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perspective no longer holds sway. Some 60 million North Americans currently participate in birdwatching, and the hobby employs more than 60,000 people in the retail and nature tour trades, generating more than $25 billion annually. Birdwatchers range from casual weekend hobbyists to driven fanatics known as "twitchers," who spend thousands of dollars pursuing birds around the world in order to check them off their bucket lists. Bradd, whose personal inventory numbers "a modest 2,600 species," says many serious birders have ticked 6,000 species of the estimated 10,000 on the planet. But of the select few who have spotted more than 7,000, none is more famous than Phoebe Snetsinger, an American who embarked on a series of journeys to far-flung locales after being diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1981. When the illness went into remission, Snetsinger continued travelling, before finally dying in a road crash in Madagascar in 1999 at age 68. At the time of her death, she had observed a record number of 8,400 species. Although Snetsinger's devotion was extreme, birding does seem to attract those with obsessive traits. Certainly many of Bradd's customers can be demanding. It's not unusual for twitchers to meet with him pretrip and present a menu of the species they want to see. "Bird guides have a lot more pressure than other nature guides because we have to produce," says Bradd. "That means not only finding the bird in question, but putting the client in a position to see it and even calling it out from cover if need be – and in bad weather, all the birds go and hide in the woods." Of course, in a locale renowned for its wild climate, this puts Bradd 's guiding skills in the Eagle Scout category. Ranking atop Bradd's roster of most memorable clients are the 11 British commandos who flew in from Ethiopia, Malaysia and the UK to "bird Tofino." They rang Bradd up and told him, "We want to hire you until you drop." The group's leader, a lieutenant in the British army, was such a hardcore birder (wood duck) Kerry Banks p20-23_Profile.indd 23 that he spotted 28 new species while being held hostage for four months by guerrilla fighters in Colombia. The soldiers' Pacific Rim day tour, recalls Bradd, began with a boat trip to Cleland Island through fourmetre swells in howling rain. Three hours later, the gang disembarked and headed to a pub for a few pints. "Well," thought Bradd, "I've seen the last of them." But no, the camouflage-clad Brits wanted more. "They kept me out there all day searching for a Pacificslope flycatcher. By the time we finally staggered back, I was nearly hypothermic." But then, Bradd has never been a creature of comfort. In winter, when storms rage along the West Coast, he often sets off for sunnier climes – not to relax in resorts but to venture into remote and inhospitable regions in search of birds. When I last spoke to him, in November 2011, he was bound for Papua New Guinea – a country fabled for its astonishing array of avian life, including 38 of the world's 43 species of the brilliantly coloured bird of paradise, whose gaudy plumage includes head ribbons, neck wattles, cropped capes and wiry feathers that curl like handlebar moustaches. Bradd said he expected it to be a distinctly challenging expedition. In addition to being mountainous and malaria-ridden, New Guinea is racked by clan warfare, racial tensions and violent crime. "There was an active headhunting culture there until very recently," he noted, "and it's rumoured that the tribes still take the occasional trophy. I'm just hoping my rapidly balding pate won't tempt anyone." –Kerry Banks GET MOBILIZED Unless the New Guinea headhunters got him over Christmas, George Bradd will be back in Tofino by May 2012, conducting guided tours through his company, Just Birding. Bradd offers six different day treks, ranging from shore walks to pelagic voyages. 1-250-725-2520; justbirding.com/ Also in May, the Raincoast Education Society will host its 15th annual Tofino Shorebird Festival, a weekend of guided walks, lectures, seminars, slide shows and music. 1-250-725-2560; tofinoshorebirdfest ival.com George Bradd amidst shimmering flocks of western sandpipers, as they swoop over the Tofino mudflats: bcaa.com/sandpipers A bird's eye view: bcaa.com/eagle Y Member coastal travel, including maps, TripTiks and savings: bcaa.com/thewestcoast WESTWORLD >> S P R I N G 2 0 1 2 23 1/26/12 2:50:01 PM

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