The joy of May

Last week was a busy one but my husband and I managed to a visit to the Dunk River Trail and Scales Pond where we enjoyed a picnic. 

Otherwise we walked the boardwalk during a week when temperatures fluctuated, the wind blew and we walked between the raindrops.

The Dunk River Trail is one of our favourites on the island and the trail is well groomed and ready for the season. Soon, as the trees erupt with leaves for another short growing season, the beauty of this trail will surround hikers. Meanwhile we enjoyed the sound of the river and everything around us.

There are dozens of fallen trees along the river and some show evidence of the Spruce Bark Beetle, which left a worm-like track in the wood.

Butterfly season has begun and this Mourning Cloak was flitting about as we followed along, 

attempting to capture it digitally.

The tapping of Woodpeckers accompanies the sound of the river. One Hairy Woodpecker appears to be accustomed to people on the trail and starts lower down on this favourite tree.

This time of year, male Mallards are on their own as females are nesting.

In Scales Pond, Double-crested Cormorants float by or dive for food. One jumped on some wood in the pond and spread its wings to dry.

A Canada Goose nearby doesn’t need to spread its wings however.

Meanwhile, on the boardwalk, a Snowshoe Hare hopped towards my husband one day. 

The Hare stopped and stared for a few minutes before moving along. We hope it avoided the Bald Eagles which hunt in the area.

The male Red-winged Blackbirds are in fine voice again as they overlook their domain.

On Mother’s Day every year, we enjoy the first lobsters of the season. Yesterday was no exception. They were so good!

Finally this week, I want to thank all the dance teachers who work so diligently and do such great work teaching our children the movement and joy of dance.

Last weekend we watched Ballet Jörgen perform in Summerside. Our eldest granddaughter was part of the production of Sleeping Beauty which included local dance students. The music, costumes and movement take one on a beautiful journey for a few hours. 

Our granddaughter was a two year old watching a video of the Nutcracker Ballet, exposed to it by her mother who always loved the story and watched the ballet too. However, her daughter wanted to dance and has taken lessons since she was three. At fourteen, she hopes to do point this year. Dance is in this young woman’s soul. A great dance teacher has trained and nurtured her love of dance. We thank her and all dance teachers for their great work.

Spring is in the air

Everywhere we go these days, the activities of the birds catch our attention. They are courting, building nests, and nesting. Some, like the Great Blue Herons wear their best attire in season.

Soon fledglings will add to the populations.

I heard a rustle at the base of some trees along the boardwalk one day and watched the area for a few minutes. A Song Sparrow was building a nest among the grasses at the base of some bushes. The tiny creature was well camouflaged. 

We have noticed a pair of European Starlings around the boardwalk recently, two always together regardless of the location of the large flock. If one flies off the other follows.

Like the Starlings, a pair of Rock Pigeons follow each other around too. 

This pair of Herring Gulls stays together 

as do these Mallards.

The Mourning Doves are paired as well and provide an interesting chorus together. 

These Downy Woodpeckers are never far from each other.

I couldn’t manage a clear shot of both. When compared to the Herons, these Downies are miniature.

At Cavendish Grove, despite the low water conditions, the Canada Geese which nest there every spring, are back in fine form. Small islands in the ponds are home to nesting Geese such as this one settled in on an island among the bulrushes. 

Nearby the male stands over the scene, watching every move as an Osprey flies over and lands in a tree nearby. The gander keeps an eye on the Osprey. 

Some of the birds, like this Northern Flicker, don’t appear to have found a partner yet.

It spends much of its time high in the trees calling out for a lady friend. Someone should tell him the ladies might be tired of his whining. I feel sorry for him.

We’ve seen though that all is not domestic bliss with all of the birds.

Meet the Osprey which have a nest on a platform near the boardwalk. 

The birds are long term residents and like many Canadians, head south for the winter. Last fall, after they vacated the well-established nest, the Fiona weather system took down the pole and destroyed the nest. The city replaced the pole for the feathered visitors but the birds had to reconstruct the nest on their return a few weeks ago. 

As you can see, they have made progress. 

One day the two Osprey looked like they’d had a spat. One bird was on the nest while the other sat in a tree nearby, never once glancing at its partner. 

Meanwhile, a crow sat in a nearby tree, watching the scene, waiting for an opportunity to have eggs for breakfast.

Through this season, the other animals are mating too. This chipmunk is gathering peanuts into its den when any are offered. It looks out expectantly as we walk by. 

This time of year is wondrous! 

The party

It was the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. My husband and I were headed to our daughter’s home to spend the evening with family. I decided to walk the boardwalk before the rich food and champagne.

I saw the party as I drove towards the parking lot. In the bay, now partially covered with sloppy ice and snow after the melting temperatures this past week, a huge gaggle of geese floated in the open water. It’s a strange sight for this time of year. The geese are usually gone by now because the bay is frozen by the start of a new year. Exiting the car, it sounded like the party had started hours ago, the imbibing well underway. Some geese were tipsy, that’s for sure. You can see the partiers here.

