It was a beautiful day on Sunday afternoon for checking out the bird diversity in the Ships Point area of Fanny Bay.  The tide was coming in but was still low enough to keep most waterbirds a fair distance away.  Our binoculars got plenty of use while the many photos taken of the distant birds proved useful later when enlarged on the computer.  We managed to identify 19 species on site; 11 more were pinpointed amongst the more easily seen birds once a close look at all birds was possible. Most photos provided below are not the best in quality but are shown here for identification purposes.  Birders should compare these photos with those in bird guides to see if they come to the same conclusion re identifications based on each bird's field markings.  I have "thrown in" a photo of what I believe might be a Murrelet based on the general look of the bird.  What do you think, when comparing to Murrelet species?
Species noted:  American Wigeons, Buffleheads, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Scaup sp., Mallards, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black Oystercatchers, Black Turnstones, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Loon, Greater Yellowlegs, Harlequin Ducks, Horned Grebes, Common Goldeneyes, Barrow's Goldeneyes, Double-crested Cormorants,  Canada Geese, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Stellar Jay and, perhaps, Murrelet sp.

A debrief was held at Courtenay's Bayside Cafe after the outing.