Along the way in 2022

As we travel around the Prince Edward Island, there are always interesting things or curiosities which we see along the way. 

There is an area of the boardwalk which I call Hobbit House. It gets a lot of animal activity when birdseed or peanuts are left there. Hobbits visit when people leave for the day.

Recently our travels took us to the beach at Yankee Hill. Someone in the area put this sign up by the parking lot. 

There wasn’t much there that day but beach toys for kids are left there often. 

Some time later, the evening news reported about the items left at the sign having been stolen. My wish is that life never gets so newsworthy on this gentle island that such stories don’t make the evening news.

This fishing shack at Malpeque has an message which brings a smile to many.

In keeping with the fishing theme, someone decided to reuse fishing buoys found on the beach at Brander’s Pond. It is a good way to keep the stray buoys from littering the ocean or the beach.

This lone Canada Goose enjoyed his time among the gulls and swimming in the ocean with a cormorant. He was an unusual sight, the first goose we’ve ever seen on the beach. 

At French River a kayaker returned to shore after a paddle through the channel. It must be nice to see the shoreline from a different perspective and see cormorants close-up. 

My husband and I are planning to take our daughter’s kayak for a spin after tourist season when the West River area is less crowded. I miss riding my bicycle and the kayak would be something different to experience. It was my husband’s idea and he is not a fan of the water, but is eager to try it. You can bet there will be life jackets involved.

 

Back at the Grove

When we arrived at Cavendish Gove and exited the car, a tree on an island in the pond had noisy grackles and blackbirds competing for loudest bird in the area. By the time I could take a photo, there were only a few left in the tree.

We had a pleasant surprise too. One pair of Canada geese had six goslings. Already this spring, one nest hadn’t any survivors. Over the past number of years though, my husband and I have seen two sets of goslings in the Grove, so we shouldn’t have been surprised to see one goose family there this year, which was great!

Canada geese are such wonderful parents. It is always fascinating to watch them, as both parents stay involved with the goslings, unlike some bird species. One parent leads the goslings around and the other stays behind, protecting the young ones from potential predators or from straying away.

As we watched, one adult led the six balls of yellow fluff and dabbled on the way, the goslings behind watching the upended bottom of the parent. 

After a short interval among the grasses along the shoreline that adult headed back into the pond followed by the goslings and the other parent. One gosling had taken the lesson seriously and dabbled a bit too. They are fast learners.

In the nest area, both parents were settling in as the young ones did the same.

Meanwhile, Gadwalls and Mallards swam around the pond, dabbling as well. 

They co-exist nicely with the geese as we’ve seen before in the Grove.

                                               Double dabblers:  Gadwall left, Canada Goose right

Elsewhere in the park, the Cavendish sandspit has been closed to visitors for the summer to protect the nesting Piping Plovers I mentioned a few posts previously. An article by the island’s CBC station can be seen here.

Home again

We were focussed on cycling so it’s been a while since we saw our animal friends along the boardwalk in Summerside. On a cold morning, after a sprinkle of snow overnight, we headed for a walk in our favourite place. It was good to be back home.

The animals were active in the morning cold. A single Canada Goose floated in the harbour near the gazebo.

It must have abandoned the flock swimming further along the shoreline. Meanwhile nine American Black Ducks swam around in the stream which was looking like a pond. The saltwater marsh is flooded.

Chickadees were about and would probably take seeds from one’s hand. They are accustomed to people feeding them.

Blue Jays were noisy among the trees and active around the feeders where people placed seeds. They chase off the smaller birds.

Squirrels approach and if you encourage them, they will walk up your leg. My husband and I watched as parents and their two children placed a peanut down for an approaching squirrel. 

A blue jay, watching from a nearby tree, swooped in, scooped up the peanut and flew off.

I watched a single European starling among some branches. Rarely do we ever see these birds on their own. It was a young bird with beautiful markings. Was it lost? It was calling as if shouting to a friend.

Further along the boardwalk, people had placed a beautiful double bird feeder in memory of a family member. 

The little birds love these feeders. Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches have a feast while Blue Jays look on. 

It is good to see the smaller birds feasting rather than being driven off by the jays who watch everything.

Wonder what the squirrels think of this new feeder?

Cavendish Grove

Last spring my husband and I visited Cavendish Gove in the national park on Prince Edward Island many times, watching the geese who return there every year to have their young. This year, because of Covid 19 precautions, visitors were not permitted in the park until June 1st, so we recently returned to one of our favourite places.

September last year, the tropical storm which crossed the island caused tremendous damage in the park which closed after the storm. We didn’t know what to expect in the Grove. We were pleasantly surprised to see the Grove sustained minimal damage and looked much the same as it had before the storm. 

There was significant damage elsewhere however.

The trees in the Grove have begun their leafy spread. The apple trees, 

numerous in the area, were at peak bloom. Chestnut trees were in bloom 

and the birch trees gave their early season shade.

