Island beauty

It has been a windy week and the temperatures have been cool, which we enjoy. It was a busy week and we walked between the raindrops a few days. The grasses along the boardwalk bent to the wind and we held on to our hats.

The bay was busy this week as well with sailboats, pleasure boats and an occasional fishing boat.

In the salt marsh near the mouth of Bedeque Bay, two Green-winged Teals joined the regulars, 

Mallards and Black Ducks. The Teals are small compared to the regulars and camouflaged in the marsh. Can you see the two Teals in the picture?

One day, I discovered a male Northern Flicker 

among the trees as I watched the now former nest site of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

We spent some time at Cavendish with our friend, Helen, last week. Sadly, I had forgotten my camera’s card that morning. We did manage some photos with the cell phone, however. The Grove has the green glow these days and was the perfect place for our picnic.

It was a great day and Helen and her husband, Frank, are like family now. We hope Frank will be able to visit next year again.

A chipmunk ran up a nearby tree after lunch was over.

Along the trail, a dragonfly flitted about, stopping long enough to be photographed.

We stayed close to home with our bike riding last week due to the high winds. However, we hope to be back on the trails this week.

Despite the wind, the peonies 

survived the worst of the week. The blooms are huge 

and plentiful but short-lived.

This past Saturday, an airshow at nearby Slemon Park, meant we could watch the show from the front of our house. The airport was part of the Canadian Air Force Base which was established during World War 2 and closed in 1991. The airport is still in use, such as the night our first grandchild was born in distress and was airlifted to Halifax hospital within a few hours of her birth.

I took photos of the aircraft during the show. 

The best photos were of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds 

in their Tutor jets. 

The loudest was a Hornet which flew over the house, the sound following it at a distance. It was a reminder of the sounds which many people in the world hear today and fear as the sounds of war. However, in an age when drones are used in war too, some cannot be heard apparently. Is that better? 

As we watched, safe at our home on a pleasant afternoon, it was impossible not to think of others in less secure situations in various places around the world. It was a reminder of how fragile our peace can be and a thought for those suffering now.

Meanwhile, we are thankful for the peace we enjoy and the beauty around us. We will never take it for granted.

Our daughter took this photo of her husband bass fishing on Grand River last week. I wish everyone in this world such peace.

Respite

This past week was a busy one. With appointments over several days and helping a friend another day, we weren’t able to manage a walk on two days and picnics were out. Maybe next week for a picnic. It was a good week though, with many animal friends keeping us entertained in spite of some miserable weather.

The week started out with the return of two Osprey to the second nesting area near the boardwalk. We saw the two migrants sat in a tree near their nest which obviously needed repairs. One wasn’t facing our direction but the second, a male, we could easily see on a lower branch.

No wonder these amazing birds can snatch a fish right out of the water with those claws.

Chipmunks are out of torpor now and are a welcome addition to the rodents living along the boardwalk.

In Bedeque Bay, it isn’t surprising to see some Red-breasted Mergansers diving for food. The ducks always look like they need their head feathers trimmed but they are easy to identify this way.

My husband and I heard Northern Flickers over several days along the boardwalk but hadn’t seen them. Finally, after lots of time looking, I spotted this beauty high above the boardwalk. 

That same day, in the salt marsh, I watched a pair of Mourning Doves, one chasing the other all around the seaweed. It is mating season after all.

Another day, we decided to walk in the rain which meant I left my camera at home. The iPhone would have to suffice if we saw anything interesting. Wouldn’t you know it, a Bald Eagle was perched in a tree above the boardwalk, in full view of all the walkers.

It was a mature eagle, scanning for movement out on the water and the area around the boardwalk. Of course, the sun tried to break through as we watched the majestic creature. And me without my camera!

The next day it was raining again, and again I left the camera home. Unbelievably, two mature Bald Eagles were in the same tree this time. 

We saw them for more than an hour in the same place and they were still there when we left. People were thrilled!

My husband and I each had an encounter this week which has given us pause.

There is a new homeless shelter is Summerside which is doing great work. However, there are some people who do not use the shelter though it is well attended. Some of the homeless live deep in the woods at the end of the boardwalk. We see them sometimes walking or riding bikes  when we are there.

My husband met a man with a bike, carrying a bag. He looked to be in distress so husband asked if he was okay, did he need help. My husband suggested an ambulance, which the man refused, saying he had broken a rib and couldn’t ride his bike. He would walk instead. My husband and another man who happened along, both felt helpless, not knowing how to do better for the man. The poor man was obviously drugged and two men from his community wanted to do something but felt helpless.

My encounter was with an elderly Asian woman, an immigrant whose English was poor. Her card wouldn’t work in the bank machine at the check-out. The cashier and I, behind her in line, offered help.

I expect this woman is a more recent immigrant to this island. I wonder what circumstances led this senior to leave her previous home and some family behind to come to a foreign land and start anew in another language. All I could think is how I would feel in the same circumstances? How would I want to be treated? I offered help.

The world can be a hard place and we often feel helpless to do much about it. However, we can offer a kind word and give of ourselves to those we meet in our daily lives. Nature will be our respite.

