Time in nature

My husband and I have continued our daily walks along the boardwalk in Summerside where some of the apple trees are late to bloom. 

The resident Belted Kingfisher provided lots of entertainment one day too as it fished in the stream. 

You can see the catch in its mouth in this photo. 

Meanwhile, Rockets are blooming along the trail now.

We also drove to Cavendish one morning to watch for Bald Eagles during the Gaspereau run. Gaspereau are small fish which return from the ocean and swim upstream to spawn in the waterways of the island. The eagles follow their movement and fill up on the tiny fish each day during the run.

After they’ve eaten, the satiated eagles sit in the nearby trees and let their food settle. 

This time provides a great opportunity for eagle watching and photography and we saw eight eagles, mostly immature ones, during our time there. 

This young one didn’t mind us watching from the trail nearby.

On Clark’s Pond, Canada Geese swam 

as overhead, a Osprey surveyed the pond and occasionally dived for fish.

Along the trail, Forget-me-nots greeted us 

while various species of birds sang their praises to creation. Familiar species like the Song Sparrow were visible as were Common Yellowthroats, singing in their best voices.

We had lunch at Cavendish Grove, one of our favourite picnic locations. 

We ate in a shaded area, probably not the best choice on a day when the mosquitos were biting. A table in the sun would have been a far better choice.

Next time.

Witness

We have stayed close to home this past week, keeping our walking to the familiar boardwalk and the trails of the Rotary Friendship Park. My husband and I walked every day between the raindrops, dressed for colder spring weather while summer stands waiting around the corner.

The beauty of nature does not escape us as we walk the familiar trails which have plants sprouting, growing and blooming on the forest floor. 

Patches of plants such as wild Lily of the Valley 

and bunchberry make us stop to look.

Meanwhile, some apple trees are in bloom still 

and juniper also known as larch or tamarack, has its needles again and is looking particularly pretty. 

The animals are tending their young these days and over the last month we’ve watched a family of foxes with four kits, play in the distance. Now down to three kits, the young foxes venture further from home and play with each other while the parents hunt. This one posed nicely one day, the fuzzy fur showing its youth.

In the salt marsh one day, we watched as the mother fox hunted among the bulrushes, stealthily searching for unsuspecting birds or their eggs. This area is home to a female Black duck who is a great mother to her five ducklings. She is on guard as the ducklings feed. 

This momma definitely has her ducks in a row. 

This 10 second  idea shows the ducklings keeping up with her. Here

Lupins are beginning to bloom now and will do so for the next few weeks. The first we’ve seen this year had a slug feasting on it.

Earlier that same day, we had seen a Song Sparrow with a slug in its beak, probably food for its young. 

Meanwhile, the salt marsh is recovering slowly from the damage from sub tropical storm Fiona as bulrushes are growing again after a slow start. The local Great Blue Heron enjoys the setting as much as we enjoy its company. 

Belted Kingfishers fish in the stream and along the shoreline, occasionally landing in a place where we can watch their activity.

The circle of life is evident all around us as we walk the trails. We are privileged to be its witnesses.

Return to Clark’s Pond

We vowed to return to Clark’s Pond to see the Bald Eagles again during the Gaspereau run. The birds know where and when to gather for a Gaspereau buffet. This time we met with Helen and Frank, Australians visiting family on the island. Helen is a fellow blogger I had met on-line two years previously.

We started in Cavendish Grove, our favourite place on the island and made our way towards Clark’s Pond. Along the way now, wildflowers line the trail, the most appropriately named, Forget-Me-Nots, always catch my eye. 

The centres of the tiny blooms are white or yellow and tiny pink flowers are the last to open. 

It was a beautiful sunny day but the wind was high which usually means fewer birds. While there were some of the large raptors in the area,

they weren’t in the numbers we had seen the previous week. The younger birds have yet to achieve the unique feather pattern of the mature Bald Eagle.

We walked to the beach through the campgrounds down to where the stream enters the Gulf. 

Here the Gaspereau make their way from the Gulf of St. Lawrence into the pond, a short journey through the sand dunes. 

The sea was rough and the sound of the rolling waves filled the senses. The air was fresh and cool. We could see birds on the far side of the stream as they floated just above the beach.

Several juvenile birds rested atop the trees around the pond, including one which exhibited spiky feathers in the breeze. 

It stayed there the entire time we lingered.

The remains of a tree, against the sea and sky, shows how such beauty can be devastating.

Back at the Grove, the leaves have burst forth for those few warm sun-lit weeks again and the apple trees are in bloom. 

We had a picnic with our friends and enjoyed every minute in nature’s garden. 

Perfect.

On the beach

This was the scene in January on the beach at New London.

Not so inviting! This week the beach is windswept but there is much to see as we walk its length.

I love how the fishing boats are so close to shore as they navigate the channel to French River. 

They always have seagulls following them, expecting a hand-out as the fishers clean up from the day’s work. 

Fishers have a friendly wave to people on the beach, while waves from the wake are impressive on this windy day.

Low tide has exposed some rocks, not a common site on this beach. The remnants of an old wharf is exposed today too, the first time we’ve seen it. 

The remains of a lobster trap is partially buried in the sand. A well weathered piece of driftwood has withstood another winter.

Tons of seaweed has been cast ashore on this beach. More than the amount, I am taken with the colours and delicate nature of some pieces.

Low tide exposes the signs of wave action on the sand. A variety of shells, whole or broken have begun the journey to sand themselves.

Along the shoreline, apple trees are in full bloom now as is choke cherry. Lilacs need another week.

We were the only people on this beach today, taking in the best a beach has to offer. What could be better?