Birds, Bees, and Gardening at the new homestead

This May I moved to Southeast Passage overlooking Cow Bay Lake. It is my dream home, 3^rd time’s a charm they say.

The property is part of a larger parcel that was subdivided, and a rock wall runs along the back of both existing properties. It used to be a farm, and there is an offshoot of Smelt Brook running between the existing lots. The lane was originally owned by a Greek woman I believe, and we all know I am Greek in my soul.

The pups and I are surrounded by tall trees and nature. The property has many Apple trees which are a favorite of our nesting Northern Parulas and of course the Cedar Waxwings came to strip them toward the end of the bloom.

There are also Sumac and Mountain Ash and many other berry trees I will be able to identify later in the summer. As a birder it’s amazing to watch it all unfold and have so many birds nesting on the property and along the brook. A few of the birds that are nesting here are Black-throated Green Warblers, Black and White Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, and Winter Wren. We even have nesting Canada Warblers (species at risk) just outside our fence and there may be 3 nests, at least 2, and likely more along the brook.

We inherited a good deal of mature perennials and shrubs which the bees and Hummingbirds also love, and of course I am adding many more. I brought some from the garden at my last house too such as Creeping Phlox, Heather, Rainbow Rock Cress, and Hellebores.

The plant I am most delighted to have on the property is Peony. I inherited these beautiful mature Peonies and the first bloom opened on the Summer Solstice.

Also, a lovely pink Dianthus that smells like Cream Soda, Cranesbill Geranium in purple, Tiger Lilies, Poppies in orange, and some red Astilbe. There are more things that haven’t bloomed that I’m not sure of yet and I don’t weed anything until I’m positive of the identification.

*Astilbes and Hostas that love the shade, as does Macy*

The Astilbe was in two sunny spots, and I relocated them to shady spots along the foundation. Astilbe is a wonderful shade plant, so along with some Hostas I planted along the foundation they can help to soak up moisture in that area. Dad will bring me up some Spurge too, which is another thirsty plant that thrives in shady areas.

*Cranesbill Geranium (will divide and put some in back for ground level deck area)*

*Dianthus (the internet tells me this is an heirloom variety, Rose de Mai)*

My mind was set on planting a shade garden at the front of the property until I realized it is actually a pretty sunny area. Well, the spot I put the future Garlic bed in is a bit shady so there will have to be some adjustments made down the road. But I found another spot for a little shade garden in between our two outbuildings. There was a broken up old chimney there, so I kept some pieces for colour and added plants to match so all peach and white plants.

White Bleeding Heart (what will the Hummingbirds think of that?)
Hosta
2 Astilbes – one white and one peach
Coral Bells (Heuchera) in terracotta
Sweet Woodruff (Gallium)
Ferns – digging up from other side of the yard. There are two different kinds on the property, and I chose the one I thought was the prettiest, which is Sensitive Fern (Onoclea Sensibilis)

I will probably add some ornamental grass and Daylilies down the road to a partial shade area along the back of the house, but for those really shady areas the above work best. Will have to check the Daylily bulb selection at Halifax Seed when I go Tulip shopping this fall.

Second week in June I hit up 4 garden stores for a mix of things I had to pay full price for to get expert advice and particular plants I was after (Lakeland Plant World has awesome staff and plants), and also some great sales, so in the end was able to plant 15 new trees/shrubs. The goal in some areas is more cover along the border of the property, some for colour to hope for more bird photo opportunities, some for foliage to attract birds and bees, and some just for my joy. Most of them will grow between 4-8 feet didn’t want anything with large roots near the septic field. The Rhododendron could be very large so it’s well away from that area and far enough away from the house to grow as big as it wants.

