In search of goslings

The two stayed close, never more than a few meters from each other. These geese were accustomed to people, watching but never retreating, which we found peculiar. We heard they had goslings at Cavendish Grove every year. My husband and I were determined to see them this year.

This was the scene on May 14, 2017 as the geese hung out on the left bank.

 

We visited again on May 19th and the geese swam around 

 

and later, watched us leave.

 

This was the scene yesterday, June 13th, when we visited Cavendish Grove again.

 

                                                            

Where are the geese and goslings? But, more importantly, where is the pond?

Unspoiled

In the Evangeline region of Prince Edward Island, my husband and I had a picnic in the shadow of the cemetery in Egmont Bay, a peaceful area overlooking the ocean. 

 

Afterwards, we walked the beach as we usually do, combining a walk with a new area to explore. We were not disappointed.

There are a few homes and cottages built back from the shoreline. As we walked east along the shore however, we approached an area without homes and cottages. There was an estuary where the Jacques River flows into an inlet of the Northumberland Strait. It was wild and unspoiled.

 

Spotted sandpipers were busy along the shoreline but scurried ahead of us down the beach. 

 

Ring-billed gulls stood in the receding tide as unidentified small fish came to the surface of the water nearby. The gulls munched on some of them as we watched.

 

A pair of osprey nested in the forest beyond the beach, alternately circling overhead and perching in the trees.

 

Along the shoreline, a willet, a large shorebird, had its mottled brown plumage, which announced it was breeding season.

 

A beaver pond, positioned between the beach and the forest was an interesting discovery when we looked over the bank. Again, the beavers were elusive.

 

Along the beach, at the mouth of the estuary, raccoon tracks elicited images of marauding raccoons at sunset, ready to snatch anything they encounter.

 

We paused along that shoreline to absorb the wilderness feel of the place.

Evangeline

We recently visited the Francophone area of Prince Edward Island, the Evangeline region, just west of Summerside. The area is home to Acadians, 

 

French speaking descendants of the original French settlers to the island, who survived the expulsion at the hands of the British from 1755-1764.

Headed to Evangeline, my husband and I stopped first at a nearby provincial park at Linkletter. Here, at high tide, walking on the tons of seaweed was akin to walking on sponge.

 

The Confederation Bridge is visible in the distance as is the Indian Head Lighthouse at the entrance to Summerside Harbour.

 

Further along the south shore, we dropped by the park at Union Corner where the bridge is visible again but appears as a mirage in the middle of Northumberland Strait.

 

The layers of sandstone in the shoreline here are thinner than any we've seen elsewhere. 

 

Nearby, the shoreline was lined with cottages, some of which were fortified against erosion.

 

The lobster fishery begins in the summer on the south shore so the wharves are not busy as they are on the north side. In Evangeline, boats are still high and dry, waiting their turn at the lobster. We did spot one retired boat, which had seen better days. 

 

A cultural center in Abram Village is the site of summer musical performances in the Acadian tradition. 

 

Those musicians on the Galerie walls will be joined by those inside playing Acadian music. And of course, there is the food!

Acadian festival

Further along the coast, in the community of Egmont Bay, a beaver was busy in the Jacques River which flows out of Arsenault's Pond.

 

She, like the other beavers we've seen on the island, was impossible to photograph, as she disappeared under water when we tried a closer look.

The Jacques River has a fish ladder which allows trout, salmon, smelts and Gaspereau to swim up-river. Both the river and the pond above are licensed for sport fishing. 

 

Gaspereau, the Acadian term for alewife, is a type of herring which swims from the ocean inland to spawn, as do smelts. The ladder makes it easier for the fish to get into the pond. 

We were familiar with fish ladders from our days living near the Exploits River in central Newfoundland. There, Atlantic salmon, much bigger fish than smelts and alewives, use the ladder at Grand Falls-Windsor to swim up-river. We didn't see any fish negotiating the ladder in Egmont Bay.

We enjoyed our exploration of part of Evangeline and will return soon.

Birds of the national park

The bird song was obvious from the moment we left the car. The wetland between the parking lot and sand dunes of the national park at Brackley Beach was his domain and he let everyone know. I was drawn to his unusual voice.

