LOCATION
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
TRIP LEADERS
Jess Findlay & Connor Stefanison
MAX GROUP SIZE
5 Photographers
2026 DATES
• Feb 16th – 20th
• Feb 22nd – 26th
• March 1st – 5th
Should your desired dates be full, in the event of cancellations, be sure to join the wishlist further down the page.
2025 (5 TRIPS SOLD OUT)
2024 (5 TRIPS SOLD OUT)
2023 (5 TRIPS SOLD OUT)
2022 (5 TRIPS SOLD OUT)
FEE
$2950 CAD + 5% GST
(Approximate Price in USD - $2050)
Deposit – $600 CAD
Join myself and Connor Stefanison in the beautiful setting of southwestern British Columbia for an intensive, multi-day bird photography workshop!
Vancouver is often recognized as one of the world's most beautiful cities. Located between the Salish Sea, the North Shore Mountains and the Fraser River Delta, the city is surrounded by nature—it's no wonder why it's also one of the best major cities in the world for wildlife photography. The area is particularly productive for wintering birds, the bulk of which can be found south of the city's core where the mighty Fraser (British Columbia's longest river) meets the Pacific Ocean. The tidal mudflats and fertile, marshy land found here—some of which has been set aside as an international Important Bird Area—supports Canada's highest bird diversity throughout the winter months. This area is of particular importance to waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors. Moving away from these rich bottomlands, to the flanks of tall peaks that rise up from the coast, we’ll explore a totally different habitat where towering old-growth conifers, festooned with mosses and lichens, loom overhead. During this workshop, we'll have the opportunity to see and photograph many of the most charismatic birds that spend the winter enjoying Vancouver's relatively mild climate. Many of the sites we will visit are unique to our workshop, owing to our local expertise, and the many weeks of pre-trip scouting done each year. Several species of owls are possible. Barred, Barn, Short-eared, Long-eared, Great Horned, Northern Pygmy, and Northern Saw-whet, are the most likely. Great Grey and Northern Hawk Owls have also been photographed during this workshop, though aren’t to be expected. During rare irruption years, this is also one of, if not the best place to photograph Snowy Owls on the West Coast. Bald Eagles amass at the Fraser River Delta in the thousands in late winter. It isn't uncommon to see a few dozen in a single tree - truly a spectacle not to be missed! Other raptors we often encounter include Red-tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcons and Northern Harriers.
Waterfowl and shorebirds that rely on the region's largely ice-free lakes and coastline also provide plenty of photographic opportunities. Given they're hunted all across the continent, in most places, ducks can understandably be quite skittish and difficult to photograph. We bring our groups to many sites where birds have become accustomed to human presence and show little to no fear. This allows for tremendous closeup opportunities of normally shy species. We will be visiting the best site we know of in North America for photographing Green-winged Teal. Time will be dedicated to achieving tremendous portraits of Wood Ducks: another gorgeous and highly sought-after species. Close encounters and flight shooting with Buffleheads, Northern Pintails, Ring-necked Ducks, Northern Shovelers, American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Gadwall, and Hooded Mergansers will round out an amazing portfolio of ducks. Crossing the Salish Sea on a scenic ferry ride, we'll spend a day on Vancouver Island, adding more diversity yet. We design this itinerary with West Coast speciality birds in mind. These include Red-breasted Sapsucker, Bewick’s Wren, Pacific Wren, Bushtit, Hutton’s Vireo, Steller’s Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Spotted Towhee, American Dipper, among others.
Anna’s Hummingbirds are a species we’ll spend considerable time with, photographing not only displaying males with their dazzling iridescence, but also females building nests and incubating their eggs—rare, photogenic sites that take many, many days of careful searching to uncover.
Naturally, the opportunities are likely to differ from year-to-year. As such, our trip itinerary will never be concrete, but rather a dynamic schedule that makes the best use of our time based on weather and bird activity. This will allow you the best possible chance at coming away with an excellent portfolio of images. I invite you to explore the many species featured on this workshop, by clicking to expand the images below…
JOIN THE WISHLIST
This year’s trips already full? Interested in participating during a forthcoming year?