The geese had a beautiful setting for their revelry, with the rafts of ice from the ice melt along the shoreline having been taken to sea by the receding tide.

The hint of fog in the air, put the old lighthouse on call in case the fog crept into the bay.

Nearby, two American black ducks stood a silent vigil by the melted section of stream. Later, I saw them with seven friends, ready to join the party.

In the distance, the city looked on expectantly as the minutes to the New Year ticked by. No fire works this Year. Maybe for Canada Day in July? 

I am hopeful.

Out of the blue

This past Friday was a  hot and humid day but strangely enough there was hardly a ripple on the bay. Our island breeze, which ushers us through the heat of summer was noticeably absent. Meanwhile, along the hedgerows, asters added a touch of colour to the burgeoning rusts of autumn. 

Overhead, it looked like young geese might have been in training for formation flying which will take them soon to warmer climes. It was a perfect day along the boardwalk.

The bay is always a centre of attention too. Sea and sky, often dramatic partners, were strangely monotone that day and blended into one, except for a dark blue line which divided the lighter blue of sea and sky.

Curious…

Walking back the way we came, my husband and I faced south towards the Northumberland Strait and the blue line looked to be advancing.

Soon it was just beyond the breakwater, the lighthouse a lonely sentinel between it and us. 

On we walked behind some trees along the bay and when we looked again, the blue line was advancing toward shore. 

Then we felt it, the breeze from the south which had winged its way across the Strait to the island, kissing the surface of the water as it travelled. The ripples to the shoreline increased with the breeze. By the time we arrived at the car, dark blue had over-taken the bay.

In the stillness of an autumn day, we watched the advancing breeze long before we felt it. It was a welcome arrival.

P. S.

Do you notice anything unusual about the top group of geese in the second photo? 

Late afternoon in the bay

It was 5 p.m. as we headed home after a day on the northeast coast of Prince Edward Island. As we passed by the bay, we noticed a flock of Great Blue Herons just off-shore. Of course we stopped to take in the scene.

While we were stopped for the herons, the scene on the horizon made us linger as the sun highlighted a band of clouds beneath thick blue cloud cover. The water below looked silver as birds, probably gulls, foraged in the intertidal zone. 

Wading and floating in the water, geese looked peaceful as well. 

However the most dramatic scene became the long shot of the Indian Head Lighthouse with a shimmer of light on its north side, the band of lighter cloud directly behind it and the dark blue cloud overhead. The intertidal zone provided interest in the foreground. The pools of water in that zone reflected the dark blue overhead. That lone white cloud highlighted the lighthouse.

Nature surprises us constantly.

Blue on blue

On a blue sky day, if the wind is calm and the surface of a pond is like a mirror, there is a blue on blue reflection. The blue sky is reflected in the water and it highlights anything on the surface of the water.

We recently left from home on such a day and cycled on the Confederation Trail past the nearby community of Miscouche, a route we take regularly. When we arrived at the turn around, Variegated Pond-lilies were on the verge of blooming in the wetland. 

A perfect reflection of vegetation on the water 

and a simple bud reflected in the blue caused us pause. 

Perfect conditions occurred another day at the Cow River Wetlands between St. Peter’s and Selkirk on the Confederation Trail. Without a cloud in the sky and barely a breeze, we stopped to observe the wetlands which had the bluest water, a mirror of the sky and a reflection of the vegetation.

Then among the reeds we spotted a goose family which decided we were too close so they took to the water, one parent leading, followed by the five goslings and the second parent. The little family in the blue was picture perfect.

Two blue on blue days in a month were a special treat. 

 

Along the Parkway

The national park on Prince Edward Island has three sections. We visit the western portion of the park most often but enjoy the other areas too. We recently visited the central area which runs along the eastern Gulf Shore Parkway from Brackley to Dalvay. We cycled the distance, stopping regularly to take in the sights. 

This area has abundant wildlife and a variety of birds are in and around the saltwater marshes, rivers and ponds just behind the dunes. Cycling along the parkway, one can see the birds and stop to observe them. We stopped a great deal.

The soft spring colours around them highlight the Greater Yellowlegs in the first photo and the Gadwalls, a female and a male, in the second photo, just left of centre.

While I was waiting for my husband at one point, two geese flew a few metres overhead. I was lucky enough to photograph one. 

A Northern Shoveler stood out among the dried grasses 

while a tiny Least Sandpiper was easy to miss. 

This beautiful Green-winged Teal looks shy floating around in the pond. 

We had lunch in a sheltered spot where a White-throated Sparrow dropped by.

Looking out to sea, one sees the lobster boats in the distance, 

the sound of the motors carried on the breeze. 

The lighthouse keeps a silent vigil as it has for decades.  

This area of the national park will draw us back numerous times this year.