Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve

Visit to a Seabird Rookery 

Seabird Colony

I recently visited the Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve (CSMER) on the southern tip of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland.  What a treat that was!  It is one of seven seabird ecological reserves in Newfoundland and is the most accessible.  After a 1.4 Km walk, you are standing on a point of land that juts out close to the large sea stack on which the birds nest.  

Steep Clifts Provide Multiple Nesting Sites

The path going out to the site is on a narrow strip of relatively flat land covered with sub-arctic tundra. The edges drop off abruptly to a free fall of about 100 metres.  The area of often foggy (as seen in my photos) but since the birds are as close as 10 metres, they still can be seen.

The CSMER is about 2 hours from St. John's.  Some of the roads have a lot of potholes so driving can be tedious.  When approaching the modern interpretive centre, one can hear the birds.  What a cacophony!  It was so foggy at first we could not see beyond the interpretive centre but there was no doubt we were in the right place.  And, we could certainly smell the birds, a fishy, guano-like smell.

Northern Gannet and Chick

The rookery is home to about 70,000 breeding birds; Northern Gannets, Common Murres, Thick-billed Murres, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Black Guillemots, Razorbills.  The sea stack is taken over by the gannets and the ample cliff edges provide nesting sites for the other species.  This ecological reserve is Newfoundland's major seabird colony and the most southern breeding site for some of the species.  

Common Murres with Chick

We could see many chicks resting on the ledges protected by the adults or waiting patiently for the adults to return with food from the rich ocean surrounding the area.  There was tremendous flight activity as birds came and went, making you wonder how they managed to avoid collisions.  

Black-legged Kittiwake with Chicks

The vegetation on the plateau leading out to the point had an interesting mix of moss, lichens, low-growing bushes, grasses, blue flags and a pink flower from the pea family. 

Common Murres 

The CSMEC was established in 1983.  The waters off the site are an important wintering site for thousands of sea ducks including Harlequin Ducks, Common Eiders, scoters and Long-tailed Ducks.  The government of Newfoundland should be commended to have the foresight to protect this important bird area and to preserve it for future generations of these bird species.  This is such a unique area that it should be on everyone's bucket list of things to see.  Go and appreciate nature at its best and you can experience it in a completely unobstrusive way. 

Unveiling a Center of Hope and Healing

On July 15, an Animal Friends' dream was realized - the grand opening of the Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center. Our hearts swelled with pride as we welcomed hundreds of community members to our campus-wide celebration.

 

“With this progressive facility, Animal Friends will be able to increase its commitment to affordable spay/neuter from 10,000 surgeries each year to 15,000 surgeries,” said Animal Friends President & CEO David Swisher.

“We will reach into underserved communities to provide spay/neuter and wellness services along with education and, when needed, transport to our clinic.”

 

While we celebrated the Grand Opening, our Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center isn’t fully operational … just yet. We still need to make a few construction tweaks before we can begin to transfer our Low-Cost Spay/Neuter and Vaccine Clinics, Humane Investigations and Chow Wagon Pet Food Bank programs into their new home.

 

We hope to fully open the doors of our Howard Ash Animal Wellness Center by early September. But rest assured – we’re still proudly offering these services at our Resource Center until we make the big move!

 

So please, continue to check ThinkingOutsideTheCage.org/AWC for updates.

Through the Eyes of a Child

The little boy was on the same steam-boat outing as me.

I couldn't help but notice how long he sat quietly

watching the paddles on the boat churn up the water.

He put up his hand as if to touch the splashing water and left his hand

on the glass a very long time. He could certainly feel the vibrations.

When we look at the world around us as though we were seeing things

for the the very first time,

just like a small child discovers everything around him,

we are able to enter into a state of childlike wonder.

As a child, I remember how shadows were created by sunlight

and how the moving changing patterns fascinated me

allowing me to be totally immersed in the moment.

