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The sight of thousands upon thousands of breeding Northern Gannets at Cape St. Mary’s was quite the mind-boggling and unforgettable experience! (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
This year’s Newfoundland and Nova Scotia tour was a wonderful adventure indeed! There were a few challenges to endure, such as a bus break-down, hungry blackflies, and humid heat, but we made it through those bumps in the road to collect big bundles of birds and memories to last a lifetime.
The first leg of our journey took us to Newfoundland, home of screech, cod tongues, and scrunchions. We delighted in the fresh seafood fare, as well as the visual feast of seabirds. Newfoundland’s tourism page boasts: “Newfoundland is one of the best places to see and appreciate nature in all its glory. Dramatic coastlines, sweeping barrens, thick boreal forests, ancient rock formations, teeming seabird colonies, tiny alpine blossoms, and rich marine life are all part of our diverse natural heritage.” Well, we did not leave a single stone of that description unturned!
Newfoundland’s plankton-rich waters attract around 40 million seabirds each year, and in the summer, almost every small island and cliff face is populated by a colony of ocean-loving nesters. Our first taste of seabird spectacles came on a boat tour in Witless Bay. The swarms of Atlantic Puffins, Common Murres, Razorbills, and Black-legged Kittiwakes flying to and from their island nests by the thousands sent our heads spinning. We were able to pick out a few Thick-billed Murres and Northern Fulmars on their nests, while enjoying close looks at several Humpback and Minke Whales. Later, at Cape St. Mary’s, we gawked at the spectacular sight of 50,000+ nesting Northern Gannets. The rocks were literally alive with birds perching, displaying, diving, and scrambling about on the ledges - a flurry of sights, sounds, and, uh, smells. We couldn’t have asked for a better gannet-viewing day, as the sun came out to shoo away the fog and brighten the scene for miles (quite a gift, since it’s foggy 8 out of 10 times on the cape). Before we left Newfoundland, we also picked up some nice northern land birds such as Fox Sparrow, Gray Jay, Pine Grosbeak, nesting American Pipits, and Horned Larks. We even found a rare vagrant Sandwich Tern! But I must say, the people of Newfoundland, with their sincere friendship, warmth, and humor, delighted us as much as the birds.
A fruitful ferry crossing to Nova Scotia yielded sightings of Manx, Great, and Sooty shearwaters, a couple of Long-tailed Jaegers, many Northern Fulmars, and both Leach’s and Wilson’s storm-petrels. Pods of Harbor Porpoises and White-beaked and Atlantic White-sided dolphins were certainly nice additions to our growing wildlife list! In Nova Scotia, our goal was to track down breeding warblers and other forest denizens. Winter Wrens and Hermit Thrushes serenaded us as we hiked through woods and found ourselves Mourning, Black-throated Blue, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, and Blackpoll warblers (just to name a few). None will soon forget the extremely cooperative Black-backed Woodpecker near Liscombe Lodge (it even made one of your guides do a little dance :). We were all thrilled to watch this gorgeous woodpecker feeding, preening, and sitting up proudly in the open for us. On top of the great forest birding, a boat trip out of Pleasant Bay brought us remarkably close to several family pods of Long-finned Pilot Whales and a harem of shy but inquisitive Gray Seals. Whilst exploring Nova Scotia’s shoreline, we added the Acadian subspecies of Nelson’s Sparrow, the dainty, endangered Piping Plover, and even an unexpected Laughing Gull. Everything from the scenery, birds, lobster rolls, butterflies, and bog plants made for one fine trip to the Maritimes!
We are grateful to our devoted driver, Fred, who saw us through with his friendship and caring. We are also thankful to Catherine & Paul Barrett for kindly inviting us to their home and showing us their yard’s feeders. Finally, Chris and I thank all of you for making this trip so fun and memorable. We really enjoyed birding with you and wish you well on your adventures ahead!
-- Lena
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
BIRDS
Atlantic Puffins never fail to make any birder smile. This species was voted #1 favorite of the trip! (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
Our eyes feasted on many picturesque landscapes, including this colorful seaside scene at Bay Bulls, Newfoundland. (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
A mama Northern Gannet and her precious baby at Cape St. Mary’s. (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
We couldn’t believe how lucky we were to see Long-finned Pilot Whales so up-close and personal out of Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia. (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
This vagrant Sandwich Tern took us all by surprise. It is only the 5th-ever record for Newfoundland! (Photo by guide Chris Benesh)
On this trip, we had excellent comparisons of Common Murres with Thick-billeds (the bird preening in the background). (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
Voted #2 favorite bird of the trip, this Black-backed Woodpecker put on quite the show for us near our hotel in Nova Scotia! (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
In spite of some logistical bumps along the way, such as having to tour around in a school bus for most of the trip, we made it through with an excellent species count and many fun memories! We couldn’t have asked for a more jovial group of people who were so cheerful and understanding in the face of our unexpected transportation obstacle :). (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
We saw several Ruffed Grouse families on our drives in the Maritimes. (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
On this trip, we learned just how hardy the little Savannah Sparrow is! It was the most numerous and frequently-encountered sparrow species, inhabiting even the most desolate of landscapes. (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
There’s something very endearing about the little, challenging Empidonax flycatchers, like this Yellow-bellied. (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
Your two happy guides standing at the most easterly point in North America, where we saw Great Shearwaters, Black Guillemots, and American Pipits, to name a few. (Photo by Lena Senko)
MAMMALS
Mammals are not very easy to see or get close to, so when one does encounter them like this in the wild, it is an exceptional treat! (Photo by guide Lena Senko)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Other wildlife seen on this tour included (but was not limited to) the following:
INSECTS: Short-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio brevicauda) Common Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia) Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis)
Northern Crescent (Phyciodes selenis) White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis) Phantom Crane Fly (Family Ptychopteridae) Hudsonian Whiteface (dragonfly) (Leucorrhinia hudsonica) TREES: American Mountain Ash (Sorbus Americana) Larch or Tamarack (Larix laricina) White Pine (Pinus strobus) Douglas Fir (Abies balsamea) Black Spruce (Picea mariana) Mountain Maple (Acer spicatum) Speckled Alder (Alnus incana) Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata) Mountain White Birch (Betula cordifolia) Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
SHRUBS AND WILDFLOWERS: Three-toothed Cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentate) Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum) Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants) Tall White Bog Orchid a.k.a. Bog Candle (Platanthera dilatata) OTHER: Black Slug (Arion ater) – also known as black arion, European black slug, or large black slug. An invasive species from Northern Europe, it is extremely destructive to gardens, and its slime is foul-tasting to many predators.
Totals for the tour: 120 bird taxa and 14 mammal taxa