2 Common Ninebark Amber Jubilee variety (my new favourite will add more next year once I get a better understanding of the property and how things fill in)
4 Boxwood (2 varieties green velvet and green mountain)
1 Wintercreeper (Euonymus)
1 Silverleaf Dogwood
2 Dappled Willow
1 White Rhododendron (had never seen one and it needed some love so got a great discount – it says zone 6 and we are zone 5 in Nova Scotia but I’m told Halifax is now zone 6?)
1 Snowbound Spirea
1 Pink Beauty Potentilla
1 Maroon Swoon Weigelia
1 Dwarf Burning Bush

There is a lot to mow here, and also a lot that has not been mowed in a long time and kind of gone wild. We mowed a path around the edge but left it tall in the middle which worked out well as the Ring-necked Pheasants can take their babies through safely (that was the cutest thing of this week I think). It’s great habitat for many critters so we will keep a balance of wild and tame and refine the plan over the years as we learn more about our surroundings.

Starting some hardscaping as well and dug up weeds and put down cardboard and pea gravel around the patio stones by the steps and will fill with Irish Moss and Creeping Thyme down the road. There was a batch of Creeping Thyme out front which I divided and planted around the septic as shallow rooting ground cover is great for a septic field. Also put down tons of Dutch White Clover seed which is filling in nicely.

We had to get the septic replaced when I bought the house, and I did a bunch of research for what to do about the risers and field area. So, there are pots on the risers and pea gravel and creeping Sedums (4 varieties of Stonecrop brought pieces from my old garden) so we will always have easy access and some more ground cover and lots of clover to absorb nutrients and keep mowing down to a minimum. It’s best not to have a lot of foot traffic over the septic tank if you can avoid it.

*septic risers and clover starting to fill in*

I brought my Butterfly Bush from my old house, and I was pretty sure it was dead but dug it up a few days ago and saw new growth on the roots so it has time to get established at the new homestead before the fall comes.

The dogs are hard on the birds and bees as you can imagine so the more delicate additions are just outside the fence so I can enjoy them, and they will be safe.

Hydrangea
Clematis
Ruby Star Coneflower

Inside the fence I am also starting to plant some hardier shrubs with a stone path and ground level seating in mind, so picked up Blue Steel Russian Sage and planted between the back step and back deck.

*Boxwood to make us feel a little more tucked in and soften up the fence*

The back deck is all rotted out so removing it this week and will start building a stone patio with walkdown from the French doors. I think we can salvage enough from the old deck to build the walkdown and maybe a bench or raised bed or two. It’s the sunniest most sheltered area on the property so my vision is some vertical veggies like Tomatoes and Cukes and Peppers who love the sun, and lots of hardy shrubs and ground cover. Decks rot, stone and plantings are far more practical and beautiful in my opinion. And lets face it, wood is way out of budget for most of us these days! I built a really nice area at my old house with flagstone and groundcover for that reason, so have some practice thankfully.

*A photo I found on Pinterest that is for inspiration for a vertical garden component where I am removing most of the existing wooden deck.*

*this was in the garage and we turned it into a raised garden for lettuce and herbs*

It’s all an investment for the property and for the future and was a ton of work digging. Holy shale! Some rocks were as big at the Border Collies I swear.

Expecting a good rebate on the new hot water heater that will cover all the plant shopping as it was a bit outside my repair/reno budget but had to get it in there.

Frugality returns and I’m back to seeding (Black-eyed Susan and Pink Coneflower) and dividing and relocating existing plants. Of course when I first moved in, as I do every year I planted some seeds too early so will try to be more patient next year because not much made it from that seeding (seeds are cheap thankfully). Some will pop up later in the summer I expect, so whatever survived that trauma I will plant more of because I’ll know the conditions are good and it’s hardy.

It should all look pretty good this summer, but next year is when I will really see the results. Things to look forward to. This is why I garden.

I use the website as a journal for myself so look forward to updating about a year from now and see how things have progressed.

Happy Solstice, blessed be.

Angela (and Macy & Milo)

a trip to Pitt Meadows for a Prairie Falcon

BEYOND, Birds, British Columbia, Travel

It seems to be a recent tradition of mine to go birding in the Vancouver area after our annual RC Pets conference. Whether it is one day or two I try to make the best of my free time in the beautiful province of British Columbia.