 

You can hear the red winged blackbird here.

He was partially hidden in the spruce tree but the flash of colour on this shoulder was visible on occasion. Then he flew to last year's cattails and the red and yellow on his wings, visible when the male red-winged blackbird is courting, was in full display! He was a beauty.

 

This ruddy turnstone was cruising the beach, flipping the seaweed for insects or crustaceans. 

 

He is stout bird with a strong bill and a pattern on its back in flight.

 

A juvenile ruddy turnstone doesn't look much like the adult but the orange legs give it away. My husband and I saw this one last September in Savage Harbour, Prince Edward Island.

 

                        Juvenile ruddy turnstone

The sand dunes along the beach of the national park near Brackley, are the perch for a pair of bald eagles. They sit on the dunes, about twenty-five meters apart, and survey the area below them. The birds are visible from the road and have used this perch for at least a year. Others have reported the two in the same place numerous times.

 

Wind was high in the open area, making it difficult to hold the camera steady using the zoom. However, I managed to take two almost clear photos of these huge birds.

 

The tidal marsh of Brackley Bay in the national park had numerous ducks but also a small flock of greater yellow legs. One of these sandpiper type birds was in an area by herself as she waded in the cold water. 

 

Two others were never too far apart as they waded through the marsh. The long yellow legs and long beaks are designed perfectly for their niche. They walked away when I crossed the road to get a closer look.

Birds make any excursion on Prince Edward Island interesting for us.

 

Extremes

The day was hot. We had walked to the Appalachian Trail in the sun, without a breeze, accompanied by the first flies of the season. The bug spray worked though the flies still swarmed around us. My husband and I drove to a nearby beach for lunch, hoping for an ocean breeze but the air was cool and required a jacket.

Nearby a boat made its way through the channel, headed to the wharf. 

 

This beach at Savage Harbour is a nesting place for the endangered piping plover. We walked close to the waterline, so as not to disturb any birds which might be nesting among the dunes.

                                                       September 2016          

Winter was hard on this beach however.

 

                                                        September 2016

 

                                                                               May 2017

We worried the birds couldn't nest here this year, but the many bird songs in the woods behind the dunes reassured us.

 

Then the fog began to rise from the shore above the waterline. It didn't dissipate as it moved along the beach however. This fog meant business, as we saw a bank of fog off-shore. Before long the boat channel and the beach were obscured with the cool white mist which enveloped us too.

 

Within ten minutes we were shrouded in fog. 

 

We left the beach to seek refuge in the car. It was a day of extremes.

To the Appalachian Trail

Look up! 

 

The back road to the woodland trails of Dromore in eastern Prince Edward Island was lined with tall trees. My husband and I were headed to the island part of the International Appalachian Trail, IAT. The road was rough and we decided to walk rather than take the car. It allowed us also to walk through a natural wonder before we even arrived at the trail.

 

Part of the road was lined with a stand of tall pines, such an unusual sight. 

 

The opposite side of the road had deciduous trees. Someone worked at planting these pines.

Listen!

The woods were alive.

We stopped often to listen in nature's aviary and to look. Our untrained eyes could not discern many birds in the tall trees. However, not even the flies, tormenting as they were, could detract from the sights and sounds of that road.

The old road was lined with dandelion and cabbage white butterflies fed on the yellow beauties. 

 

As we walked, the whites rose from their feeding, so on occasion, dozens of the little butterflies fluttered around us.

 

The road was a butterfly conservatory as well as an aviary.

On the Birding Loop of the IAT, we focused on natural features we had never seen before. This Shining Club moss was an unusual one, more like a small shrub. 

 

Painted Trilliums were scattered over the forest floor, a pretty distraction on the trail.

 

Lung lichen looks like a bunch of leaves stuck to a tree trunk until you notice these "leaves" don't have any veins. 

 

The holes at the base of tree trunks were intriguing. 

 

We were not brave enough to look inside any of them however.

 

 Who would want to disturb a skunk?

 

We walked back to the car at a fast pace to go to the beach for lunch. However, this walk was one of our favourite nature walks ever.