Birdwatchers flock to Victoria for rarely seen puffin
If you're a bird nerd, Ogden Point in Victoria has been the centre of your universe after a rare visitor was spotted Wednesday.
A horned puffin, a bird that's rarely, if ever, seen on Vancouver Island, recently arrived.
"This is only the third I've ever heard of," said well-known Victoria birdwatcher Ann Nightingale. "The other two were flybys, so you couldn't chase them."
The paparazzi have flocked to Ogden Point, with excited birdwatchers huffin' and puffin' down to the water.
"I've got three layers on, and hopefully he comes by soon," said Derek Isbister, who came down from Qualicum Beach, B.C., to see the animal.
Puffins are usually only ever seen far off shore and in areas as far north as Alaska.
Some birdwatchers believe the puffin was blown onto the island from open water.
While it doesn't have the most exotic colours, its rarity in the area has drawn plenty of attention.
"This bird does not look spectacular, let's be honest," said Nightingale. "It's a white and black and grey bird."
Despite its drab colouration, word of the wayward puffin quickly spread online, with rare bird alerts being issued in online groups and mobile apps.
Avid birders say if you want to catch a glimpse of the puffin, you'll have to have patience.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
'Furiosa,' 'Garfield' lead slowest Memorial Day box office in decades
Movie theaters are looking more and more like a wasteland this summer. Neither "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" nor "The Garfield Movie" could save Memorial Day weekend, which is cruising towards a two-decade low.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Man throws flaming liquid on New York City subway, burns fellow rider
A man set a cup of liquid on fire and tossed it at fellow subway rider in New York City, setting the victim's shirt ablaze and injuring him.
At least 9 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
Powerful storms killed at least nine people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.