A week around here

Family commitments kept us close to home this past week, so we kept our walking to the boardwalk. I finally finished spring cleaning and we bought the mulch we needed for the garden. My husband and I hope to get the work done outside this week. In between, there may be a picnic or two.

One day, the sun poked through the clouds to illuminate the far side of the lighthouse in Bedeque Bay. Cormorants were visible along the rocks and platform there.

The warblers have returned to Prince Edward Island and we saw a few this past week. Yellow Warblers serenaded walkers 

while this Yellow-rumped Warbler collected material for its nest.

The Black Duck grabbed our attention as it noisily made its way to the salt marsh. The other soon followed.

Great Blue Herons frequent the salt marsh. It looks like they can twist their long necks in a knot.

This male Mallard is without his mate now. She is probably on a nest these days while mister argues with the Black Ducks in the salt marsh. The fine pattern on the white feathers and the fluorescent colours on his head are evidence of nature’s artistry.

Muskrats, which were absent from the marsh last summer, have returned this spring. They are welcome additions!

In the woodland along the trail, Blue Jays find peanuts left by walkers 

before the chipmunks can get to the nutty treasures. 

In the field by the trail, this American Robin draws our attention due to the feathers on the front of its upper breast. 

Could this be the start of molting?

This Red Fox, photographed from a distance, proved it has beautiful teeth.

Finally, closer to home, these two male Northern Flickers landed on a backyard fence. 

The bird on the right mimicked the movement of the bird on the left. They stayed in the area for several minutes bobbing their heads and other movements, initiated by one and repeated by the other. 

The animals make any day more interesting.

Picnic at Bubbling Springs

The Covehead Lighthouse stood nestled in the sand dunes as we drove through the national park on Prince Edward Island.

My husband and I were headed for our first picnic of the season on a beautiful spring day. With the temperature above zero and the absence of wind, it was a perfect day for a hike and a hot lunch cooked on the camp stove.

Late last autumn, we explored the Bubbling Springs Trail in the park for the first time and we felt drawn back there to start the season this year. This area is one of our favourites on the island. When we arrived, there was snow in the parking lot, so we expected snow on the trail as well. 

Exiting the car, we heard an unfamiliar bird call and a woodpecker busy in a tree. The call and tapping continued along the length of the trail. I was lucky to take a photo of the bird though a poor one. A flock of Northern Flickers, the yellow shafted variety of the east coast appear to make this area home, at least this time of year.

On the pond which parallels a section of the trail, Canada Geese and Ring-necked Ducks enjoyed the morning sun. They were too far away for good photos.

The spring continues to bubble, doing its thing regardless of the weather or anything else. I wonder if the water freezes every winter.

The trail was indeed snow and ice covered in any shaded areas and water accumulated in the hollows. 

Our feet were wet by the time we arrived back to the car. We didn’t mind however and dried off before we started lunch.

On the old Coleman stove we fried bacon and warmed beans and meat cakes. Sipping a cup of hot tea, we had a quiet lunch, the first of the season, listening to the Flickers in the distance and the Song Sparrows in the trees nearby. 

The pussy willows and the sumac seeds against the blue sky completed the scene. 

We stopped at Covehead on the way home to see the birds in the salt marsh across from the light. The radiation fog rising from the marsh while geese and ducks went about their daily lives, created a peaceful scene which we watched for some time. A few deep breaths later and we were ready to re-enter the world.

Song and dance

The birds which live along the Rotary Trail are not as tolerant of people as those along the boardwalk in Summerside. On the Rotary Trail, they are more difficult to observe as they flit around the treetops so high above one’s view. 

However, I was able to take a few photos and videos of the spring avian song and dance here on Prince Edward Island. I hope with time to improve the quality of my work.  

Patience is important in this endeavour. My husband walked on while I waited and followed a Red-breasted Nuthatch among the trees. 

It had a nest, a hole in a tree which it tended. Back and forth it went to the hole.

After a few minutes it started a step dance along nearby branches, doing footwork and moving back and forth. It turned around on the branch and repeated the performance. It did this for several minutes, then moved to another branch and repeated the behaviour. The entire time it called out in its best nuthatch way. A video is here. While it is not great quality, you can see and hear its dance and song.

Another interesting sight was the American Robin, with the breast which looked like velvet. 

It flitted around, calling out as it went. It wasn’t as high in the trees and was easier to photograph and video which you can see here.

There are lots of Black-capped Chickadees at the Rotary Park and on the Confederation Trail. On the latter trail a few days ago, we could hear the chickadees in one section of the trail singing. 

We stopped for a time and watched one in an apple tree. It was the same song being sung by chickadees all along that section of trail. The wind made it impossible to take a good video.

Yesterday my husband and I rode along the Confederation Trail again, this time near O’Leary. I watched and listened to two Northern Flickers high in a tree.

The birds had a unique song I didn’t recognize and though I recorded them, the video quality is terrible. 

The birds are singing and dancing their way through April here on the island and we are privileged to witness their performance.