Just the other day, I poured myself a glass of water when I got up

and stopped to admire the shapes and reflections on the kitchen top work surface.

I thought how beautiful they looked.

Slowing down on my walks allows me to notice tiny insects, butterflies and bees

on the plants and flowers I pass.

It's lovely just to linger awhile and wonder about the sort of life they live.

I notice how a beautiful flower is at the end of its cycle

and how the centre is a source of interest and beauty

once the petals have taken on a more discreet role.

Sometimes the filtered sunlight in the background 

fills me full of awe

before I even notice the pollen-filled centre and the luminous petals of this 

Rudbeckia flower.

***

"To reclaim our childhood wonder, we need a way

 to let go of our judgements and return to a beginner's mind.

How can we do that?

The best way is to let a child teach us.

If you have the opportunity, spend time with a child.

Go for a walk with them and notice how they approach the world.

Photograph the wonder in their eyes."

This quotation comes from the book entitled:

Adventures in Seeing. How the camera teaches you to pause, focus and connect with Life

by Kim Manley Ort.

I am reading this book and following the weekly exercises

through my photography.

It is allowing me to pause, focus and connect to all that is around me.

Northern Parula

Northern Parula Nest Found 

Northern Parula

Recently we had the pleasure of watching a Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) build a nest.  Mid-July seems late for nest building but the literature states that this species nests from April to July.  This pair might just be late nesters or perhaps the first nest was destroyed.  The Northern Parula nests in hardwood, softwood or mixed forests, always near water and always where there is an abundance of epiphytes (lichens like Old Man's Beard).  The above description fits our birds perfectly; the nest being built in mixed woods, near a lake and in a tree heavily laden with Old Man's Beard.  

Northern Parula

The Northern Parula is a smallish warbler, 11 cm (4.5 in) long.  It has a relatively short tail, bluish back with a green patch in the middle, white broken eye ring, bright yellow throat with a black necklace and white belly.  Its song is notable and easily learned.  It is a rising buzzy trill with a sharp drop at the end.  Sibley's describes it as "zeeeeeeeee-tsup".  The Northern Parula is an active warbler and is found feeding in bushes and trees looking for insects and spiders of all kinds.  It gleans the foliage in the tree canopy performing all sorts of acrobatics to get at its prey, even hovering or hanging upside down as seen below.

Northern Parula

The Northern Parula breeds in the Maritime Provinces and westward to Central Canada and southward to the Gulf of Mexico.  It winters in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and in southern Texas and Louisiana.  

The Northern Parula is one of the few species of warblers which weaves a hanging basket nest out of lichen.  That is what we watched it do.  It was interesting to watch it ambitiously carry in material and weave it into a hanging basket.  The literature says it uses plant fibres, grass and bark to weave the nest in the lichen.  What was observed was strips of plant fibre being carried inside the lichen which was somehow anchored to the branch and shaped securely into a basket.  The plant fibres were then woven inside the basket by the bird going inside and turning round and round and poking the fibres around the existing strands.  The energy displayed by the birds was remarkable.  The task appeared to be accomplished over about 3 days.  Both male and female worked on the project.  The nest is shown below.  Note the rounded bowl shape well camouflaged among existing hanging lichen.  This nest is about 13 metres (40 ft) up in a birch tree, hanging on a dead limb.  

Northern Parula Nest

The Parula lays 3 to 7 white eggs with brown specks and will take 12 to 14 days to incubate them.  The sitting is done by the female.  See below for a close-up of the nest.

Northern Parula Nest

It will be interesting to watch whether the male hangs around while the female incubates the eggs.  We will not know how many eggs will be laid but I hope we get to see the young as they fledge.

Northern Parula

Small Wonders from my Walks

Queen Anne's Lace flower seeds

Enclosed in a perfect cage of stalks.

A thistle head after the flower has finished blooming

so beautiful against the soft background.