Click the button below and enter your details.
You’ll be notified of any cancellations and of early registration for future trips.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
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This workshop tends not to involve any technical or serious hiking, and the majority of our shooting locations are a short distance from the vehicles. The ability to comfortably carry your gear on relatively flat trails (some of which may be rooty, rocky, and muddy) for 1 - 2 km (0.6 - 1.2 miles) will be beneficial, though not imperative. Age and physical limitations do not tend to be at all restrictive during this workshop.
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One of the many aspects that sets our trips apart is the meticulous attention given to each and every one of our participants. Other than to demonstrate angles and techniques, it’s rare that Connor and I take our own photographs during our workshops.
Photographing wildlife is our passion too, but we save that for our own time, and always prioritize maximizing your enjoyment and productivity. -
Our local expertise allows us to adapt to all the variables we’re presented with as nature photographers: the often changeable weather, wildlife activity, even traffic conditions. With that in mind, each day will bring something new, and our exact schedule is liable to change throughout the day.
Click here for a detailed document, answering all questions you may have about this workshop. Following registration, further information is provided in a detailed introductory video. -
A high level of instruction is offered to all those registered. Some participants may solely be interested in our guidance to the best sites for their target species, others may be seeking greater education on the ins and outs of nature photography, wildlife, ecology, etc.
We’re confident in our ability to exceed your expectations, whatever those may be.
WHY CHOOSE OUR WORKSHOPS
We are grateful to be reputed as two of North America’s top wildlife photography guides; focused on personalized attention, and of course the overall enjoyment and well-being of our valued clients.
Our backgrounds in biology allow us to better understand the ecology and behaviour of our subjects; translating into better photographic opportunities for the participants we guide.
Both Connor and I grew up in the places we guide, leading to an in-depth knowledge of the area's geography, weather, birds and other wildlife.
All of the images you see showcasing our trips were taken at the locations we will visit, and at the same time of year.
As is evident in the gallery below, these are often exceeded in quality by the images taken by our trip participants.Limited group sizes and two guides/instructors translates into more one-on-one teaching opportunities for each photographer.
We are passionate about, and well-versed in a variety of different techniques/approaches, and are equally passionate about helping others achieve excellence in the styles of photography that interest them most.
Apart from demonstrating angles, composition, and other techniques, we will not be shooting. Our time is dedicated to helping you achieve the best results, not making our own images.
PARTICIPANT IMAGES
REGISTRATION
If you're ready to reserve a space for the 2025 workshop, or would simply like to receive more information about it, please provide your details in the form on the right. If you have any questions, please include them in the message portion of the form.
Due to changes in availability, submitting a form does not guarantee your registration — an email will be sent confirming the reservation of your space. Details will be provided on how to send secure payment for the required non-refundable deposit. Additionally, a release of liability waiver and all other requisite paperwork will be sent, which you will be required to read and sign.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our policies which can be found below.
Thanks very much for your interest!
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Deposits are considered non-refundable. If a cancellation is made prior to 60 days before the start date, the remaining amount (•not including the deposit•) will be eligible for refund, minus a 5% administrative fee.We pride ourselves on operating our workshops with tact and consideration for our valued participants. We will do our very best to fill your space and reimburse you, should you be met with extenuating circumstances. Our expectation is that same consideration be extended to us, as small business owners — consequently, we strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance to ensure you can be reimbursed for costs ineligible for refund, and unjust losses aren't imposed on us.
* The workshop fee (including deposit) will be eligible for refund should restrictions surrounding COVID-19 prevent us from operating the trip, or prevent your participation - including prohibition of cross-border travel, and interprovincial travel. This does not include complications surrounding COVID testing prior to flights, or other unforeseeable matters pertaining to travel. This also does not include prevention of participation due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, or any other illness (if within the 60-day limitation). *