A SEABIRD HAVEN
The trail up Tow Hill, an isolated volcanic plug that rises to an elevation of 125 meters (410 feet) on Graham Island of the Haida Gwaii archipelago in western Canada, is steeped in the dark green of a coastal rainforest. Moss-covered trees and roots weave around the mountainous side of Tow Hill like arthritic hands, and in that dark are the chirps of unseen birds.
The hike to the top of the hill is a 45-minute climb that leads to the Blow Hole, a unique coastal formation that shoots sprays of surf up into the air, but it is the thick downy ground cover in all shades of green that interests our group.
Deep beneath the swirling roots and rocky soil are nests of the Ancient Murrelet, a rarely seen seabird that makes this North Pacific archipelago its nesting site. A murrelet’s ebony head and virgin white neck are oddly hard to spot in the slate gray sea around Haida Gwaii’s islands, but the species is one of the most coveted of the migratory birds that visit the area.
Ancient Murrelets nest in colonies along North Pacific islands from the Yellow Sea in China to the Aleutians and Haida Gwaii. Pairs don’t nest in the craggy rocks or along the shores but in burrows excavated in soil among tree roots, under logs, and in rock crevices.
On many
