Ducky days

The weather turned cold this past week and for several days the wind was high. For a second week, the absence of Great Blue Herons is noticeable. However my husband and I walked the boardwalk as usual and had a ducky week there watching the Mallards and Black Ducks. 

The salt marsh is home to a flock of mixed ducks these days, since the water is slow to drain out of the marsh due to the dam of seaweed at the mouth of the stream. 

Mallards add the most colour to the marsh, the males with their green heads and the females with their beautiful markings.

A pair of Black Ducks have been long term residents of the marsh, but this past few months, they have increased in number as the marsh has flooded.

This smaller duck is not a common sight this late in the season. 

Another rare sight here is this hybrid duck, with green marking on the sides of its head and combination of Mallard and Black Duck markings on its body.

The scene from the nearby bridge can look different depending on the cloud cover, the wind and the tide. 

These two photos were taken just over a week apart at the same location.

Winter jackets have been moved to the front of the closet this past week. Temperatures in the low single digits now take some getting used to, as the hats and gloves make walking more comfortable. Snow one morning didn’t accumulate but was a reminder of what lies ahead.

Meanwhile, a nearby street which two weeks ago was golden,

has lost much of its glow but kept its character. 

Along the boardwalk, many of the trees are leafless now. Only the Tamarack/Larch has any golden colour these days, always later to change than the deciduous leaf-filled trees.

One day this past week, the temperature rose to 16 degrees Celsius among days of 5 degrees. That afternoon my friend Liz and I went for a walk along the beach in the Evangeline area not far from Summerside. Afterward we sat in our chairs on the beach and enjoyed our pumpkin spice coffee, brought in our thermos from home.

We sat near a stream that trickled into the sea which lapped the shoreline. A piece of driftwood was a reminder of the power of the sea. Such a day so late in the season was a pure gift of nature.

And on a colder morning, a Red Squirrel was busy collecting seeds from an evergreen along the way as we walked the boardwalk. Winter preparation is upon all of us!

Have a wonderful week! 

Blue on blue

February arrived calmly, without the howling wind, so we had two pleasant days walking the boardwalk. Saturday the high winds arrived and with just a few centimeters of snow, it made our walk impossible. Since then, exercise has been relegated to indoors . This is the third day of the storm and while the western part of the island didn’t have as much snow, the drifting from the high winds with what we did have, resulted in white-out conditions which continue today.

On one of the calm days this past week, the Blue Jays put on quite a show along the boardwalk. Two of the regular walkers brought a supply of peanuts they left for the birds and squirrels at the birdhouse overlooking the salt marsh. The Jays wait nearby for them every morning.

That morning, walkers stopped to take in the scene as Jays hurried to the rail of the bridge. 

The birds lined up for their chance at the raw peanuts and those in shells. 

After each acquired peanuts, raw or shelled, they flew off to stash or consume them.

Black-capped Chickadees waited in the trees for any peanuts the Jays might leave. No chance of that! The Jays took all the peanuts but a Red Squirrel came by to check for himself anyway. He ate some of the birdseed from the feeder.

Meanwhile further down the stream, two American Black Ducks were mere silhouettes in the bright sunlight. 

On the other calm day this month, the view from the bench was peaceful with the Confederation Bridge visible at sea level on the left. The winter sky was barely distinguishable from the frozen sea. 

We wonder about the animals through all of this bad weather. We will take peanuts with us when we can return to the boardwalk.

Time with the animals

Temperatures have been low enough the past few days to freeze the shallow water in Bedeque Bay at Summerside. 

The animals which live along the boardwalk have been preparing for these winter conditions and walkers have been entertained by their efforts, including those of the Red Squirrels.

These small, industrious rodents are present most days when we walk the trail. If they are absent, you can bet there is a predator in the area.

Last year, my husband and I watched a squirrel as it harvested cones from a spruce tree, chopping off the cones which fell to the boardwalk where the squirrel hastened to cart them away to its midden*. This year, we watched one of the squirrels harvest winterberry holly berries.

A gazebo overlooks the salt marsh in the area of the trail we frequent. We always begin our walks at this gazebo, to see what is happening in the marsh that day. One day in October, when we arrived at the gazebo, we heard a squirrel in the winterberry holly tree by the side of the gazebo. 

