I recently returned from a cruise sailing seven nights up the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. What an amazing, breath-taking journey of scenery, wildlife and, of course, birds.

There were plenty of creatures to spy from the ship and shore. However, one of the coolest things I experienced was during the overnight hours.

I stayed up one night from 10 pm to 2 am while we cruised the Inside Passage. I sat at the bow of the ship on the top deck 150 feet above the water. The area was black but for the ship’s lights. For hours I listened to birds pass in the night calling out their single-noted flight calls. I heard thrushes, sparrows and shore birds.

There were some birds flying into view from the ship’s lights like warblers and sparrows. They would slow down and look at the ship and then continue on their journey. Some birds stopped on the ship for a brief time like the Song Sparrows I found browsing the deck for food.

But, the coolest bird that night was about 1:00 am. A hummingbird flew out of the darkness, circled over my head and continued cruising on its southerly journey.

How cool is that!