A Day Late and A Dollar Short

My first spring on the central east coast of Vancouver Island, I heard about the herring spawn only after the event was almost over.  It lasts but a few days, turning the coastal waters from the Oceanside area where I live up to Campbell River a beautiful, tropical milky teal colour as tens of thousands of herring deposit their roe on the seaweed and rock covered shallows along the beaches.  With the herring, come dozens of seals and sea lions and gulls and eagles - and herring boats. 

Sky full of gulls during herring spawn 2019

Breakwater loaded with sea lions 2019

The second and third year, I was ready for it - and what an amazing spectacle it was.  I spent hours at the beaches photographing the sea life, listening to the chorus of birds and the barking of sea lions, gazing as the incredible teal waters - first brilliant, then milky - washed the coastline.  I photographed sea lions on rocks, rafts of them holding flippers in the water, sitting tall and lying down, sunning themselves and frolicking - it was so much fun! 

This year, I was always a day early or a day late, arriving at beach after beach to just the slightest tint of teal, hearing that the eagles were there yesterday, reading the next day that I'd missed orca whales by just an hour at one beach I'd visited, finding out that the herring were spawning further north than I'd driven.  And with the price of gas skyrocketing to $2.00 a litre just as the spawn began, "a dollar short" is a bit of an understatement when it came to filling the tank to drive further afield.  Was the possibility of being in the right place at the right time worth the price of the gas?

But the meandering wasn't all wasted.  The first day was the best of all - I was no sooner out of my car at a little beach access area just north of home when two otter toddled out of the brush just to the right of me and down to the water for a morning dip. 

To my left, I noticed some Northern Pintails - ducks I'd never seen before.  They were migrating through, and their  long tails made for easy identification.

Moments later, an eagle flew overhead, circled around and came back towards me, giving me the opportunity for multiple shots of this beautiful bird in flight.

Then I walked across the road to a protected bird area, where I saw three very tall Great Blue Herons as well as some smaller herons and a few ducks.  Another photographer, with some very fancy gear, struck up a conversation with me and after a few minutes of chatting I realized I was speaking to a local expert photographer whose work I had long admired.  We talked for about twenty minutes, discussing the pros and cons of mirrorless cameras and various lenses and appreciating the beauty of the area in which we live. While we chatted, a flock of snow geese flew overhead, white with black tips on their wings, migrating north for the summer. 

That all happened within the first 45 minutes of my pursuit of the herring spawn.  And that was the best 45 minutes of the next four days of pursuit.  On the way home, I did stop to watch an eagle on a post in the water, eating what looked like a bone.  It sure didn't look like a fish.

After that, I came up empty on each trip over the next three days, until I finally decided to call it quits.  Instead, I took Maggie to Moorecroft Park just south of us.  The very next day, I saw reports of several orcas playing in the waters there!  Murphy's Law. Maggie says she's prettier than any orcas and much easier to photograph.  Silly dog!

Yesterday, I had a medical appointment in Nanaimo.  Before leaving, I decided to take Maggie for some exercise at our local community park along the waterfront.  As soon as I pulled into the park I saw it - teal water! and gulls! and dozens of herring boats! And as soon as I got out of the car, I heard the bark of sea lions.  And there were even snow geese resting on the grass amid the resident Canada geese.  And, as the goal was to get Maggie tired out before I left for my appointment, I hadn't even brought my good camera. Thankfully, I had the small camera with me, though the photos don't do it justice. 

By the time I returned from my appointment, the teal had washed to just a tint, the boats were down in Nanaimo and about to head home, and all I found at French Creek Marina were two sleepy sea lions and a cormorant. 

A day late and a dollar short.  Story of my life. If the Great Spirit is willing, I'll have better luck next year.