What I would really love to see someday are the Coastal Wolves of Vancouver Island, but that is not practical in February, and so I bird.

I had about 8 hours of daylight available until I had to be the airport on my day off so I connected with Jim Palmer, and we headed out to the “valley”. I had two targets in mind that were being regularly seen in that area, both Falcons. We dipped on one, but I got to see the one I will never see in Nova Scotia, so it all turned out just fine.

We could not locate the Gyrfalcon and believe it may not be around anymore as it hadn’t been spotted in a couple of days, but that’s okay potentially I’ll get one in Newfoundland in April. If not this year, then the next perhaps. We did get to see two Coopers Hawks in the location where the Gyr had been frequenting, and a Red-tailed Hawk was also eyeing up their territory so perhaps the farm area was a bit “over-raptored”.

We did get the Prairie Falcon, which is quite unlikely to ever turn up in Atlantic Canada with its strictly western range. We have never had a report of one in Nova Scotia to my knowledge. It made a brief and speedy flyby just as we stopped the car. Then it flew directly into a cluster of very tall trees in the distance where we would perhaps never have spotted it without being alerted to it’s location

Hopefully this excuses my nearly unidentifiable shot. We did get excellent looks in a 60 zoom scope, as well saw him fly close to the car and then followed with binoculars. My out the window shot is not so wonderful either, but those buggers move fast!

this is with a crop sensor and 400mm lens and this is also cropped and zoomed in on the computer!

got the car window open before I could even get the door open so still not ideal but happy to have documented this wonderful lifer

Of course, I had hoped to get shots like the ones I saw on Cornell before we set out.

image taken from Cornell library – it would appear they set the bar a little too high…LOL

But I clearly did not, so here are some pretty duck photos I took later.

Northern Pintail and a couple of Green-winged Teal heading for the hills it would appear

male Northern Pintail – there were 250 of them in the settling ponds at the Iona Park

I got two other lifers that day, California Scrub Jay (also bad photos) and Marsh Wren.

high up in a tree behind someone’s house was this California Scrub Jay with more time I may have gotten a better photo but you gotta keep on moving or you’ll miss stuff

the Marsh Wrens are small and skulky but didn’t get a bad shot – the real treat was listening to them sing though – super cool little birds – there were lots of them at Iona Park

As usual the best part of birding in British Columbia was the scenery.

a view of Grant Narrows from “the valley” in Pitt Meadows

Perhaps one day when I finally see my Coastal Wolves, I can see some Tufted Puffins too.

Tofino, and maybe someday the mighty Haida Gwaii are calling my name…

Antigua and Barbuda, W.I.

BEYOND, Birds, Carribean, Travel

When I first started planning a December trip back 8 months ago or so, I had hoped to visit Central America. I decided that was not a trip I’d feel comfortable doing alone and put the feelers out for someone to join me but in the end realized I’d be travelling solo and revised my plans. Costa Rica or Columbia will have to wait, and Turkey is next on my list so it will not be soon if ever, but the universe decides at times.

My trip research became focused on closer, safer areas to visit that might have rain forest and excellent swimming, and the Caribbean started looking like a better possibility for me.

I’d never heard of Antigua and Barbuda, and their rainforest is basically non-existent at this point, but it is a safe, English speaking, area with ridiculously beautiful beaches and no shark problems. The girl who loves to swim in the ocean was intrigued! I had looked at some other Caribbean destinations as well but the solo travel safety factor, and the Magnificent Frigatebird Colony, urged me to book my flights to Antigua in the end.

I was a little concerned initially that the Frigatebirds were not going to be around because of Hurricane Irma in 2017 but discovered most of them had returned due to volunteer efforts to restore their habitat.

The people of Barbuda have not been so fortunate. I’m glad that my research led me to take the day trip and tour of Barbuda with the Barbuda Express. It was eye opening for sure.

