It's really hard to make a list like this of course but here are a few of my favourite moments from this wild year (In chronological order):
-Driving through the icy-foggy Fraser Canyon at night in February (Williams Lake to Ladner overnight dove-twitch with Kevin Easthope), and realizing that this kind of thing would become the norm.
-Hustling (or whatever it's called when you punch through thigh-deep snow and crawl over burned logs on a steep slope) 2km through the darkness for a Spotted Owl. Not only did we get to see the pair at point-blank range before they headed out to hunt, but on our slog back to camp, wolves filled the night with their mournful chorus (March in the Stein Valley)--and can't go wrong with a free heli ride!
-Finding a male White-headed Woodpecker foraging right beside my car (April in the Okanagan)
-Breaking the BC Big Day record with 197 species in 24hours, the last being a pair of Barred Owls calling in a wind-storm at Crescent Park near White Rock, BC.
-Getting to watch a Yellow Rail out in the open for over 45 minutes (May in the Peace)
-Driving over 115km "below empty" between Prince George and McBride (you had to be there)
-Finally finding a single male Cape May Warbler at the Beaver Lake Rec Site along Hwy 77 NW of Fort Nelson. If it hadn't been for that one bird, I might very well have quit the year... thank you Mr. Cape May!
-Watching thousands of alcids stream out of Triangle Island at dawn (August)--including over 7,000 Tufted Puffins and 1 Horned Puffin!
-Hearing someone yell, "LAYSAN!!!" on a September pelagic off Tofino
-EARLY NOVEMBER: From a fantastic Haida Gwaii trip to the mega-rarities down south!
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