A winter trip to Discovery Island

The sea kayak is the most elegant and civilized means of navigating our pacific northwest coastlines, but is it worthwhile in winter? 

After 4 months of relentless work, I have finally made it to my 2-week holiday. Most would relish this amount of time off but for me, a holiday is only as good as its birding potential. Unfortunately for me, I can no longer look forward to holiday lifers. Trip ideas for Guatemala, Costa Rica and Guyana have been axed. I've been researching the possibilities for winter wildlife by means of the sea kayak, but there is much less cool wildlife at this time of year, making the endeavor less appealing. Nevertheless, I convinced a friend and my mum to spend one frigid night on a local island. Some careful consultation of the weather forecast and the current tables made for a smooth trip. Following the rocky coastline of that island, basking in the evening sun and watching countless Harlequin Ducks and Black Turnstones was enchanting. 

Ancient Murrelets were popping up right next to the kayak

We made a small detour through some islets to check for some Rock Sandpipers that I'd seen there for the past 2 weekends. The first trip, I hadn't brought a camera and the second, the light was terrible, so I made it my mission to finally get a good photo of these nimble-footed beasts of the surf. It is safe to say that I CRUSHED the pictures, coasting in on my kayak in stealth mode without flushing the flock. 

Surfbird

Black Turnstones

The tidal rapids were picking up so it was time to finish our journey. We had to make it in reasonable time because at this time of year, the sun sets at about 16:20. Another reason not many people spend the night here at this time of year! 

Harlequin Ducks

Harbour Seals

Belted Kingfisher

Mink

After some hot chocolate, mum and I wanted to circumnavigate the island but the ebb current was making it difficult for us to get around the bend. We could have followed the shoreline but there was a fortress of male Stellar's Sea Lions blocking our path. We could hear them and smell them before we saw them. Attempting to the long way around them got us in a powerful current which proved too much for mum to handle, and aside from that, the Stellar's were now onto us and some of them were swimming toward us. It was best to turn around and save this battle for tomorrow. 

Stellar's Sea Lions

Just as the sun set, a fierce cold set in. There had been some motorboaters earlier who had a campfire on the beach earlier in the afternoon, but with the strict rules in place and heavy fines, we decided it would be best not to take the risk of getting caught - or worse. Last spring, some campers (quite possibly kayakers) accidentally started a small forest fire on one of the undesignated beaches. Luckily it got put out before it could do any major damage. 

We went to sleep early but it was a wretchedly cold night. The part I didn't enjoy was packing up the tent around 7:45am when everything was still frigid, especially the metal tent poles which robbed my fingers of their their life energy. 

sunrise

At last the 2 slowpokes were finally packed and ready, so we hit the water, having no trouble circumventing the eastern shore of the island. It was high tide so we could weave a course through the small islets close to shore, a comfortable distance from the Stellar's Sealion fortress. Weaving in between the easternmost islets with views of mountains, taking in the crisp winter air with a chorus of Long-tailed Ducks in the background, it was simply enchanting. 

The easternmost islets

Long-tailed Ducks

We rode the current back to our launch site to round off a very pleasant mid-winter paddle highlighted by scintillating views of Rock Sandpipers and a stunning sunset paddle. It was highly enjoyable but it made me think twice about planning a winter expedition further afield. The days are too short and the nighttime/morning temperatures too unpleasantly frigid.