The tree had lost most of its leaves at that point, and the red berries were quite obvious. Watching the tree, we saw a squirrel harvesting the berries, unconcerned about the humans who could almost reach out and touch it.

The little rodent worked furiously to cut off twigs of berries as you can see in this short video here.

By the time we were leaving the gazebo, the squirrel was headed to its midden with a twig of berries in its mouth.

Overhead, the birds always entertain as well, including a flock of Canada Geese which yesterday was headed inland ahead of the forecasted high winds and rain. The birds didn’t have it sorted as to which one should lead the V on the way. 

Eventually a small flock broke away from the undecideds and managed a great V.

On the home front, Daisy, the Golden Retriever, visits every week. This week she met BB, the crow with the broken beak which visits us every day. BB now looks in through the glass in the patio door, usually when we are eating at the kitchen table. Daisy and BB watched each other for several minutes. 

Surprisingly Daisy didn’t bark at the crow. I think now they are friends.

*midden: an underground tunnel where a Red Squirrel stores its food. It is separate from its nest or drey which is in a tree.

The bully in the marsh

Over the last several years, I have come to enjoy bird watching. The variety of niches they inhabit, colour, patterns and song I find fascinating. To sit on a rock by the bay and quietly blend into the environment so the shorebirds land there is exciting yet calming to my spirit. This time of year, with the shorebirds gone south, American Black Ducks in the salt marsh are interesting to watch. 

Much of the time these birds look like they are smiling. 

However, recently none of the birds had reason to smile since a bully was ruling the roost, or rather…marsh. One day we watched, the same male chased several birds across the water in the marsh, making an aggressive quacking sound as he went. 

The speed with which the birds could scuttle across the water almost made flight unnecessary. 

However, most of the pursued birds eventually took to wing and the bully did too. Both quickly returned to the water though.

He pursued one bird into the bulrushes where it stayed for a few minutes. 

Others decided to hang out amid the bulrushes and eventually the bully left them alone.

Meanwhile two birds were oblivious to the bully’s antics. They kept their heads in the marsh and left the other to his vices. He ignored them.

The next day, it was quieter in the marsh when we visited. 

However more recently, on a day when the marsh was flooded by gale force winds at high tide, one of the ducks, again a male, wasn’t playing nicely!

We always wonder, as we approach the gazebo, what the ducks are doing that day. As the marsh and later the bay freeze, the ducks will disappear from the area until spring break-up. Open water at the head of the bay will be their home for a few months. Meanwhile, we will enjoy their presence in the ever changing salt marsh.

 

 

Something new every day

My husband and I walk the boardwalk most days about mid morning, before it is too hot. One of the good things about the area is the breeze along the coastline which cools us as we go. The area which we frequent, is different day to day and my husband and I enjoy discovering what is new or different. 

We always start at the gazebo to see what is happening at the salt marsh/pond that morning. 

There are usually American Black Ducks but if we are lucky, one of the Great Blue Herons who return to Bedeque Bay every summer is visiting the marsh too.

Birds are some of my favourite animals. Birds of any size, shape and description are fascinating to me and I enjoy observing them. I take numerous shots with the hope of one good photo. I especially enjoy photos of birds when several species are in the frame. 

I was pleased this month to see these three species co-existing at the end of the marsh, with the sea in the background. 

The American Black Ducks live in the marsh, moving easily between the marsh and the bay. 

Gulls are always around the bay and this may be a Herring Gull. 

We watched the Great Blue Heron disappear into the bulrushes.

The same day we saw an Osprey that lives in the area perched on a pole which gives it a great view of its domain. 

We hear Osprey and see them hunting sometimes along our way.

A Yellow Bellied Sapsucker was busy among the trees as well. This one stayed at this particular tree long enough for me to take a photo.

Another of the treats that day was the chicory plant which was blooming beside the trail.

It was the first such plant I’d seen along the trail and I’ve noticed it every day since. It is a pretty wildflower which is used in medicine and as a cooking spice.

We always notice the chipmunks too. 

They are so tiny this time of year. Could they be any cuter?

Every day our favourite place for a walk has something which is picture worthy.

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.