Seabirds are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.
Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of eleven genera. They are slender, lightly built birds with long, forked tails, narrow wings, long bills, and relatively short legs. Most species are pale grey above and white below, with a contrasting black cap to the head, but the marsh terns, the Inca tern, and some noddies have dark plumage for at least part of the year. The sexes are identical in appearance, but young birds are readily distinguishable from adults. Terns have a non-breeding plumage, which usually involves a white forehead and much-reduced black cap.
The great white pelican also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or simply white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.
The pygmy cormorant is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds. It breeds in south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within its breeding range. It is a rare migrant to western Europe.
The Commander Islands, Komandorski Islands, or Komandorskie Islands are a series of islands in the Russian Far East, a part of the Aleutian Islands, located about 175 km (109 mi) east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Bering Sea. Treeless and sparsely populated, the islands consist of Bering Island, Medny Island and fifteen islets and rocks. The largest of the latter are Tufted Puffin Rock (Kamen Toporkov or Ostrov Toporkov), 15 ha, and Kamen Ariy, which are between 3 km (1.9 mi) and 13 km (8.1 mi) west of the only settlement, Nikolskoye. Administratively, the Commanders compose the Aleutsky District of the Kamchatka Krai in Russia.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southern mainland coast, across Georgia Strait from Vancouver Island. It borders on the qathet Regional District to the north, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to the east, and, across Howe Sound, the Metro Vancouver District to the south. The regional district offices are located in the District Municipality of Sechelt.
Sechelt is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately 50 km northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from mainland British Columbia by a 40-minute ferry trip between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale, and a 25-minute drive from Langdale along Highway 101, also known as the Sunshine Coast Highway. The name Sechelt is derived from the she shashishalhem word shíshálh, the name of the First Nations people who first settled the area thousands of years ago.
Protected areas of Canada consist of approximately 12.1 percent of the nation's landmass and freshwater are considered conservation areas, including 11.4 percent designated as protected areas. Approximately 13.8 percent of Canada's territorial waters are conserved, including 8.9 percent designated as protected areas. Terrestrial areas conserved have increased by 65 percent in the 21st century, while marine areas conserved have increased by more than 3,800 percent.
Howe Sound is a roughly triangular sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2021.
The El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, created in 1988, is located in Mulegé Municipality in northern Baja California Sur, at the center of the Baja California Peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. With an area of over 24,930 km2 (9,630 sq mi)), it is the largest wildlife refuge in Mexico and borders the northern edge of the Valle de los Cirios Protected Area of Flora and Fauna.
The shíshálh language, sháshíshálh,she shashishalhem, or Sechelt language, is a Coast Salish language that originates and is spoken within the swiya of the shíshálh Nation, located on the Sunshine Coast in southwestern British Columbia, Canada.
The red-legged cormorant, also known as the red-legged shag, red-footed cormorant, red-footed shag, Gaimard's cormorant and grey cormorant, is a species of cormorant resident to the coastline of South America. It is the only member of the genus Poikilocarbo. It is non-colonial unlike most seabirds. The red-legged cormorant has not been observed wing-spreading, which is unusual among cormorant species.
Mohawk Island is a small island in the northeast of Lake Erie, in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of limestone with almost no vegetation, and is close to the water level. It was formerly known as Gull Island and contains the ruins of the Gull Island Lighthouse which was built in 1848 to guide ships into the Welland Canal at Port Maitland. In 1933, the lighthouse was automated to no longer require a human keeper and lost significance in 1934 due to the realignment of the canal at Port Colborne. It was decommissioned in 1969 when the mechanism was destroyed by a fire. The lighthouse is located close to the shore of Rock Point Provincial Park.
The Central Asian Flyway (CAF), Central Asian-Indian Flyway, or Central Asian-South Asian Flyway is a flyway covering a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and the associated island chains. The CAF comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in Siberia to the southernmost non-breeding wintering grounds in West Asia, India, the Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area off the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Covering an area of 11,570.65 km2 (4,467.45 sq mi), it is the second largest protected area in British Columbia after Offshore Pacific Seamounts and Vents Closure and is the largest national wildlife area in Canada.
The shíshálh Nation is a First Nation located on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Their swiya comprises 515,000 hectares that stretches from xwesam in the southeast, to x̱enichen in the north, to kwekwenis in the southwest.
The Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area is a wildlife management area on the south coast of British Columbia. It was established in 2007 for the management of fish species as well as terrestrial wildlife. The wildlife management area is on the traditional territory of Squamish Nation, which is involved in management of the area. The freshwater of the Squamish River mixes with the saltwater of Howe Sound, resulting in a varied ecosystem containing different habitats that support an abundance of wildlife. It also provides natural flood control for the Squamish town sites.
The Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary is a migratory bird sanctuary on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. More than 40 species of birds are found there.
The Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary or VHMBS is a 30 km protected area on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, in the Greater Victoria metropolitan area. It is located within the traditional territory of the Lekwungen People. The sanctuary is recognized as a critical habitat for bird conservation, and is home to an estimated 270 bird species, many of which are migratory. The sanctuary encompasses about 30 kilometres of coastline, an area covering approximately 1841 hectares in total. Of this total, 31 hectares are terrestrial, and 1810 hectares are marine.
