Birding through freezing rain in St. John's, Newfoundland

Yesterday, the (non) water-resistant and (non) wind-proof gloves we bought in Australia, were banished from our panniers...

St. John's is famous within North America as being a place to see rare birds, which are usually misguided individuals that became lost in their struggle to reach Iceland or Greenland from Europe and Africa. Some of the best places to look for such birds are in the city's many freshwater ponds. We have been fortunate in being able to stay in the heart of St. John's, and have been able to visit several of these ponds as we explore this fascinating city.

The ponds we have so far been to seem to each have their own unique birds. Our first day after leaving the airport had us passing Kent's Pond, where we determinedly fought off the snow to quickly scan the lake. Success! There were about half a dozen scaup (ducks) diving and loafing quite close to us, and two of the birds had fashionable long black feather plumes running from the top of the back of their heads...Tufted Ducks! However, we were much too cold and jet-legged to try get a photo of these European ducks. That effort was saved for the next day.

Iceland and Ring-billed Gulls waiting for food

Another well-known city lake, Quidi Vidi (Kiddy Viddy seems to be the best way to pronounce it), is very close to the St. John's Harbour, Probably for this reason, gulls love to come from the sea and bathe in the lake's fresh water, and as an added bonus, never hesitate to turn down food from willing Newfoundlanders in the local parking lot. There has been a very rare Asian gull begging for food in this particular parking lot since December, but in our three visits so far, haven't found him. Maybe it's because we haven't offered any chips to the birds there. We'll try that tomorrow. Our efforts haven't been in vain though, aside from the much hoped for Quidi Vidi Black-tailed Gull, we have seen six other gulls there, including Great Black-backed, Ring-billed, Mew, Herring, Iceland and Glaucous. The latter two were really exciting for us, as we weren't sure if these two would still be around before heading to Greenland to breed. We have been seeing mainly younger birds, so maybe they take longer to go back as they wouldn't be trying to build a nest yet.

Adult Iceland Gull at Quidi Vidi Lake

After a warming lunch, the freezing rain began. We rode straight home, into the wind, and into the rain. At first it was like hail, bouncing off our bodies and bikes, but then it got a wetter, and slowing froze our skin. I didn't blame Jaime for her preference to climb into a warm bed, than ride to Kent's Pond to photograph the Tufted Ducks we had seen the day prior.

Loafing Tufted Ducks at Kent's Pond

Fortunately, the ducks were in the same spot as the first day, in the coldest, most exposed to the elements part of the lake. After some very quick shots with our new non-waterproof point-and-shoot camera, I took refuge in the nearby forest, following a dirt track that bordered the pond. I soon was riding over patches of icy-snow that have probably been there for 6 months, but I managed not to fall, and found myself at another lake, Long Pond. Much too cold and exhausted to get my binoculars out to look for birds on it, out of the corner of my eye I thought I noticed a large white bird in the reeds. Thinking I was still delirious from jet-lag, I rode down towards the edge of the lake, hopped off my bike, and peered over the reeds. There was a Great Egret (a white heron), eating who knows what, and wondering as much as I was how we came to be standing in Newfoundland in freezing rain. A great bird for our trip, and not easy to see anywhere in Canada.

Great Egret at Long Pond

We'll keep looking for the Black-tailed Gull at Quidi Vidi, and hope to get out to some spectacular scenery at Cape Spear on Sunday, the most easterly point in North America. More birds to come!

Here is our list as of 29th April:

1. Common Raven
2. Tufted Duck
3. Mallard
4. American Robin
5. European Starling
6. Glaucous Gull
7. Herring Gull
8. House Sparrow
9. Ring-billed Gull
10. Rock Pigeon
11. Mew Gull
12. Dark-eyed Junco
13. Greater Scaup
14. Great Egret
15. Iceland Gull
16. Black Guillemot
17. Great Black-backed Gull
18. American Crow