The part of visiting the Caribbean that most people don’t think about is that the history of the Caribbean is slavery and plantations. That was only a short 200 or so years ago and the effects linger in varying degrees throughout the islands. Sobering to think of indeed and we must never repeat this.

In the case of Barbuda, a large part of their reparations are in the form of the land ownership structure. “People in Barbuda own the land collectively. Any citizen over 18 years old has the right to occupy residential land, graze animals and use land for commercial purposes, as long as projects are not considered major developments. ” from Wikipedia – Barbuda Land Acts of 2007

This has all been recently disrupted, and Robert De Niro is at the center of the controversy.

From YouTube watch : De Niro’s Barbudan Land Grab

There is not a lot I can do other than sympathize with the cause, but I am glad I supported local people and local services and learned more about this in person.

I have no opinion one way or another about Robert De Niro (of course I love his movies and consider him to be one of the best actors of our time), but I will say I believe his security people thought I might be a Paparazzi as I pointed my large telephoto lens and binoculars into the bushes to photograph this Barbuda Warbler.

Barbuda Warbler near the gate to Princess Diana Beach

In fact, a lot of rich natural habitat surrounds the Princess Diana Beach area and is part of the land he has purchased, and it is all worth protecting and development would be unfortunate. In addition to the habitat on land, there is the nearby Mangrove stand in the lagoon which houses the 2^nd largest colony of Magnicent Frigatebirds in the world, and a healthy corral reef surrounds the island of Barbuda. There is pink corral sand in Codrington Lagoon in fact.

It would be wonderful if for once humans left a bit of habitat unspoiled. If you read this Mr. De Niro I hope you understand the importance of this and work with conservation groups and local people to preserve the habitat. I’m sure anyone visiting for at least 2 weeks would enjoy the natural beauty too.

Everything doesn’t have to be about money and development.

I will say that the foreign aid that was designated for the people of Barbuda certainly does not seem to have reached them.

Instead of large development on the island, I think small businesses owned and operated by local Barbudan people would be more charming and in keeping with the landscape.

Perhaps Robert De Niro can enjoy his property on the end of the island as a retreat and soak in the natural beauty and share it with friends. Would be a great place for Kayaking and other slowed down activities.

I am sure this could all happen with some cooperation and vision of keeping the island pristine from large development.

A small corner of the world largely untouched I hope it stays that way as there is so little left.

Codrington Lagoon – on the other side of this strip is the 2nd largest breeding colony for Magnificent Frigatebirds in the world

Magnificent Frigatebirds in Codrington Lagoon – these are males in breeding plumage – they are also the national bird of Antigua

the “birdy” side of Codrington Lagoon and the air filled with the national birds of Antigua in their sanctuary

Princess Diana Beach near the old K Club property that was purchased after the Hurricane Irma disaster

Anyway, the rest of my vacation was on the larger island of Antigua.

As promised the people were friendly, and there is nowhere on the island that is not safe to visit. I don’t want to focus entirely on the politics, but you can bet that the history of Antigua and their courageous battle to form their own government and protect their people has a lot to do with the hospitality of the island.

Many places in the Caribbean are not safe for tourists to leave the resorts and plain and simple that is because the local peoples are still being unfairly exploited. Poverty and adversity do very little to create happy people.

That is not the reason I’m not the type of person to visit a resort, but it does make me happy that I did not spend my money in a resort. Foreign enterprise largely removes the money from a local economy to my understanding.

If you can do it, it is far better for the local people of any area to shop local and stay in local accommodations. I did this largely due to finances as I also certainly cannot afford an all-inclusive resort, but I will tell you that I still had a million-dollar experience.