Little tendrils of a climbing plant looking for somewhere to latch on

and climb as high as they can go.

A late blooming aquilegia that I lifted gently

to photograph the underside.

Walking in the woods to keep cool on a hot day,

I noticed the dappled shadows of the overhead trees

and how a fallen leaf came to my attention in a sunny spot.

I also noticed two sunny heart-shapes formed by the shadows of the leaves.

A bright poppy growing on the grass verge by the roadside

illuminating my early evening walk.

As I walked up the hill in the early morning, 

I put my camera through some railings to capture some Shasta Daisies

in the long grasses at the far end of a garden.

I do love the wild spots that are dotted everywhere.

Above the rooftops and behind the clouds, the sunrays draw lines in the sky.

This lovely tree-hanging made of stones and a heart-shaped

HAPPY

is a good reminder!

Though when we notice all the little wonders around us,

a reminder isn't really necessary, is it?

Cedar Waxwing

Late Summer Nester

Cedar Waxwing

The Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) is a common New Brunswick summer resident.  It is usually found in brushy habitat, open areas, and suburbia where it can find its favourite food: flowers, buds, berries and other small fruits, and insects.  Its high pitched zeeeee call is a common summer sound.

Cedar Waxwing

Any brownish bird with a crest and a yellow tip on its tail is a waxwing.  We have two species, the Cedar and the Bohemian Waxwings.  Generally the Cedar Waxwing is a summer resident and breeder here and the Bohemian is a winter visitor.  The Cedar Waxwing is a bit smaller than the Bohemian Waxwing.  It is 18 cm long (7.3").  It is usually seen in flocks as it flits from one food source to another.  It has a black mask and black on the upper throat.  Its body is a smooth brown which transitions into yellow on the belly.  It has white under tail coverts.  The dark wings sometimes have bright scarlet 'wax' appendages.  The Cedar Waxwing can be told from the Bohemian Waxwing because it lacks the cinnamon colour on the under tail coverts and it has no white bar on the wing.

Cedar Waxwing

As indicated in the title above, the Cedar Waxwing is a late summer nester.  It delays its nesting until there is an abundance of berries to feed its young.  This is an interesting adaptation by this species.  They can be seen almost everywhere in summer in New Brunswick.  This species is native to most of southern Canada and the United States.  It winters in the southernmost parts of Canada (including a few in New Brunswick), the United States and into Central America.  In winter it is not unusual to see some here mingled in with flocks of Bohemian Waxwings.  

Cedar Waxwing

There have been some Cedar Waxwings reported with an orange tail tip rather than the characteristic yellow.  That is because they have been eating the fruit of an exotic honeysuckle species during molt which taints their feather colour during new feather growth.

The juvenile waxwings are mainly grayish with the characteristic crest, streaks on their breast and a white chin.  They will soon be seen in our area so watch for them with the flocks of adults.  Good birding!

Home to Home Adoption Program: Millie

Millie was adopted by her current family when she was just 4 months old. Now, at 6 years old, this pretty girl is in search of a family that will continue to give her all the love she deserves. Millie needs a home where she will be able to snuggle up on the couch with people who love her. She loves to play fetch with her toys, enjoys going for walks and rides in the car, and is even content to just relax around the house or outside.

This Poodle/Dachshund mix is extremely well-mannered and is friendly toward everyone she meets. She runs to greet guests at the door with her tail wagging and loves to give kisses. She is housebroken and knows how to sit, lay down, roll over, sit up, give paw, speak, dance and fetch (whew!). She is a very smart little lady and is always eager to please.

Millie is in excellent health, is spayed, up-to-date on all of her vaccinations and has a microchip. She gets along well with other small dogs but isn't quite as comfortable with larger dogs. Millie's family wants to find her a home where she will get all the same love and attention that she is used to. All that's left to happen is the right family to meet her and fall in love!

If you can give Millie a loving home, please contact jackieandken@hotmail.com.