Birding in BC Community

A few days ago while Salmon fishing in a boat off Point Grey near Vancouver I noticed a gull-sized bird with something like an Albatross shaped wingspan it was definitely a white bird though.

Didn't think too much of it though it was a busy morning and it wasn't until my fishing partner reacted to the loud harsh/hoarse/raucous cries emanating from it and seemingly bouncing off the water that I gave it more notice; larger than a Nightjar not as agile and always single.

Your thoughts?

TIA

Sam Salmon wrote: ↑Aug 24 10:44 pm A few days ago while Salmon fishing in a boat off Point Grey near Vancouver I noticed a gull-sized bird with something like an Albatross shaped wingspan it was definitely a white bird though.

Didn't think too much of it though it was a busy morning and it wasn't until my fishing partner reacted to the loud harsh/hoarse/raucous cries emanating from it and seemingly bouncing off the water that I gave it more notice; larger than a Nightjar not as agile and always single.

Your thoughts?

TIA

Was it white below or both top and bottom? Could be a shearwater or an albatross, actually. Or, it could have been a gull if it was loud. Could be a Petrel too.

Could only see the bottom it appeared white.

Will check the names you've posted against my books that I almost forgot I had.

Could be Glaucous, Thayer's or Glaucous-winged Gulls (2nd summer ... mostly white). Possibly Buller's Shearwater but maybe not too close to the coast? Could be an Osprey? They are white on the bottom ... if it was making a lot of noise, I would lean toward Gull.

Looking carefully through my dogeared but still relevant books I'm going with the Caspian Tern everything fits including the bottom view in harsh morning light.

The fact that "The world's largest breeding colony is on a small, artificial island in the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, home to more than 6,000 breeding pairs each year." (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cas ... n/overview) seals the deal for me.

Thinking back I've probably seen them many times while fishing from small boats all along the Pacific coast from Mexico right down to Colombia.

No decent recording of the harsh call found but there are many mentions of it.

Yes on this side of Vancouver Island, Caspian Tern sounds the most likely.