 Home | Birds | Mammals | Forests | Intertidal Life | Haida Villages | Species List | Contact | Airports | Airlines | |
The Queen Charlotte Islands by nature photographer and ecologist David Blevins |
 |
 In the
spring of 2002 I traveled to a group of islands off the
northwest coast of British Columbia to see if I could
find some species of birds I had never seen before and to
create photographs. I found what I was looking for but I
also discovered there was much more to this place than I
had imagined. Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve in the
Queen Charlotte Islands is a place of unique natural
beauty, abundant wildlife, and the home of the Haida
people. Nutrient rich water welling up from deep in the
Pacific support a large population of plankton which
support the abundant and diverse wildlife of the area.
This wilderness has old growth temperate rainforest,
steep rocky coast lines, sheltered bays, open ocean, and
the San Christoval Mountains rising 1,123 meters (3684
feet) from the sea. This is an amazing place for watching
birds, whales,
and intertidal life or
hiking in the quiet moss covered old growth forests, visiting one of the
abandoned Haida village sites, or
just relaxing and enjoying the slow pace of a day in the
wilderness. It is also a great place for photography with
an amazing diversity of inspiring subjects.
The Queen Charlotte Islands are located about 70 km off the northwest coast of British Columbia with the shallow Hecate Strait to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The remote wilderness of the southern islands is best accessed by sea but weather, tides, and the shallow rocky shoreline can be difficult to navigate. Unless you are an experienced mariner it is better to visit the area on a crewed boat so you can enjoy the surroundings and let someone else take care of the logistics. I visited the islands in the spring of 2002 and again in the spring of 2003 on board the 88 foot schooner Copper Sky operated by Canadian Nature Cruises. Each time we spent a week cruising the protected waters among the islands stopping to go ashore several times a day. I have prepared a complete list of the bird and mammal species we saw on both of these trips including their abundance. I have also prepared more detailed pages about birds, mammals, forests, intertidal life, and Haida villages.
|
|
