2008 Trip Synopsis

2 March 2008
Today was the trip home. I was up at 6:00am and had to be at the airport by 8:30am. By 6:30am it was light outside and in a last ditch attempt to see something new I was looking out the window every 1-2 minutes. I did manage to see eight species from the hotel room but none were new for the trip. After breakfast I caught a cab to the airport and along the way I spotted another seven species of which none were new for the trip. Once at the airport I had nearly two hours to wait before departing and so I sat near the window and scanned the sky for raptors and vultures. I did manage to see 11 species, and low-and-behold, two species, Wood Stork and Swainson's Hawk, were new for the trip. I boarded the plane on-time at 10:30am and arrived in Dallas at 2:30pm. From Dallas I had a long wait for my 7:00pm departure to Seattle which was on-time and arrived at 10:00pm. My flight out of Seattle was unfortunately delayed due to a flat tire, and although only a 35-minute flight away, it was not until 1:30am that arrived in Victoria. It had been a very long day, but memories of the trip were enough to keep my spirits up.

Total number of species seen today = 19
Total number of lifers seen today = 0
Total cumulative species seen for trip = 169
Total cumulative lifers seen for trip = 131

Trip Synopsis
Total number of species seen = 169
Total number of new species for the trip = 131
Total species seen in one day on my own = 59
Total species seen with Guido = 80
Total species seen with Kilo = 65
Total length of trip = 11 days
Total days available for birding = 8
Total birding destinations visited = 3 (Metro Park, BCI, Pipeline Road)
Birding destination most visitied = Metropolitan Park (5 times)
Number of days with bird guide = 2