Through the leaves

This past week started at the Dunk River Trail in central Prince Edward Island. The trail is one of the most beautiful on the island and draws us for a walk there with the changing seasons. Our autumn visit is our favourite for obvious reasons. We always park near where the Dunk flows out of Scales Pond, which looked particularly serene last week.

The entrance to the trail is deceptive. The trees at the entrance were green still, which is hugely different from what one encounters after passing under these green sentinels. The trail was leaf covered with promises of more to come. 

Overhead, the blue sky was a perfect backdrop for the reds, yellows and oranges clinging to their mother branches. 

The river moved to the rhythm of the earth as it rippled through the shadows, 

the remaining leaves casting a red glow here, yellow there. We stood in awe at the scene. AI did not generate this wonder.

We also visited the Cavendish area again last week for a picnic in the Grove on a sunny autumn day. Although the wind was blowing a gale, the Grove is sheltered and peaceful. The photo shows the view from our picnic table.

Later we drove along the coast to North Rustico where several huge flocks of Canada Geese greeted us in several locations, this one in the harbour at North Rustico. 

We had an abbreviated walk along the boardwalk there but the wind made walking difficult. You can see from the grasses and bushes in the photo the strength of the wind.

Along the boardwalk in Summerside this past week, one day was particularly calm and we watched the gulls and crows argue over food the gulls drop from heights to break the shells for the morsels inside. I fully expect the crows to start gathering and dropping the shells like the gulls though their beaks may not be able to do it. Crows are intelligent enough to know what to do however.

A Solitary Sandpiper is still feeding in the salt marsh and a male Red-winged Blackbird gathered seeds left along the bridge by walkers. This is late for both species to be here on the island especially since temperatures have plummeted the last few days.

One common winter species here, Black-capped Chickadees, are busy in the trees these days and it is common to see groups of them gathering seeds, like the one below.

Autumn is a great time for fungi too. We have seen numerous mushrooms which we sometimes can’t identify. This Tinder Polypore on a tree trunk is easy to identify though since it resembles a horse’s hoof.

I’ll close this week with a photo of a pumpkin left at the entrance to the Dunk River Trail. The sunlight filtered through the leaves and cast on the tree make an ethereal body for the pumpkin.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Of snow and light

It feels like it has been overcast for months with occasional periods of sun here and there. With the level of light in the January sky, the lighthouse beacon is shining in the late morning. 

Every day I look for a new focus, something to brighten the grey day. The boardwalk usually accommodates me. 

One day recently, after a snowfall, snow collected as fluffy whiteness in some areas. Leafless shrubs along the trail were covered. 

Some had an abundance of the fluffiness.

Near the end of the boardwalk, one scene was particularly striking with snow-filled shrubs standing in ice.

Nearby, water dripped from the trees as the snow melted.

My husband fed peanuts to the chickadees hanging out at a feeder in the area.

At the bridge, a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos were feeding on the birdseed left by walkers. 

The juncos scatter quickly when walkers approach. They, unlike chickadees and blue jays, still fear humans but eat the treats they leave behind.

We will be back.

The power of a peanut

The animals along the boardwalk in Summerside are a source of interest and enjoyment for many walkers. If you walk in the morning, birds and rodents are foraging and will take food from your hand if you are patient. However, there is a protocol for each species. 

Chickadees, the smallest of the lot, cannot take peanuts in the shell. 

Consequently, we crack the shells, 

remove the peanuts and break them in two. Then the tiny birds can fly off with half a peanut.

They are careful at first when you offer up peanuts but if one of the birds thinks he can trust you, soon several are in line to take the tasty morsels.

Then there are the blue jays. They will take peanuts however they are offered up, in the shell or not. They are reluctant to take peanuts from your hand, preferring them on the ground or railing. But if you are patient, they too will approach your hand to take them. 

The jays watch the area near the bridge carefully. At least one of them is always around and if a walker offers food, 

notice goes out and before long, you can have up to a dozen birds there. 

When you walk on after feeding them, some of the birds will fly from tree to tree along the way with you. They don’t want to miss out on anything.

