Early Morning Tree Swallows

 It was a cold morning today, about 5 degrees C, which meant there was a lot of low lying fog hanging over the water.  It can make a nice backdrop for many bird images in my opinion including this shot of a group of Tree Swallows.

Vireos - Red-eyed and Blue-headed

 Vireos are a family of birds slightly larger than warblers on average.  They are known for their repetitive songs,  The Red-eyed Vireo in particular is a very incessant singer with a song somewhat similar to an American Robin. 

Wood Duck - Drakes

 These images are from early April when the Wood Ducks were just arriving back in Nova Scotia after wintering farther south. They are always in their best and brightest plumage in the early Spring.

A Little Late - Brier Island - October 2024

 A few of the regular birders decided to do a Fall trip to Brier Island in 2024.  Four of us in total, only half the number that made the Spring trip the last couple of years. I guess October isn't as appealing as is May when the birds are in breeding plumage. Fall has more appeal for me I guess since I like to photograph the migrating raptors. There is the added bonus that you may see a whale or two if you're lucky. 

I was able to get a few images of hawks and eagles and the ever present Turkey Vultures. I was especially hoping to get a few shots of Kestrels which I did, but they were not as abundant as in the previous Fall trip and they kept their distance.

I also took a few images of a Bald Eagle and a Northern Harrier.

The most exciting bird(s) of the trip made their appearance while Mark and I did the same hike mentioned in the previous post but starting from the other end.  I had hung back a bit hoping to get a few more Kestrel images but realizing that wasn't to be started rushing to catch up.  As I made my way something caught my eye in the far distance and when I put my glasses on them I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. I hurried to catch up, frantically waving to get Mark's attention but to no avail. When I finally reached him the birds were out of sight and I'm not sure he thought I was being truthful.  Luckily for both of us the birds made another appearance and we could both be happy we were able to see Sandhill Cranes in Nova Scotia.

To put a little icing on the cake, as we made our way toward Gretchen and Lucy waiting at the far end of the trail, the flock of five birds made another pass close overhead while being quite vocal at the time.  I believe it was the sound of their calls that caught Gretchen's attention as she and Lucy were busy harvesting rose hips.

 It has been a few months since that trip,  my memory is a little fuzzy about a few of the details.  I said good-bye to the others as they left for Halifax  I had decided to stay an extra night by myself in the hopes of getting more raptor images the following day.  Well the raptor on my list wasn't Turkey Vultures but they were numerous and low as they fed on the remains of a carcass that had washed up onshore and I took what I could get.  (Not carrion - just photos).

In the same area as the vultures I spotted a small bird in the grass that turned out to be a Lapland Longspur.

I was also able to find and photograph an American Golden Plover that Mark and I had seen on a previous day but when the conditions weren't great for photography. The bird was mixed in with a few Black-bellied plover which provided a good comparison. The Golden Plover being slightly smaller and browner with a shorter bill.

In the same area and providing me with what I considered the best photo of the trip was a juvenile Killdeer mixed with a few other shorebirds including White-rumped Sandpipers.

Feeding in the bay below the shorebirds were a few Surf Scoters.

Well that is my recollection of those few days in early October for the most part. I'm sure I left out a few important details which I'll be reminded of in the months to come.  In case you were wondering I did also manage to see a whale or two.

Brier Island - May 2025

 This is a birding trip we look forward to every year from the time it ends the previous year, always expecting to see something interesting and possibly new and in my case to get a decent photo of it.  Well the trip never disappoints, at least in terms of the experience and getting the gang together for another year.

This year was a bit of a let down in terms of bird numbers which you can never predict, and since the date generally has to incorporate a weekend in the month of May for everyone to participate things are always left to chance.  The weather wasn't bad, at least some sun and not a huge amount of precipitation. I think it may have been the south-easterly winds the previous days that kept bird numbers down.

Warbler numbers were very low in particular but there was a smattering of Black-throated Green Warblers which you can usually expect to find there. In reviewing past Brier Island posts this species always seems to have an entry.

Some of us missed out on the one rarity seen by others on the first day but were lucky enough that the birds returned, so we were able to have a sighting on the second day.  The species being a small group of Glossy Ibises that apparently had been in the area for a week or more.

Since bird numbers were down I had to resort to taking pictures of birders instead.

The following photo was taken at the end of a four kilometer hike as Allie, Mark and I made it to the end of the trail at the Western Light. There was a large number of Black and Common Scoters feeding in unison at Pond Cove which I failed to document, as well as a Green Heron which I flushed at Little Pond Cove and a few Cliff Swallows at the headlands near Hog Yard Cove.

The one bird I was able to capture on our hike was a lone Merlin sitting on a rock ledge along the trail.

The fog and mist rolled in on Sunday but we were able to find a few male Bobolinks in the marsh along the boardwalk. 

There were some Green-winged Teal in the little pond adjacent to the marsh as well as a Black Duck family.

There is not much more to report except some Eastern Kingbirds and a few shorebirds including some late Purple Sandpipers. We all decided to leave ahead of the rains predicted for Monday so the list ended up being a little shorter than we all had hoped. I will be presumptuous and speak for everybody when I say that we are all looking forward to doing it again in 2026. 

Black-throated Blue Warbler

 Another Spring warbler, a male Black-throated Blue. I often see them around my property later in the season when they are feeding young ones. It's then that the female tends to make her appearance known.

Chestnut-sided Warblers

 These are one of our regular Spring migrants and there are a few local places where I can be almost guaranteed to find them, particularly before the trees have fully leafed out. After that it's mostly identification by song which has become more difficult for me as I get older.

Early Spring Warblers

 The aforementioned Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, two of the earliest arriving warblers in Spring.

Black and White Warbler

 One of the earliest arrivals among the returning warblers in the month of May is the Black and White Warbler preceded by the Palm Warblers in April and Yellow-rumped Warblers, many of which overwinter here in this province.

Female Wood Duck

 

Wood Duck in the Rain

 One of many images I took of Wood Ducks this Spring. 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Male

 The Sapsuckers arrived back in April, this male stuck around for a couple days refusing to let the other woodpeckers near the suet log. I caught a quick look at a female a few days later but she didn't appear to stay long.  I checked out a local spot that had a maple tree riddled with sapsucker holes. Curiously, two years after they seemed to be nesting in that area there was a Sapsucker occupying the tree when I first arrived back there.

Red-winged Blackbirds

 The Red-winged Blackbirds are back and nesting around the edges of the local pond. I'm not sure if they have young mouths to feed yet. These shots are from last Summer. Lots of other wildlife in the pond including Wood, Ring-necked and Black Ducks, with at least three instances of young ones amoung the Black and Wood Ducks.

Ring-necked Ducks

 The Ring-necked Ducks have been back since early April.  In small flocks in the beginning which have slowly dwindled to only one pair as far as I can tell. They haven't nested here in my little pocket of wilderness in the past but here's hoping they might this year. 

Pipits and Another Snow Bunting

 A few more Winter birds, American Pipits and a Snow Bunting.

Longspurs

 I found a small flock of Lapland Longspurs feeding in the frozen beach wrack in early February.  They or another group were still there feeding 3 weeks later.  These are shots from the latter date and include 3 different individuals. Most of my attention was focused on the brightest looking (more colourful) bird.

For an explanation on beach wrack here is a quote from google.

"What is beach wrack? Natural material that washes onto the beach is referred to as wrack and includes algae, sea grasses, and some invertebrates such as sponges and soft corals. Wrack serves as the primary source of nutrients to beach communities and is the foundation for the food chain."