Any food I ate on the island cooked by locals was wonderful (except I don’t like Choba it turns out, so pepper pot was a flop with me…LOL) and the prices were great. Mostly I ate chicken rice and veggies but if you are a seafood lover the Conch and Lobster are great choices.

yummy home cooked food at a little hole in the wall heavily frequented by locals at the corner of Hawksbill Road and I believe Gray’s Farm Road – you can’t find this place on map and I can’t remember the name of it but it is very close on foot to the Five Islands Moravian Church

My host Marco, and later my local taxi driver and new friend Omar took me to the grocery store so I wouldn’t have to travel too far. I stayed very close to Five Islands Village which is quite remote if you are staying off resort.

so you just know I told Omar he has to watch the Wire….LOL – thanks for all the local knowledge and safe travels Omar I wish you much happiness in your life!

I opted not to rent a car as driving in Antigua is not for the faint of heart. A drive through downtown St. John’s is stressful and tough to navigate for anyone not local. So instead I laid low, rested, went swimming, and arranged a taxi for anywhere I needed to go. Of course I did get a taxi into downtown St. John’s to pickup some Susie’s Hot Sauce for my Dad. Yup, it’s HOT!

I was also super fortunate as Five Islands and Galley Bay area has some of the best bird habitat on the island and so I was surrounded by birds at my accommodations.

Right on the property I had the following list of birds:

(Note as of December 12th – I will add more bird photos later still processing them all!)

Black- crowned Night Heron
Caribbean Martins (who were exhibiting nocturnal behavior and confused with bats by the locals…I saw them clearly and I will assure you there were birds)
Scaly-breasted Munia
White-crowned Pigeon
Common Ground Dove
Zenaida Dove
Bananaquit
Black-faced Grassquit
Antillean Crested Hummingbird
Caribbean Elaenia
Gray Kingbird
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
Carib Grackle
Brown Pelican

male Antillean Crested Hummingbird – the female is actually more striking which is not the norm with most bird species – I believe it implies they are faithful mates

there was a family of Antillean Crested Hummingbirds just outside Spice cottage so I got to see them feeding this young one while having my morning coffee

Omar had asked me if I knew what the birds with red eyes that stared down from the trees on the hills were and I was stumped until later when I was sitting on the deck and got this creepy feeling – juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron pretty much harmless but certainly looks menacing!

Brown Pelican very common bird in Antigua

another bird I photographed while having my morning coffee – Caribbean Elaenia which is a type of Tyrannida Flycatcher

so the reason I was awake early most morning was the noisy and very gregarious Gray Kingbirds insisted

the resident White-crowned Pigeons on the other hand were one of the shyest birds I have ever encountered

And within a short walk to Five Islands Village for lunch I found:

West Indian Whistling Ducks
Scaly-breasted Thrasher
Cattle Egret
Great Egret
Broad Winged Hawk

Because there were so many birds where I was staying I really didn’t have to do much other birding around the island to find target birds, but I did have a pretty great birding experience in the habitat across the street from Runaway Beach (a popular tourist area where Sandals and other resorts line the beach). The area is an IBA named McKinnon’s Saltpond. Here is my list.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S61898693

And after almost 2 hours of birding, yes I did take a 5 minute dip at Runaway Beach. It would have been ideal to balance that better, but meh.

I did stay one night on the other end of the island near Seatons, but my accommodations did not live up to my expectations so after one night I returned to the Galley Bay area and the heavenly accommodations.

I was supposed to have a kayak tour in Seatons with Antigua Paddles but the swells were very bad and it was cancelled. I was really sad about that because the owners had been wonderful to deal with when I booked, and I heard many good things about them and really wanted to have an experience where I could go slowly and look through the clear waters to marine life without snorkeling but the sea was super rough and there was no way to reschedule before returning to Nova Scotia.

a new favorite corner of the world at Galley Bay Beach

It was not really even safe for swimming in Galley Bay as there were 3 series of large waves breaking you had to swim out quite far to avoid them and since I was alone, I decided to spend some time practicing wave photography instead.

no swimming for me this day! storm surge in the Caribbean Sea at Galley Bay Beach

My island guide Omar recommended that I take a Wadadli Cat day tour around the island as an alternative and it was a great way to spend my last full day in Antigua.

