Along the Grand River

Every winter we visit the Grand River area of Prince Edward Island to see the birds who frequent the area when cold winds and diminished light are the norm. 

Across the water, the community of Bayside rests along the river, its yellow church, St. Patrick’s, standing proud along the shoreline. It was so windy that day, it was hard to keep the camera steady for a photo.

Meanwhile, in the areas of open water on the river, Goldeneyes were plentiful, the Barrow’s species, with the white teardrop on their faces more numerous than the Common species with the white circle. Also present were Mergansers and Gulls which we see year round.

We made our pilgrimage to St. Patrick’s too, or the bumblebee church as I call it. 

The farmland of Prince County spreads out around the church on both sides of the river.

It is obvious that snow machines were crossing the ice. They won’t be able to do that much longer as the temperatures hover near zero.

I took a picture to capture three trees standing proud in the winter sunlight. The colours, which may be from the camera lens, made a curious addition to the scene.

The tree trunks were almost as colourful!

On the way back around Grand River I saw this head above the guardrail as we drove by. 

We stopped to see these domestic geese by the side of the road along the river. They are accustomed to people and hardly moved when I stopped to photograph them.

Before long the snow will be gone and the Goldeneyes will too. I heard recently that the Barrow’s are an endangered species. I wish them well on their travels the rest of this year!

Rice Point

We visit the Argyle Shore on the south central coast of Prince Edward Island several times a year. Canoe Cove, along that shore, is where we buy wildflower honey from our favourite vendor at his roadside stand. 

However, we’d never visited Rice Point until one day last week. We were hunting seals.

I recently posted a photo of a seal, the first I’d ever seen around the island though my husband and I always watch for them. Helen, a blogger from Brisbane, Australia, see below, told me where she saw seals with her family when she visited here. Sure enough, there were seals at Rice Point at low tide, just like Helen said. Thank you, Helen! Here.

The beach reminds me of Canoe Cove just up the road where the tidal pools at low tide are of great interest to our grandchildren. 

Here, at Rice Point, offshore on a small, barely exposed sand bar, I saw shapes which could have been rocks. 

I recognized the familiar shape of cormorants along one part of the sand bar too.

I walked as far as I could and sure enough, the shapes were seals of various shades of grey and black and various sizes though all were big. Had I been prepared to wade in the water, I could have taken closer and had better photos. Another time.

The sand itself has wave induced shapes which I find intriguing too. How does ebb and flow create these? 

Also, the sand was full of holes made by shelled animals.

Our grandchildren would love to dig here. 

The beach, though not a huge one, is a beauty. 

It sits between two points of land in a shallow cove. 

The countryside around is farmland and residential. 

Gulls walked around the tidal pools, the ocean’s remnants easy picking for the scavengers.

We will visit Rice Point again and bring the grandchildren but it may not be until next summer.

Homestead Trail

There are a number of trails in the National Park on Prince Edward Island which my husband and I haven’t explored. Recently we hiked part of the Homestead Trail, which was a new to us. It was a beautiful day, without any wind and too early in the season for mosquitos. The day couldn’t have been more perfect.

The trail cuts through forest,

runs alongside New London Bay, 

ponds, 

sand dunes 

and farmland with fog rising in the morning air.

The trail is well maintained and flat but the setting is varied enough to make it interesting. There are benches and picnic tables along the way. We did the shorter of two loops.

Sea gulls, ducks, yellowlegs and geese abound as we hike the area. A squirrel enjoyed his perch atop an old piece of farm machinery and stayed while we admired him. 

However the most interesting animal for us was a snake. 

Being from Newfoundland where there aren’t any snakes, it was exciting to hear something in the grass just off the trail and discover the Maritime gartersnake. We watched it for a long time as it flicked its tongue and turned its head to follow our every move.

We had a picnic at the end of the trail. The day was a holiday and by the time we finished lunch, the area was busy with walkers and bikers. The crowd was a glimpse of the number of people who will visit the park this summer.