Of course we had a picnic 

and listened to the birds as we took in the scene. This is always a peaceful place, though it is quieter now without the tourists. The island will not have tourists this year due to the threat of Covid 19.

During lunch, this year’s gaggle swam across the pond below us, far enough away so as not to notice us.

It was good to be back at the Grove and to see our old friends and the new arrivals.

Welcome friends

There was snow in the forecast so we went to the boardwalk in the early morning ahead of the inclement weather. The birds greeted us as soon as we left the car. The American Crows, fewer in number now than earlier this year were in exceptional voice as were the Blue Jays. However, other birds are along the boardwalk now too and they are a welcome sight,

Two Mourning Doves sat in trees near the gazebo. Their cooing was audible above the noisy birds in the distance.

Numerous Black-capped Chickadees are back, hiding in the trees, waiting for walkers to place seeds along the bridge for them. They will feed out of one’s hand as well.

Red-breasted Nuthatches have returned and are ready to feed from one’s hand. However the more aggressive chickadees chase them away.

A single European Starling dropped by to see what’s going on. It is unusual to see one of these birds on its own.

The Song Sparrows have returned. We heard them and recognized their melodies long before we saw them. They are such powerful singers!

Meanwhile out over the harbour, a gaggle of Canada Geese flew by demanding our attention with their conversation as they looked for a place to land.

Can anyone identify this bird? I have never seen it before though I imagine it is common  on the island.

After a winter of crows and jays, these new arrivals along the boardwalk entertain walkers out for exercise and a break from the isolation. 

A gaggle revisited

A return visit to Cavendish Grove to visit a gaggle of geese did not disappoint though we didn’t see them until we were ready to leave. When we arrived, we checked the basin and the pond where a goose had nested, then the upper pond where we had seen the geese during our last visit. No geese. 

My husband’s mother was visiting from Newfoundland and we brought a picnic lunch with us which we enjoyed in the burgeoning green of the grove. 

Afterwards, we walked to Cavendish Beach. It was a lovely sunny day with a bit of a cool breeze, perfect for a walk.

On our return to the car, the four geese and eight goslings were in the pond where the nesting island is located. 

We were delighted to see them and quietly stood at a distance to take some photos. The geese were wary of our presence nonetheless. They left that pond and crossed the path to the basin. 

The goslings are growing wings now and their colour is darker with each day. They ate the reeds they pulled up from the water and swam around with the adults.

We will return to look for them again.

Update:

We visited twice since then. The first time there was a gaggle of geese, two adults and nine geese, not the group we had seen before.

The second time, there weren’t any geese.

The Lake of Shining Waters is within walking distance of these small ponds. Could the adults, who would be molting now, have led the goslings to the large gaggle which always congregates there?

We plan to visit the lake to look for goslings.

A family of geese

We have seen a nesting goose at Cavendish Grove every spring for a few years now. However we were never lucky enough to see the goslings. This year my husband and I decided to keep checking back until we saw them.

Nine days after our first visit this year, we found a family of geese on the island in the pond where the goose was nesting the week before. The gander kept watch for humans and other predators, being very alert to every movement nearby. 

The goose was able to relax while the gander was the sentinel.

The five goslings were balls of lemon, grey-black fluff. 

They were near their mother at the back of the island. The goose moved back to the downy nest and gradually, the goslings all made their way back to their mother.

Meanwhile the gander had a position away from the goose and goslings on the island, standing when anyone stopped to observe his little family, resting if there weren’t any people nearby. He had an aggressive stance if he felt threatened.

The gander has a damaged foot, having lost part of the webbing and the toes. The bird appears to have adapted to the loss on land. I wonder if it affects him when he is in water? 

We will check in on the little family again to watch the growth of the goslings.

Duck duck goose

One reason I love Cavendish Grove is the bird life in the basin every spring. Two couples of Canada geese are nesting there this year and two pairs of ducks as well.

Two Northern shovelers rested among last year’s bulrushes. The male is brightly coloured with a long scoop-like beak. 

The female has a similar shaped orange coloured beak and brown plumage which looks like it was hand painted around the perimeter of the feathers.

A pair of Gadwalls also shared the pond. They were more shy than the shovelers and were harder to photograph. The female’s feathers are similar to the female shoveler. 

The male is more distinctive with fine patterns and blocks of colour such as grey and black.

On an island in the pond, a goose sat on her nest. 

We guessed the bird nearby was the gander. He stood sentinel duty, barely moving a muscle. 

Later, after our walk through the Dunelands down by the beach, we walked past the gander and he hissed at my husband and me.

It was our first encounter with a hissing gander and we hadn’t approached or threatened him.

Two other geese were nearby in the high grass. They didn’t bother with us.

We plan to go back to see the little avian community in the Grove soon, hoping to see ducklings or goslings.