On the Wing

Anna’s Hummingbird in Masset. (Margo Hearne / Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Christmas Bird Count Reports 2019 part 2

Haida Gwaii’s bird count report for Tlell and Greater Massett

  • Jan 22, 2020

 

Common Loon in winter plumage on Haida Gwaii. (Margo Hearne / Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Christmas bird count reports, part 1

Haida Gwaii’s bird count report for Port Clements and Rose Spit

  • Jan 17, 2020

 

Northern Flicker Margo Hearne photo

On the Wing: Reflections on forests and fog

“On Haida Gwaii it seems as though nothing has changed.”

  • Oct 12, 2019

 

(Margo Hearne photo)

On The Wing: Raptors in the wind, shearwaters in the waves

By Margo Hearne A hawk glides over the dune ridges. It circles,…

  • Sep 21, 2019
(Margo Hearne photo)
Orange-crowned warbler. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

On the Wing: Small Yellow Flying Things

by Margo Hearne Distance doesn’t seem to deter migrating birds; they travel…

  • Sep 14, 2019
Orange-crowned warbler. (Wikimedia Commons photo)
Pigeon Guillemots return every year to their nesting site, Masset Wharf. (Margo Hearne / Haida Gwaii Observer)

COLUMN: The removal of the Pigeon Guillemot ‘colony’

Birds lost their place after the removal of the old wharf at Shingle Bay in Sandspit

  • Jun 12, 2019
Pigeon Guillemots return every year to their nesting site, Masset Wharf. (Margo Hearne / Haida Gwaii Observer)
Tufted Puffin, Zapadni Cliffs, St. Paul Island, Alaska. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

On The Wing: Mysteries on land and sadness on the ocean

There has been a mass die-off of Tufted Puffins along the shores of St. Paul Island

  • Jun 7, 2019
Tufted Puffin, Zapadni Cliffs, St. Paul Island, Alaska. (Wikimedia Commons photo)
Pomarine Jaeger. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

On the Wing: Feed, fish, birds and whales

Reflections on bird watching on the water while commercial fishing

  • May 31, 2019
Pomarine Jaeger. (Wikimedia Commons photo)
Fisheries officers have taken samples of the dead krill found in Delkatla Bay to send to the DFO lab in Nanaimo to try and determine what caused the die-off

On The Wing: Hazy seas and dead Krill

Large die-off of krill in Delkatla Bay

  • Apr 25, 2019
Fisheries officers have taken samples of the dead krill found in Delkatla Bay to send to the DFO lab in Nanaimo to try and determine what caused the die-off
Brant geese in flight. (Michael L. Baird/bairdphotos.com)

On the Wing: Christmas Bird Count #4 — Skidegate Inlet

By Margo Hearne The marine forecast read “winds northwest 15 to 25…

  • Jan 14, 2019
Brant geese in flight. (Michael L. Baird/bairdphotos.com)
On the Wing — Christmas Bird Count #3: Greater Massett

On the Wing — Christmas Bird Count #3: Greater Massett

By Margo Hearne The southeaster almost blew us off our feet and…

  • Jan 11, 2019
On the Wing — Christmas Bird Count #3: Greater Massett
White-throated Sparrow in the holly. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Christmas bird count #3 — Port Clements

By Margo Hearne After getting beaten about by the four winds, it…

  • Jan 4, 2019
White-throated Sparrow in the holly. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)
Way out of normal range and the first seen here in 37 years of Christmas Bird Counts was a Wood Duck, paddling by the rushes in Tlell. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing — Christmas Bird Count #2: Tlell

By Margo Hearne We got blasted by a southeaster most of the…

  • Jan 3, 2019
Way out of normal range and the first seen here in 37 years of Christmas Bird Counts was a Wood Duck, paddling by the rushes in Tlell. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)
Sanderlings by the surging sea. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Christmas Bird Count — Rose Spit

By Margo Hearne There is no place to hide when the weather’s…

  • Dec 21, 2018
Sanderlings by the surging sea. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)
On the Wing: Of treaties, feathers and shorebirds

On the Wing: Of treaties, feathers and shorebirds

By Margo Hearne It’s a blustery morning. The Green-winged Teal, which returned…

  • Dec 14, 2018
On the Wing: Of treaties, feathers and shorebirds
Red Crossbills on spruce. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Small birds and berries

By Margo Hearne Into the chill. The Christmas Bird Counts will be…

  • Dec 9, 2018
Red Crossbills on spruce. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)
A Peregrine falcon at Skonun Point. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Of falcons, gyres and sickles

By Margo Hearne We don’t often see a tussle between different species…

  • Dec 2, 2018
A Peregrine falcon at Skonun Point. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)
A Saw-whet Owl. (Peter Hamel/Submitted)

On the Wing: Owls among the seaweed drift

By Margo Hearne Dark-eyed Juncos are back at the feeder, Green-winged Teal…

  • Nov 23, 2018
A Saw-whet Owl. (Peter Hamel/Submitted)
Adult Snow goose with immatures and a White-fronted Goose. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Arriving without fanfare in the high tide

By Margo Hearne As November rolls along we remember the birds of…

  • Nov 16, 2018
Adult Snow goose with immatures and a White-fronted Goose. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)
Snow Geese on the wing. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)

On the Wing: Living in chartless nothing

By Margo Hearne Juncos are back at the feeder, teal are in…

  • Nov 9, 2018
Snow Geese on the wing. (Margo Hearne/Haida Gwaii Observer)