Anne Hansen

James Bay Art Walk Artist Profile

By Anne Hansen

Since I am appointed to write artist profiles for the James Bay Art Walk, I will take the liberty of writing about myself.

Soon after arriving in Victoria six years ago, I had a chance conversation with a woman on the beach. I introduced myself as an artist with a budding obsession with oystercatchers. For those unfamiliar with west coast wildlife, they are black crow-sized birds with long orange-red bill and long legs, featured in my 350-plus Oystercatcher paintings. They forage for shelled creatures on the intertidal rocks. 

The woman told me about an organization in Haida Gwaii (formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands) that seeks volunteers every summer to assist in their biological research camp. I rushed home, looked up the Laskeek Bay Conservation Society on the internet, and found their main research subject is ancient murrelets, but they also "do" oystercatchers.

In 2009, I got to spend a week there with half a dozen other volunteers. 

The camp is on the remote East Limestone Island, about an hour by float plane or zodiac boat out of the town of Charlotte. It is a couple of kilometres across the water from the old village of Skedans, known for its totem poles and featured in Emily Carr's work. Now a protected heritage site, it is open for visitors and staffed by the Haida Watchman Program in the summer.

There's a legend that if you drink water from a certain spring in Haida Gwaii, you will return to the islands. I had a sip in 2009, so it's no surprise that I found myself back there this summer.

East Limestone has undergone a huge change since my previous visit. A couple of years ago, a violent November storm blew down half the island's forest. A huge tree narrowly missed the cozy cabin where we cook, eat, and enjoy the wood stove. The biologists are excited about how the forest will rebound. Dead trees are a woodpecker's bed and breakfast.

This is an amazing opportunity for outdoor lovers. No particular skills are needed other than a keen interest. Tasks include cooking, pruning the trails, and taking notes. Doing "sea watch" involves sitting on a cliff overlooking a gorgeous ocean vista and keeping your eyes peeled for whales. There's no guarantee of whales, but you will see scores of pigeon guillemots with fish in their beaks, coming and going from the water to their cliffside nests. They are black with a white wing patch, with a pair of funny red feet that dangle in flight.

Also on the camp's "to do" list is accompanying the biologists in the boat to find oystercatcher nests. Notes are taken on the numbers and health of the current brood. The chicks are instructed by their very-upset parents to hide motionlessly in a crevice, and they blend in perfectly with the dark mottled rocks. The hero of the day finds the most oystercatcher chicks. Jake Pattison and Ainsley Brown, our expert guides, excelled at this job.

Another highlight was the hullabaloo coming from a sea lion island surrounded by two orcas. Their sound was like a mass human protest, saying "no". Sea lions make a tasty lunch for the "transient" orcas, as distinct from "resident" pods, who are more accustomed to eating fish.

We returned to camp to the melodies of thrushes and wrens, followed by an exquisite supper made by the very capable Emily Grubb, environmental studies intern for the season. (And no, it didn't rain much the whole week!)

As I stated to the infamous Harper-appointed "public" hearings on the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline earlier this year: Artists generally don't flock to BC to paint portraits of government panel members, or to marvel at oil pipelines, clear-cuts, or corporate mining company headquarters in Vancouver.

My photographs from the week with the Laskeek Bay Conservation Society will provide fuel for evermore oystercatcher art.

See my Oystercatchers and new bird species on the James Bay Art Walk (September 14 & 15), James Bay Community School, 140 Oswego Street. Website: www.oystercatchergirl.blogspot.com