SGI OUTSIDE

Its name is misleading—it seldom eats oysters—preferring intertidal macroinvertebrates like mussels, limpets, and barnacles sourced from the rocky surf zone (read Uncovering SGI intertidal life). So, as a shoreline birder, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, of the nearly two hundred resident and part-time bird species in the Southern Gulf Islands, the Black Oystercatcher is one of my Five Finest Feathered Friends.

There is nothing quite like the sight of a colony of Double-crested Cormorants—hundreds of adults standing guard over their nests perched high above the seashore. This, along with scenes of them drying their outstretched wings, put them on my list of Five Finest Feathered Friends. Of the nearly two hundred resident and part-time bird species in the Southern Gulf Islands, those that spend much of their time along the shorelines, with their eyes on a meal, are the ones I enjoy

The angular and stately Great Blue Heron tops my list of Five Finest Feathered Friends. I love to watch them wading in the ocean shallows, stalking their next meal. Of the nearly two hundred resident and part-time bird species in the Southern Gulf Islands, those that spend much of their time along the ocean shorelines, with their eyes on a meal, are the ones I enjoy seeing most.

“The Pacific Northwest coast is one of the world’s richest, most diverse habitats for intertidal marine life.”