Bird Lover's Heaven

Below: Osprey are quite clever and turn their prey face forward when in flight so as to improve their aerodynamics. Talk about a bird brain!

Yesterday began nice and sunny, but as soon as we got on the water the wind picked up. The water was quite choppy and made it difficult to see marine life. However, it was the best day for birds we've had yet this year.

While we were on Speiden we observed the Mouflon Sheep and Fallow Deer, but while we were searching for Stellers, we received quite a show from some local osprey. Two osprey were darting back and forth around the south side of Speiden. They would come together and fly a while and then land on the ground near the sheep, which gave them a bit of a fright. Their behavior was incredibly entertaining and we speculated that we could have witnessed a mating display. Not only were osprey on the island, but a Bald Eagle was perched on a tree not far from shore, giving our guests another great photo opportunity. We also saw Pigeon Guillemots, Oyster Catchers, Harlequin Ducks, Turkey Vultures, and various gulls. We saw a few Dall's in the Haro Strait and then went back to Stuart Island to view the old Cormorant nesting site... which might be revived in the near future because we saw three Cormorants hanging out on the rocks on the west side of Stuart.

After seeing all the birds and a few Harbor Seals, we finally found the Stellers swimming around off Green Point. We have another tour going out this afternoon, so keep your fingers crossed for orca!