| Paddle with eagles tour: | Photo: Thibou Favier |
Cruising in our 22-foot Voyageur canoe, we slip up quietly to eagles perched in the dead forked tops of huge old cedars. The ancient forest provides sturdy trees for the huge eagle nests. A high concentration of Bald Eagles gives us great opportunities to watch eagle behavior up close.
We explore quiet bays where herons fish among small flocks of teal and Wood Ducks. The low sound of the Pied-billed Grebe and the loud knocking of a nearby Pileated Woodpecker break the morning silence. Sharp-shinned Hawks fly low over the brushy shoreline for songbirds and Goshawks hunt Band-tailed Pigeons and grouse in the deep forest. During migration, Merlins pursue sandpipers over the marshes and Peregrines hunt ducks and sandpipers. One morning we watched a Peregrine catch a Snipe in the marsh grass. An instant later, out of nowhere, an eagle swooped down and ripped the Snipe from the falcon’s talons.
River otters and seals pop up above the surface and watch our canoe go by, and nervous mink scamper around the rocks and logs. Evening canoe tours may encounter the beaver swimming outside the large pile of sticks marking their lodge. During salmon migration, black bears wade out in the shallow water or climb up onto shoreline logs and rocks while they search for fish.
Our small 4 hp, 4-stroke motor enables us to travel distances without paddling; we then turn off the motor and paddle while viewing birds or wildlife. This is a full day tour with lunch on a small island and an opportunity to swim before heading back upstream. A unique tour offering a river journey into solitude.
Click on the buttons on the right or below to learn more about other tours:
shorebird | paddle tour | seabird voyage | pelagic | early bird | mountain | winter birding
"Highlight of our stay"
"We would like to tell you that our stay in Tofino was excellent with your assistance and guide service that gave us the chances to see so many kinds of birds. Your tour was the highlight of our stay and we enjoyed it very much. When we paddled in the canoe, the surface of the river was silent like mirror, otter swam and warblers came. Thank you George, we will be back again."
• Tahey & Modoka Ito, Tokyo, Japan
"Just Birding's canoe trip on the Kennedy River brought us an experience that was unique among the tours offered in Tofino. Our trip included sightings of bald eagles, cedar waxwings, seals, jumping salmon, and a black bear fishing. And we saw only one other boat on the entire day-long trip. George provides lively insights into the lake's wildlife and history. If you want to see more than birds, in a peaceful, beautiful setting, this is the best."
• Eileen Kessler & Joan Caivano, Washington DC
Mailing address: PO Box 990, Tofino BC V0R 2Z0 info@justbirding.com
Bird Lodge: 1430 Pacific Rim Highway, next to the Information Centre at Cox Bay