Rek Bell

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Bird journal

a drawing of rek speaking nonsense to a mynah bird

Collecting bird sightings like pokemon.

"To think like a mountain means to have a complete appreciation for the profound interconnectedness of the elements in the ecosystems. It is an ecological exercise using the intricate web of the natural environment rather than thinking as an isolated individual."
— Aldo Leopold

Quebec

Alaska

Vancouver Island

Japan

New Zealand

a black noddy sitting on the lifelines of a sailboat

South Pacific Islands

North Pacific Ocean

Bird Stories

2025.06.24. While anchored in Spencer Spit, with friends onboard, we saw a pair of bald eagles chasing after a gull. All 4 of us watched as one of them caught the gull mid-air and proceeded to dragging them along. We were all stunned. We'd never seen an eagle tackle a gull like that in flight. The gull was about to breathe its last.
That same summer we saw it happen again two more times. Once when sailing to Ucluelet, with a single eagle tackling a gull into the water before taking it, and again in Fulford Harbor, but this time the eagle chasing a gull failed. The lone gull was able to put some distance between them and the eagle, and soon more gulls came along to chase the aggressor away.

2025.07.30. This summer we got frequent visits by kingfishers. Most of them like to sit atop of the spreaders, which offer a good vantage point for spotting prey. While anchored in Fulford Harbor, one particular kingfisher came almost everyday, and their favourite spot aboard Pino was the top of the mast, atop of the wind arrow. Watching them trying to keep balance as the arrow would spin was very entertaining.
I tried to capture a photo of my kingfisher friend, but when I went outside with the camera the movement would cause the mast to swing and the kingfisher to leave... and so, the only way I could capture a shot was from inside the boat, through the window, but all i had that time was the ipad and so the photo is not great, but it was a moment worth capturing.

a belted kingfisher sitting on top of the mast, perched atop the wind arrow

2025.07.13. On July 10th we left Ucluelet and headed towards the anchorage north of Turtle Island, tucked between many other bigger and smaller landmasses. A weak southeast breeze brought plenty of cloud cover, but the sun showed itself after 1300. We anchored to the northwest of the bay. Some hummingbirds were racing furiously around us as we motored into the calm bay, and stayed with us for a few hours aboard Pino afterwards. We would hear the buzzing of their wings as they raced by, momentarily hovering in the cockpit before setting off again. There were at least 5 traveling around our boat at the time.

a hummingbird perched on a sailboat lifeline

2025.07.06. We stayed at the marina in Port Renfrew for the night. Come morning, the whole bay had been engulfed in fog. When I looked out of the window I saw this. A wall of gulls. It was effing glorious.

a bunch of seagulls all standing on top of a rock breakwater on a foggy day

2025.25.04. I was walking on the causeway and saw 2 Canadian goose parents with 4 yellow chicks following along. They never walk on the causeway, cause it's super busy, but the family was carving a path through the crowd. Breaking hearts as they went. A woman walked past them as well, she smiled, looked at me, put a hand to her chest and said, voice high with emotion, "*sigh* my ovaries...!"
The geese ended up sticking around the causeway after that. Dev & I would see them almost everyday, and if we didn't, we would get worried, fearing that something had happened. It seemed that everyone who frequented the causeway on a daily basis was also as concerned as we were, the workers, the artists, other sailors, etc. One night we saw them huddled near the sea wall, 1 parent was standing guard while the other was lying down with all 4 chicks huddled around for warmth. They were on the walk path, illuminated by the mushroom-shaped lights. They appeared so fragile, so vulnerable. I felt a lump in my throat. The parents had to stay awake at night to guard the babies against otters, gulls and racoons.
One night, we heard a goose screaming, honking wildly. We'd never them honking at night. Dev & I lay in bed, once again concerned that something terrible had happened. In the morning, on my walk back from the bathroom I saw them, walking on the causeway back to their favourite grass patch(the welcome to victoria grass patch). I was relieved. I told Devine as soon as I got home. "The babies are ok!" Devine nodded and smiled, their feelings mirroring mine. In French we say someone is a "mere poule" when someone is being overly protective of someone else, overtime I've shortened it, distorted it to "murples"(murr-pole). "We are such murples." I said.

2024.06.11. While anchored in Hunt Inlet, on the north of Porcher Island, we kept hearing something rubbing against the hull. Both of us were trying to nap at the time, too lazy to get up to check what was out there. It could have been some bull kelp, the leaves often coil on our anchor rode with the float bumping on the hull. We hoped it wasn't a crab trap, there wasn't any where we anchored, but we had heard skiffs whizzing around the harbor... maybe they had laid one down near us? Once we emerged from our nap, we went to look outside and found nothing bumping against the hull, perhaps whatever was making the noise, whether it was debris, algae, had drifted away.
Later, while cooking, I looked outside and saw some pidgeon guillemots swimming around, they were coming towards Pino. I pointed them out to Devine, this was a chance to see them up close. They got so close that we lost sight of them, we didn't want to go outside to risk scaring them off. Then, we heard something rubbing against the hull, the same sound as before, the pidgeon guillemots were eating the seaweed off our hull! Pino has a small algae beard along the waterline that we've been trying to trim, but it keeps coming back... we need more hungry pidgeon guillemots.