The rodent population is represented by chipmunks and squirrels. We haven’t seen chipmunks around the boardwalk for a few weeks now but they disappear every winter into their burrows. 

However, the squirrels are still busy gathering food and will come around any walker.

They don’t hesitate to take peanuts from anyone. They usually inspect peanuts theyare given and eat any with cracked shells. Shells which are in perfect condition are taken away possibly for winter storage.

People in the area are photo worthy too. When we arrived on the boardwalk Monday morning, we could see through the trees that people on the bridge were feeding the animals. 

Later, as we continued our walk, people were busy feeding the animals further along the boardwalk, a lot of them in one area. 

The sun that day made for a poor photo however.

Animals and people are conditioned in a mutually beneficial relationship. It is enjoyed by all.

Birds of the park

It stood there alone, surveying the scene, a lone sentinel on an eroded promontory. One could easily miss it with the naked eye but a walk along Orby Head and a camera lens helped bring it into focus. A Great Cormorant kept a silent vigil in a place where many Double-crested Cormorants usually gather. It looked regal more than lonely there and doesn’t move as I watch for several minutes.

A few weeks later, Double-cresteds were at the same location at Orby Head. The crests on the sides of their heads are obvious on these males.

During our first visit to the park in early April this year, we had a picnic under a maple tree which had several Black-capped Chickadees busy flitting around its branches. Unlike our experience of chickadees in more recent days on the trails, these chickadees were silent.

We hear woodpeckers in the trees around the Grove every time we visit. On one occasion, I saw this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on a nearby tree, more exposed than usual. It looks like its markings were painted on. 

It flew away and within seconds a mature Bald Eagle flew overhead. 

Common Grackles on the railing to Cavendish Beach were noisy, stopping briefly after doing aerial acrobatics, both gazing skyward.

Gulls in the waterways of the Homestead Trail soar on the wind. We recognized a Ring-billed Gull among them.

We’ve seen pairs of Mallards in the national park in several areas, including MacNeills Pond, Cavendish Grove and on the Homestead Trail. A pair was hanging out with the gulls.

Red-winged Blackbirds love Cavendish Grove with all the bulrushes/cattails there. The males are chatty and like to sit in nearby trees and survey their domain. The females are more elusive. This male shows a hint of red.

Finally, it could be sad news about the geese in the Grove. The goose which was nesting on an island in the pond is off the nest and there aren’t any goslings. 

This nest looked rather exposed to us, compared to those on a similar island in previous years. We fear the worst happened. The last time we visited, twice during the day we watched the proceedings, hoping to see goslings. This pair could be the couple which hung out in this location by the pond before nesting began.

Meanwhile at the opposite side of the pond, a goose and some mallards appear to tolerate each other. 

My husband and I enjoy the birds every time we visit the national park on Prince Edward Island.

Caught over

It had been below zero overnight and was not much warmer when we arrived at the boardwalk. My husband and I always head to the gazebo first to look out on the harbour and the lighthouse. We look over the saltwater marsh as well, now flooded to a pond by a recent high tide. 

The water below the gazebo was frozen or caught over as Newfoundlanders say.

There were two American Black Ducks swimming in a small area of open water, but you could hear them break the ice as they swam along.

Before long one flew up-stream, leaving the other as the lone ice breaker.

A Red Squirrel, with two rose hips in its mouth, greeted us as we left the gazebo. 

It looks like squirrels in addition to birds eat the red morsels. There are lots of rose hips along the boardwalk from the wild roses which bloom there most of the summer.

The Black-capped Chickadees have fed from people’s hands for years here. 

Still it is exciting when one of the little creatures lands on your hand, like a whisper of a touch from a tiny wild animal.

We crack the peanuts for the chickadees while the Blue Jays like the whole peanut as do the squirrels. One chickadee followed me after I had fed it raw peanuts but flew off when it realized I only had a whole one.

It made for a good photo.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch was interested in the seeds we’d brought too. They are comfortable with people hand feeding them as well. 

This was a first for us and such a thrill.

The Summerside boardwalk and the animals who live there are a treasure.