It was a beautiful sunny day here in Victoria BC. With hardly a cloud in the sky it was one of those days when the horizon seems to shrink down to where you can almost touch it. Myself and three friends launched from a place called Island View Beach. We crossed Cordova and Sidney Channel making for D'Arcy Island. D'Arcy was a leper colony at the out set of the 20th Century. Now it's part of the Gulf Island Marine Reserve with a real nice camp ground that is almost always empty. Maybe people think the place is haunted or has bad karma. Just off the shore our paths were crossed by a pair of porpoises racing off to who knows where. As we made our way east towards Hughes Passage, two of the group tried to see if they could get their boats up to 10 knots as measured by their GPS unit. Not surprisingly these characters are great speed freaks but downright awful at just about all the other strokes. If it's not propelling them forward it's not important to them. It wasn't long before they were well off. Now that we were two groups I suggested heading south down the west side of D'Arcy Island. My companion had never been to the island and I wanted to show her the ruins on the west side. We poked along figuring that once the adolescent boys realized they were alone they'd turn and race back to us. When we finally came back together, one of the speed freaks spotted a crab pot float on the beach. I knew from past experience that he would go ashore and salvage it. He really likes to collect rusty logging chains from busted log booms. Anyway I continued on south. Just as we reached the southwest tip of the island a whale sounded. I saw the blow and called out. I watched for a dorsal fin figuring we'd come across one of the local Orcas. The whale sounded again and as it's back arched; there it was, the unmistakable dorsal knob of a Hump Back. We watched to see if the whale would resurface but I was looking the wrong way when it reappeared well up into Sidney Channel. We continued on and stopped for lunch and to soak up the sun at the camp ground on the east side of the island. I could of spent the rest of the day laying around on the beach but reality was waiting for us back at the put in. Still another great day here in the Gulf Islands. Gordin Warner Victoria BC *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
According to NPR, it was a kayaker who had the first sighting of this rare bird, whose survival after a 60 year gap is apparently a major story among ornithologists and birders. Take some credit, paddlers, and keep your eyes peeled! Tom *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 08:20 AM 4/29/2005 -0500, Joyce Family wrote: >According to NPR, it was a kayaker who had the first sighting of this rare >bird, whose survival after a 60 year gap is apparently a major story among >ornithologists and birders. Take some credit, paddlers, and keep your eyes >peeled! There is a lot going on related to the Ivory Billed Woodpecker here as ornithologists from Cornell were in involved in validating the sighting. The original by the kayaker (one sight mentioned a canoe) actually occurred in February, 2004. The ornithology center at Cornell is a wonderful facility in an area called Sapsucker woods and has been showing video of the woodpecker on a large screen continuously since the announcement. The Ornithology center has one of the most comprehensive web sites on the topic in the world at: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/. Not surprisingly, the Ivory Billed Woodpecker is the "featured bird" at the moment. While we all have our own reasons for paddling, paddle craft are unsurpassed for viewing wildlife and a lot of paddlers include bird watching during their outings. On a couple of occasions I've spent a couple of days in Chincoteague on the way to a longer vacation in the outer banks and unknowingly was there during the annual bird migration festival held there every spring. The time also coincides with the last week before mosquito season so if there are any paddlers that also really enjoy bird watching it's a good destination and time of year to go. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
John is so right, and it is through acknowledgements such as this that we diversify the pool of kayakers and thereby increase the pool of stewards of our waterways. I'm forwarding the note below for those who would like more info. I just received this news update from the Nature Conservancy on the Ivory Bill: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Subject: Breaking News: Ivory-billed Woodpecker Discovered Dear Jennifer, That's right an ivory-billed woodpecker! A bird that had not been reliably reported anywhere in the United States for nearly 60 years, a bird thought by many to be long extinct has returned. With its three-foot wingspan, its swift, arrow-like flight, and its resplendent plumage, the bird awed 19th century observers with its dazzling blend of beauty, power and majesty. The re-discovery of a living ivory-billed woodpecker in a remote, swampy Arkansas forest is nothing less than a miracle. This amazing discovery occurred in the Big Woods of eastern Arkansas, a region in which The Nature Conservancy has been working for over 20 years. While kayaking in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in February 2004, Gene Sparling of Hot Springs, Ark., saw an unusually large, red-crested woodpecker fly toward him and land on a nearby tree. He noticed several field marks suggesting the bird was an ivory-billed woodpecker. Today, a research team has confirmed that at least one ivory-bill still survives in the vast areas of the Big Wood's bottomland swamp forest. The team's findings include multiple sightings of the elusive woodpecker, frame-by-frame analyses of video footage taken by searchers and possible recordings of the bird's distinctive double knock. Working together with The Nature Conservancy, as part of the Big Woods Conservation Partnership, the evidence was gathered during an intensive year-long search involving more than 50 experts and field biologists I know you agree that the rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker will be remembered as one of the major ecological finds of the 21st century. Thanks to the caring support of people like you, there is hope for this majestic woodpecker and countless other unique species. For more information about the search and the efforts to save the ivory-billed woodpecker and the Big Woods, visit http://support.nature.org/site/R?i=gySvXtBgxJ82En3mW7B2Dg.. . Thank you for all you do! Scott Simon Arkansas State Director The Nature Conservancy nature.org http://support.nature.org/site/R?i=yggQUPXJOaEWGZN4Fo2WTw.. p.s. The remarkable re-discovery of the ivory billed woodpecker is a conservation milestone. Share the news by sending our ivory-billed woodpecker e-card to your friends and family! http://support.nature.org/site/R?i=O2yxt8npeYqsWAOcc4kiyA.. .... > > While we all have our own reasons for paddling, paddle craft are > unsurpassed for viewing wildlife and a lot of paddlers include bird > watching during their outings. On a couple of occasions I've spent a > couple of days in Chincoteague on the way to a longer vacation in the outer > banks and unknowingly was there during the annual bird migration festival > held there every spring. The time also coincides with the last week before > mosquito season so if there are any paddlers that also really enjoy bird > watching it's a good destination and time of year to go. ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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