken has collaborated in a study on the migration ecology of the rare Yellow-billed Loon which has taken him to many remote parts of the Arctic which is one of his favourite biomes. He also works as a polar expedition guide, primarily in the Antarctic, Greenland, Iceland and other parts of the High Arctic. He also has led numerous birding trips in the aforementioned places. When not guiding and researching birds, he enjoys kayaking and hiking on the amazingly diverse and biologically rich BC coast. He documents his observations on eBird and other citizen-science platforms and looks forward to seeing you on the Raincoast Education Society's annual bird ecology course!
Mark Maftei serves as Executive Director of the RES and he draws on nearly 20 years of experience as a field biologist specializing in the ecology of birds. From the Arctic to the Antarctic to the open ocean, Mark has traveled the world studying birds. His research has included work on migration ecology, population biology and the census of poorly known species. His work in BC (including several years spent working with the Wildife Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada) was focused on colonial seabirds and migratory shorebirds. One of Mark's greatest pleasures is sharing his passion for birds with like-minded nature lovers, and there is nowhere he'd rather doing that than his home on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
Weekend Schedule
Friday Evening (7:00 pm - 9:00 pm)
George Fraser Room at the Ucluelet Community Centre
- Opening night lecture introducing birds in BC. Life History – what are the strategies and adaptations birds have evolved to thrive in virtually every single habitat on earth?
Saturday (8:30 am - 4:00 pm)
First 1/2 of the day will be in Ucluelet & the later 1/2 in Tofino.
Basic ID skills – what to look for in the field
- We will spend the day outside looking at birds in a number of habitats around Tofino
- Forest Birding in the morning (Ucluelet 8:30- 11:30am)
- Shore Birding on the mudflats in the afternoon (1pm)
- These sessions will be informal and focus on helping participants identify common birds as well as put these species into an ecological perspective.
Saturday Afternoon (3:00 pm - 5:00 pm)
Hotel Zed in the Rec Room.
This time is extremely flexible - consideration for group preference; to condense the day vs. have a few hour break will be discussed - group decision
- This lecture focuses on shorebirds & will include current studies & research analysis.
Sunday (8:30 am - 1:30 pm)
In the field.
- TBA
Recommended Equipment and Reading
- Any good bird guide (Sibley’s, Peterson’s, National Geographic)
- A decent pair of binoculars
- Field notebook and pencil
- Camera
- Appropriate clothing for all day in the field—rain or shine
- Bring lunches, snacks, water/drinks on both days