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Vancouver Island Canada

by BassVac | Aug 9–17, 2018 | 264 | 9

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(Mimus polyglottos) American black bear attraction Bald eagle Bald-faced hornet beach Beach rose bear bee Belted kingfisher bird black bear Black oystercatcher Blackberry Blechnum spicant Bracket fungus Branta canadensis Brown bear Brown-headed cowbird Bull thistle bumble bee butterfly Californian sea lion Canada Canada goose Cape Viglostassi Castilleja cave Cepphus columba Chestnut-backed chickadee church Cirsium vulgare Columbian black-tailed deer Corvus brachyrhynchos Corvus caurinus Cow parsnip Cyanocitta stelleri Cyclades Dark-eyed Junco Daucus carota Deer fern Digitalis purpurea dog rose Dolichovespula maculata Drosera Drosera rotundifolia Emoupoli Equisetum fluviatile Eumetopias jubatus False lily of the valley fauna Finikas flora flower Fox glove fungus Gaultheria shallon Geranium robertianum Glaucous-winged gull Greece Grizzly bear gull Haematopus bachmani Haliaeetus leucocephalus Harbor seal Heracleum lanatum Herb Robert historic Humpback whale Indian paintbrush Insect Junco hyemalis Larus glaucescens Lysichiton americanus Maianthemum bifoliu mauve flower Megaceryle alcyon Megaptera novaeangliae Molothrus Ater museum Northern Mockingbird Northwestern Crow Ochiodes sylvanoides Odocoileus hemionus columbianus Pacific blackberry Pavo cristatus peacock Phoca vitulina Pigeon guillermot Pink flower Pinus contorta Poecile rufescens Potentilla anserina Queen Anne's Lace red flower religion Rosa rugosa Rubus parviflorus Rubus ursinus salal Salal berry seabird Setophaga townsendi ship Shore pine Silverweed Skunk cabbage Springbank clover Stellar jay Stellar sealion Sundew Syros Thimbleberry Thimbleberry flower Townsend's warbler travel Trees Trifolium wormskjoldii Ursus americanus Ursus arctos Vancouver Island wasp Water horsetail Waterbird waterbirds Western bumble bee white flower Woodland skipper yellow bird yellow flower Zalophus californianus
Vancouver Island is off the west coast of North America, has one of the warmest climates in Canada and it’s most common wild large mammal is the Black Bear. Its main city is Victoria, the capital of British Columbia and from here we drove along The Scenic Marine drive from Fishermans Wharf to Elk Lake. We visited Beacon Hill Park, Butchart Gardens and went on a whale watch boat tour with 5 Star (https://5starwhales.com/). Leaving Victoria by the West Coast Road, went to Sooke Harbour, explored parts of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, China Beach, Botanical Beach and stayed overnight at Port Renfrew. Next day, left Port Renfrew via the Pacific Rim Circle Route Road for Avatar Grove, Port Alberni to reach our next overnight stops at Ucluelet and Tofino. From here, explored parts of the rugged west coast, walked in the Pacific Rim National Park and spotted black bears by boat with West Coast Aquatic Safaris (https://www.whalesafaris.com/). On the drive to Port McNeill, we explored Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park, watched goats eating on the roof at Coombs. saw the Chemainus town murals, visited an Indian Band Cemetery at Campbell River and called into Nanaimo. At Port McNeill, joined a First Nations tour: Sea Wolf Adventures (https://seawolfadventures.ca/), to spot grizzly bears in the Great Bear Forest.

Animals watched include Humpback whales lunge feeding, black bears, grizzly bears, Steller sea lion, California sea lion, harbour seals. Birds spotted: Glaucous-winged Gull, Black Oystercatcher, Pigeon Guillemot, Canada Goose, Peacock, Dark-eyed Junco, Brown-Headed Cowbird, Bald Eagle, American robin, Least sandpiper, Herring Gull, Northwestern crow, American Pipit, Steller's jay, Juvenile Ring-billed gull, Belted kingfisher.

Trip itinerary: from Australia, fly with United Airlines via the USA to Victoria International Airport, Vancouver Island and rent a car from Hertz for 10 days to explore the Island. Stay at Victoria (3 days), Port Renfrew (1), Ucluelet (1), Tofino (2), Port McNeill (2), return to Victoria for 1 night and next day fly to Edmonton to join the Explore! trip “Best of the Rockies”.