We did zoom by the Greater Bird Islands and Captain George called out the White-tailed Tropicbird for me and I pulled the camera out of the dry bag briefly and got a doc shot between waves. I spent the rest of the boat tour explaining about birds to the tourists of course.

what us birders call a “doc shot” of a White-tailed Tropicbird – thank you Captain George!

With the birding accomplished, when we docked for a couple of hours at Green Island, I decided that floating on my back in the Caribbean Sea while drinking several Rum Punches was exactly what I needed to be doing. How I held onto my camera gear later when disembarking down the steps into the ocean is a miracle for sure!

Yeah mon! Swimming and Rum Punch in Green Island Bay

I was in Antigua and Barbuda, W.I. for a week by myself and I was often alone, but never lonely.

many Anoles kept me company on my visit to Antigua

one of the animals I had most hoped to see in Antigua was the Mongoose – there were two on the property where I was staying and although they were extremely shy I caught this one at sunrise one morning while drinking my coffee

Hurricane Dorian bird fallout in Eastern Passage, NS

Atlantic Canada, BEYOND, Birds, Canada

Black Skimmers at Rainbow Haven Beach – September 30th, 2019

During a harsh winter over 4 years ago I became a “birder” when I saw in the news there was a mega rare bird, a Eurasian Kestrel, hanging around Hartlen Point. Our Eastern Passage streets were packed with ice and I couldn’t venture too far so I thought it was worth popping down to see what all the excitement was about. The birding community immediately welcomed me in, and life has never been the same.

After viewing many rare birds here in Eastern Passage since that day, I now fully realize how lucky I am to live next to one of the best migratory points in the province, and in fact one of the best in Canada. In good weather and bad, and in all seasons but especially in the fall, Hartlen Point is the envy of many birding enthusiasts across the country.

On the evening of September 7^th, Hurricane Dorian made first landfall in Eastern Passage, and many thousands of birds that had been trapped in the eye of the storm hit the Eastern Shore and later Cape Breton after flying for days exhausted and hungry.

Had I been better prepared I would have gone out that evening in the eye of the storm, but I really didn’t realize how spectacular that would be as a birder. Right after the eye passed over our house, a rare bird report came through my email from Diane LeBlanc (VP of the Nova Scotia Bird Society) who had documented the event from the other side of the harbour from her home in Portuguese Cove. Through her birding scope she watched large numbers of Black Skimmers, Swallows, Swifts, Shorebirds, and Terns flying over the ocean during the eye. After reading Diane’s summary I promptly set my alarm to get up early and head for the shore here in Eastern Passage.

Many of the best birders in our province had the same idea and groups of them congregated from sunup to sundown in Eastern Passage along the shore over the following days.

For most of us this this was exciting, wondrous, and tragic all at once. Many of the birds who were swept away by Dorian from the Caribbean through the Carolinas suffered greatly and many surely died at sea. Many died upon landing or perished over the next 24 hours. Many Laughing Gulls were hit by cars as they stood in the roads confused, tired and looking for warmth from the pavement.

As it always happens, the strongest survive, and over the next days and weeks the birds rested, ate, and many made their way back down the coast. As I write this 5 weeks later this Thanksgiving weekend, there are still a group of about 40 Black Skimmers lingering at Rainbow Haven Beach in the fantastic Salt Marsh habitat, but hopefully they will find their way back down South as the temperatures drop. Their numbers have been dropping gradually and at the height of it there were approximately 200 Black Skimmers in the area between Rainbow Haven and the Salt Marsh Trail.

