From the Alpine to Amazonia

Following our adventure to the Arctic, finding birds has been much more comfortable.

The Endangered Piping Plover at J.T. Cheeseman

Our penultimate day in Newfoundland was spent at J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park, a half hour cycle from the Port Aux Basques ferry crossing to Nova Scotia. A picturesque sandy beach is J.T. Cheeseman’s finest attraction, but for Jaime and I, visiting this particular park meant a chance to see a very special and rare bird, the Piping Plover. So, that evening as we rolled down the dirt road towards the campground, we decided to detour to the beach and stroll along its shore. Ambling along, we watched a few Common Terns fishing over the ocean, when a pallid, and very plump, little shorebird ran from the sea foam by our feet…a Piping Plover.

My expectations were high for our seven-hour crossing to Nova Scotia, the only mode of reaching mainland Canada without the use of wings. Setting sail around midday, the weather was cool and gusty (-4⁰C was the low that morning), yet the swell wasn’t much more than a meter high. After some exploration, I found a fairly sheltered spot on the ship’s starboard side, from which I could scan the horizon with my binoculars without getting blown around. Before too long, a small group of Razorbills (a penguin-like bird) took flight to avoid pending collision, followed by Northern Gannets, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and even a Minke Whale!

Eastern American Toad

I’d been hoping that Great, Manx and Sooty Shearwaters had returned to the Northern Hemisphere by now, but they were not to be seen on this voyage. In spite of this, three other ocean-dwelling birds were in abundance, including the Northern Fulmar and two tiny, white-rumped, swallow-like seabirds, Leach’s and Wilson’s Storm-Petrels.

A formidable Beaver dam

Nova Scotia feels a month ahead of Newfoundland when it comes to the weather. Today I wore just a t-shirt, whereas before reaching Port Aux Basques, four layers was my minimum. All the deciduous trees here are green with fresh leaves, and no matter where you are, birds will be singing, as they celebrate yet another crossing from South America to the True North. It’s all very pleasant right now.

“Who cooks for you…who cooks for you all?”…a male Barred Owl is hooting in the forest by our tent…must be bed-time.

New Birds:

80. Northern Waterthrush

81. Black-throated Green Warbler

82. Tennessee Warbler

83. Ovenbird

84. Red-eyed Vireo

85. Swamp Sparrow

86. American Redstart

87. Swainson’s Thrush

88. Eastern Kingbird

89. Yellow Warbler

90. Bay-breasted Warbler

91. Great Blue Heron

92. American Wigeon

93. Red-winged Blackbird

94. Cedar Waxwing

95. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

96. Willet

97. Common Tern

98. Piping Plover

99. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

100. Razorbill

101. Northern Fulmar

102. Common Murre

103. Leach’s Storm-Petrel

104. Wilson’s Storm-Petrel

105. Bank Swallow

106. Northern Parula

107. Magnolia Warbler

108. Mourning Warbler

109. Alder Flycatcher

110. Red-tailed Hawk

111. American Bittern

112. Cape May Warbler

113. Barred Owl

114. Ruby-throated Hummingbird

115. Olive-sided Flycatcher

116. Common Goldeneye

117. Barn Swallow

118. Least Flycatcher

New Mammals:

8. Minke Whale

9. Red Fox

New Amphibians:

1. Eastern American Toad

New Reptiles:

1. Common (Maritime) Gartersnake