visitor centre functions as information centre, interpretive facility, café, and gift shop (open mid-March to mid-October) and focuses on the natural and cultural heritage of Pacific Rim National Park. There is wheelchair access to the beach, where visitors can walk for miles to the north, swim in the ocean, and even go surfing if so inclined. Look and listen around the edges of the parking area for migrating warblers in spring/fall, while the typical westcoast forest birds will be present year-round. Sanderling and other shorebirds like Western Sandpiper can be found near the water’s edge in season, and flocks of gulls often loaf around near creek mouths. From here up to the north end of Long Beach is where most of Canada’s Snowy Plover records come from, with the most recent one visiting in spring 2014. The barnacle-encrusted rocks between the centre and South Beach are always worth a look for rock-loving shorebirds such as Wandering Tattler and Ruddy Turnstone (April/May and August/September), Black Turnstone and Surfbird (August–May), and Rock Sandpiper (October–April). Black Oystercatchers are common year-round.
COMBERS BEACH This beach is located in between the Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre and Green Point. Look for the well-signed parking area on the left/ocean side of the highway. The sandy banks on the edge of the parking lot usually have a nesting pair of Northern Rough-winged Swallow in summer. From here, the beach is a short walk down the hill. The trail passes through a pleasant stand of westcoast rainforest and salmonberry wetland before emerging out onto the beach. The large creek that empties out here usually attracts large numbers of loafing gulls and occasionally groups of shorebirds. Note: *This beach is often closed in winter due to trail erosion from storm swells.
LONG BEACH/INCINERATOR ROCK 3.4 km (2.1 mi.) northwest of Green Point is the main parking lot for Long Beach (opposite the Tofino Airport road). The parking area for Incinerator Rock just down the road is essentially an extension of the same site. This is obviously another opportunity to check out the beach and seabirds offshore, but the parking lot itself is also worth a visit. Lined with alders, it is one of the best spots on the west coast for migrant passerines. Suitable habitat is relatively scarce out here along the wild coast, so the birds concentrate in these patches of broadleaf trees before continuing south (or north in spring). In late summer, large flocks of warblers can be seen in the area, and this parking lot is one of the best spots to check. Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Warbling Vireo, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet are some of the more common migrants encountered, but almost anything is possible in fall when many young birds stray off course. Brown Thrasher is probably one of the more notable birds encountered here over the years.
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ENGLISHMAN RIVER ESTUARY, PARKSVILLE
ACCORDING TO A local legend, indigenous people in this area found the skeleton of a Caucasian man near present-day Englishman River Falls, thus giving the river its current name. Prior to that, Spanish mapmakers had named it the Rio de Grullas, presumably because of the large number of Great Blue Herons that feed around the estuary (grulla being Spanish for “crane”).
Fast-forward to today and fortunately the dead bodies are all long-gone but there are still plenty of herons. In an area abundant with rich estuaries and beaches, the Englishman River Estuary is one of the best spots for birding year-round and it’s conveniently located right beside downtown Parksville. A Nature Trust reserve covers 68 hectares (168 acres) of lovely coastal habitat including a tidal estuary, gravelly beach, mixed woodland, and even native grassland. A 2.4 km (1.5 mi.) loop trail, which includes a viewing tower over the estuary, on the west side of the river (Shelly Rd. access) gives visitors access to most of these habitats, while Plummer Rd. on the east side supplies another viewpoint of the estuary and easy access to the beach along Georgia Strait.
Outside of summer, the coastline around Parksville and Qualicum teems with water birds, including the distinctive Harlequin Duck that nests in the rushing mountain rivers of the Interior before wintering in small flocks along rocky ocean shorelines of British Columbia. LIRON GERTSMAN
The tidal mudflats of the Englishman River Estuary are best outside of early summer when shorebird numbers are highest. Check Parksville tide times so you arrive outside of high tide, when the mud is covered. Dabbling ducks migrate through here in good numbers and many spend the winter. Mallard, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, and Green-winged Teal are the most numerous, but a few Gadwall and Eurasian Wigeon are usually around, and sometimes the Eurasian form of the Green-winged Teal (also known as Common Teal) turns up.
Late February until the end of April is herring spawn season, so if you’re lucky enough to visit when a spawn is occurring (they happen suddenly and usually only last for a couple days at any one site), you can encounter thousands of gulls—mostly Glaucous-winged, California, and Thayer’s, though rarities like Glaucous and Kumlien’s (Iceland) Gull are picked out annually by visitors with sharp eyes. Many other species, such as Brant, scoters, Bald Eagles, and shorebirds, take part in the herring spawn feast too. The estuary is a favoured bathing and loafing place for gulls throughout the area, so even if the herring aren’t going, there’s almost always a good mix of gulls outside of summer. Heermann’s Gull, typically more of a Juan de Fuca/outer coast species, sometimes shows up here between August and November.
BIRDING GUIDE
There are essentially two main sections to the area known as the Englishman River Estuary: The Plummer Rd. side (east) and the Shelly Rd. side (west). Both have their advantages.
EAST SIDE For the quickest way to the tidal estuary where waders, dabbling ducks, and gulls are most likely, as well as easy access to the beach, turn north off the Old Island Hwy. (19A) on Plummer Rd. and follow it along the east side of the river. You may want to check for American Dipper along the river, especially south of the bridge. As Plummer Rd. begins to bend to the right, there is a gravel pull-off area on the left side, with a gravel track continuing straight on with a “No Thru Road” sign. This is just before Plummer Rd. leaves the forest and turns into an old subdivision.
You can park here and walk this track along the east side of the estuary. The first 350 m/yd. take you along a small side-channel of the river with lots of mixed shrubs that are great for small birds year-round. The east side of the Englishman River Estuary will be obvious. It’s a small estuary, so shorebird numbers are never very high, but a good variety of species comes through regularly each spring and late summer/fall. Try to arrive outside of high tide when there is exposed mud. This trail passes a small viewing tower then ends near the north end of San Malo Crescent, where it joins up with the northwestern terminus of Mariner Way.
GETTING THERE
From downtown Parksville, drive east along the Old Island Hwy. Shelly Rd. is on the north side just past Tim Hortons and A&W, while Plummer Rd. is the first left after crossing the Englishman River bridge. If approaching from Nanaimo along the main highway, take Exit 46, signed for Parksville and Rathtrevor; in just over 3 km (1.9 mi.), Plummer Rd. will be on the right/north side (if you cross the bridge over the Englishman you’ve gone too far), and Shelly Rd. will be about 400 m/yd. past the bridge (on the right side).
Alternatively, continue along Plummer Rd., which turns into Shorewood Dr., then turn left at Mariner Way and park at the end of the road near the entrance gate for the art gallery. The eastern corner of the estuary will be obvious on the south side of the road, as will the trail described above. You can continue on foot from this point using the directions above.
Walk south along the outside of the art gallery fence, following a little