Members of the Nova Scotia Bird Society are always welcome at the Hartlen Point Golf Course if we are respectful and stay out of the golfers’ way, and the local mecca of birding at this time of the year is Jimmy’s Lane. It’s a spot that means very little to non-birders and is just a cart path down in the back bay. Birders were very fortunate as the course was closed for 2 days after the hurricane, so we were able to walk through uninhibited. For about a week, Jimmy’s Lane housed many Warblers that are very rare to Nova Scotia such as Cerulean Warblers, Worm-eating Warblers, and even an incredibly rare Swainson’s Warbler.

this Cerulean Warbler is the 300th bird species I’ve seen in Nova Scotia, so it may not be a wonderful photo, but I was over the moon to see it! The simply amazing wood carver Jim Edsall is working on a carving for me to commemorate my birdie milestone

The local beaches were graced with many Tern species which are quite rare to Nova Scotia, such as the Forster’s Terns which hung around the Eastern Shore for some time before picking their way down through Yarmouth on their long journey back home to southern waters.

Perhaps none of this sounds very exciting to the average person, but I know many people in our community have enjoyed watching the Black Skimmers and Laughing Gulls at MacCormack’s Beach. Wonderful little tourists to our seaside community.

got this snap in front of Boondocks Restaurant the morning after Hurricane Dorian of some human tourists with a Black Skimmer tourist

In the days following the storm I had the opportunity to chat with both birders and non- birders on the boardwalk, and the most interesting thing I heard was actually from a non-birder who said she watched hundreds of birds land on the shore through her window in her home on shore road as the eye of the hurricane passed over us. She didn’t know what most of the birds were, but she was awed all the same.

For me this was a truly amazing experience and I was able to see 11 new to me rare species of birds during the next week. We were very fortunate to have warm weather and not too much damage in our community. We are all better prepared for future major weather events, but us birders will be extra ready!

Nova Scotia Bird Society meeting and field trips in Yarmouth – summer solstice weekend 2019

Atlantic Canada, BEYOND, Birds, Canada

My 2019 summer solstice was spent in Yarmouth for the Nova Scotia Bird Society annual out of town meeting and field trips.

Honestly the annual out of town field trips are the best part of the NSBS for me, and likely many others feel the same. It’s only the second one I’ve attended, the first being the fabulous weekend in the Cape Breton Highlands last year.

I’ve been to Yarmouth many times but never for a pleasure trip, so it was wonderful to spend some time in the beautiful Acadian region at the most southerly tip of our province. I found an Airbnb right on the water on the Pembroke Road, which also turned out to be in a bit of a birding hotspot near the Goose Flats/Cranberry Head.

It wasn’t a weekend about rare birds, but of connecting with rare birders. There are only a small number of very good birders in the province, and a good percentage of them attend these events.

On the topic of rare birders, we had one join us all the way from British Columbia. Suzy Wright found out about the event when visiting Nova Scotia and incorporated it into her trip. It was interesting to have her observations as part of our group to include a perspective from our other coast.

left to right – Maurice LeBlanc, Angie Millard, Suzy Wright, Tony Millard, B Haley

We had wonderful weather and a good number of nesting warblers and songbirds.

Black-throated Green Warbler singing his most musical of warbler songs

The highlight of the trip for me and many others was the boat trip.

Alix d’Entremont sharing his vast knowledge of the local waters and islands

We all enjoyed sunny mornings and were often greeted by White-tailed Deer.

There was a photography workshop by Simon d’Entremont, which I do regret not attending as I love his work.

The talk on Northern Saw Whet Owls at the museum was very interesting and I’m tempted to head up to NB to see if I can assist with banding in October!

It was great to meet some of the local birders who don’t make it into Halifax for our meetings. Eric Ruff was a wealth of local birding knowledge in particular and kind and generous enough to share.

All in it was a wonderful kickoff to summer with lots of learning opportunities and great company. I even met my first Raven babies!

Birds, Barks, Beyond

wildlife & portrait photography by Angela Granchelli

Birds

Birds, Bees, and Gardening at the new homestead

a trip to Pitt Meadows for a Prairie Falcon

Antigua and Barbuda, W.I.

Hurricane Dorian bird fallout in Eastern Passage, NS

Nova Scotia Bird Society meeting and field trips in Yarmouth – summer solstice weekend 2019