In my blog post last week I promised you all mountains, forests and coastline. Well, I’ve got all that and more this week, as I’m going to be unearthing some older photos from my first time doing conservation work in Canada, too.
Forests, snow, mountains... Everything feels so big in the American Northwest. (Photo: Jack Plumb)
So I left you all in San Francisco. I’m sure you’re all quite happy to stay in the Bay area, but we’re moving on now. Don’t worry, Portland Oregon is equally great, and I think it’s jumped to my top spot for “most stunning coastline”. April is whale-watching season, and there were grey whales galore steaming along the coast apparently…
Grey whales have the longest known migration of any mammal - all the way from feeding grounds north of the Bering Strait to the west coast of Mexico and back again (over 10,000 miles). (Photo: Ars Electronica, Flickr creative commons)
It was my number 1 must do for the holiday, so we booked on a tour. Sadly, the sea was too rough, so we couldn’t head out. Devastatingly disappointed, I was determined to see the sea anyway so we got in the car and headed west. This shot speaks for itself in my opinion – it was pretty spectacular, even without the whales.
The Oregon coast, close to Cape Meares. (Photo: Jack Plumb)
You can’t really go to California or Oregon without spending some time in a forest. They’re epic. Tilamook National Forest was just that. The huge expanse of giant trees as far as you can see are pretty impressive, and walking amongst the towering Douglas firs gives a strong frontier feeling. Having been devastated by fire in the 30s in what become known as the 'Tilamook burn', the biggest reforestation effort of its kind restored the area and secured its designation as a State Forest.
That's a pretty serious trunk! (Photo: Jack Plumb)
Portland came and went far too quickly, and I’ll definitely be going back to Oregon at some point having just scratched the surface. Carrying on the theme of forests and mountains was the next destination: Canada. O Canada, you never dissapoint.
Trail rations, check. Waterproofs, check. Hound, check. Now to find those hot springs... (Photos: Jack Plumb)
Last time I was in Canada I was volunteering for the Nature Conservancy at Tatlayoko Lake Bird Observatory. It was the beginning of my career in conservation, and spurred me on to come back to England and volunteer with the RSPB in 2013/14 at Dungeness. Those two experiences eventually got me my job as Youth Editor.
Lots of fish bones and prints, but no grizzly bears unfortunately... or fortunately, depending on how you look at it. (Photo: Jack Plumb)
Any guesses for what species this is? I can still hear this bird's call ringing in my ears... (Photo: Jack Plumb)
I didn't take this photo as I'm actually holding this sharp-shinned hawk! I still have the scars from my attempt at removing it from the mist net. This hawk and the red-shafted flicker above were chasing each other around most days! (Photo: Jack Plumb)
This time around I was just on holiday, which is no less thrilling when on one day you’re skiing and the next you're hiking to some natural hot springs. Coincidently, the first bird I saw as I stepped off the bus was a Steller’s jay, the very same bird I saw on my last day back in 2013. The black and blue contrast coupled with the robust crest of this corvid surely contributed to it being designated as Canada’s national bird. Good choice, Canada.
Common as anything, but what a stunner! (Photo: Jacob McGinnis, Flickr creative commons)
That’s it! I won’t subject you to any more holiday blogging… well, until my next holiday.
Jack