2024.06.14. In Northern B.C. and Southeast Alaska bald eages are more common than gulls. They occupy the tops of trees, lamp posts, dock pillings and boat rigging. While staying in Heritage Harbor in Wrangell, we watched as an eagle tried to land on top of a sailboat mast, its talons trying to move the instruments occupying the top out of the way, then it grew tired of trying and moved onto the topmost part of a nearby fishing boat. This perch offered a view of the activities of the fishermen below, who had just returned to the dock with the day's catch. The eagle observed this, waited, hoping that they would toss a few scraps away. They didn't. The eagle watched them, longingly, as they left the boat, bounty in hand, not a scrap of food to be had. Eagles hound the local fishermen for food, while watching we hoped that one day they wouldn't abandon hunting in favor of waiting for scraps.

2024.01.24. Beacon Hill Park is home to many varieties of ducks, they stay all year long and all have their quirks. Mallards dunk their heads in the water to search for food while their butts and legs stay afloat, the pond is often covered in feathery duck butts. Wigeons, with their steep foreheads and stout bodies, always hang out with the mallards, but are visually very distinguishable, the males make a high-pitch whistle which makes them stand out even more. Gadwalls are another common sight in the park, they are subtly colored and resemble female mallards. All of these ducks hang around the many small ponds scattered in the park, hopping in and out all day.
When the temperature dips way below freezing the ponds freeze but the ducks don't seem to mind, they walk and sleep on the ice. In such weather the ice, thin enough to support a duck but not much else, becomes a safe haven for them, they are free from being chased by small children or larger animals.

2023.05.21. Two glaucous-winged gulls are standing shoulder to shoulder, seemingly immobile, on the rocky shore of Prevost Island, screeching one after the other, mirroring each other, for a solid 10 minutes. We wondered, was it a game, or a casual conversation? Either way, I thought it sweet that they never talked over one another, a thing that humans do and that is never pleasant.

2023.04.19. Canadian geese are raising their young on the shores of the Victoria Inner Harbour. 3 yellow-feathered babies follow their parents as they walk through busy parking lots, and around tourists. Everyday I walk there and hope to find 3 babies trailing behind them.
One morning, we see a family of geese in the water swimming around the boats of our marina. One baby is swimming behind them. One. I hope that this is a different family. Then, we spot one baby left behind swimming between boats. The parents are swimming away, single baby in tow. "Maybe they're trying to find the baby but can't!" Devine says. We go and check on the baby that was left behind, and then we understand. The baby is swimming in circles, head cocked to the side. It's injured, its parents know that it won't survive. We watch as the baby moves around the marina, swimming in tight circles. "We're so, so sorry..." we say to it.
The next day, we see a family of geese with 3 babies, all there, all intact, healthy. The family we saw in the water was a different family, one that was not as fortunate.

2023.03.04. A great horned owl picks Beacon Hill Park to raise two of its young, to the amazement of the many passerbys that transit the park everyday. It is a very public place to nest, I thought, and not a quiet one either. News spread of the young owls quickly in Victoria, and soon crowds gathered at the foot of the tree to try and catch a glimpse of the feathered family. Carers of the park setup a barricade to try and disperse the masses, giving the owl family some space. "Is this mother owl a bad parent?" I asked, as we strolled past their nesting grounds. Devine shrugs, "maybe it's there for the social media clout." We looked at each other then, "Owl clout." Yes. Maybe. We did find photos of them in local newspapers, and although we dont use Instagram or Twitter, we knew the family likely had a good clout score.
Young great horned owls are grey, don't have tufts on their heads yet, and look like they're covered in felt.

2020.06.24. Days are very long now, there was good light at 2100 yesterday so Dev & I went out for a row around the bay. The local sailing club here lends out a rowing dinghy to members. Tsehum Harbor shoals at low tide, but the water was high enough that we could row everywhere. We circled the bay twice, following a large gathering of geese and their goslings. The goose caravan was eating filamentous algae as they went, making loud mouth sounds as they did. A very nice evening.

2020.19.02. Love taking walks along the beach at low-tide to see what is normally hidden. Lots of smooth rocks, miniature snails, barnacles and seaweed. Spotted some black turnstones too, small wading birds picking crustaceans and mollusks from under stones and algae mats.

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