2022-06-05 Sunday In Fort Nelson

Canada Jay - Perisoreus canadensis — In 2005, I visited Fort Nelson’s Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest and met my first Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. Now in 2022, I finally captured the images of Canada Jays I’d been seeking on this expedition.

Sunday, I spent time in Fort Nelson in northwestern British Columbia. There is a managed woods at the edge of town, called the Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest that I visited in 2005, and I made a point of visiting this place once more. The high point of my walk along its trails was meeting Canada Jays. I’d met them briefly on other occasions, but never with the intimacy I had hoped for.

I followed some of the trails that weaved through the tall, broad-leaf trees. It seemed the high canopy-loving birds had no interest in attending the lower elevation, but a Hairy Woodpecker enjoyed foraging nearer to my eye-level, and provided me with some good looks. The only other birds I could get into focus were a Red-Breasted Nuthatch and a Tennessee Warbler. I’ve collected better images of these species in the past, but these were the only birds within my reach. My meeting with the Canada Jays made the time I spent there well worth it.

I drove about an hour west of town and found a wide spot in the road to spend the night. I used the time to finish processing my Charlie Lake story and the images I collected there. My strategy to limit my photo-sessions to about three hours seems to help me get caught up with my yarn-weaving. As of last night, I have only the Fort Nelson story to tell.

I had absolutely zero cell reception after leaving the Fort Nelson area. I’d have parked at a wide spot along my route, but since the work I do to prepare and submit my blogs requires the internet, I pushed onward to Watson Lake. When I finally arrived in town, it was mid-afternoon. I’ll share more details of my time on the road later.