Whitman Wharf House Bed and Breakfast, Canso, Nova Scotia

Canso Birders’ Walk,  Saturday, June 2nd, 2007

The small gathering of birders who assembled at the Chapel Gully Trail on Saturday June 2nd for the walk led by local Nova Scotia Bird Society (NSBS) birders Tom Kavanaugh and Steve Bushell were not disappointed by their day out. The sunshine created micro-niches of warmth and sunlight in the woodlands of the Gully trail and despite the somewhat seasonally cooler weather an array of Warblers: Yellow, Black-and-White and Magnolia, were represented together with sightings of a Catbird.

Above right: Leader Tom Kavanaugh describes the fire leading to Jack Pine reforestation at the Canso Chapel Gully Trail

Right: Birders crossing Chapel Gully Trail bridge, Canso.

The walk continued across the boardwalk past the salt water marsh where Willets dabbled at the water’s edge and then on through the newly reforested areas of Jack-pine and after catching the view from the top of the fire tower the group marched on towards French Cove.

Along the shoreline against a magnificent backdrop of azure blue we caught sightings of a Belted Kingfisher. Nothing was quite so compelling though as the sighting through a spotting scope (right) of a Bald Eagle nesting atop a tree on a nearby island. The magnification of the spotting scope allowed us to see the young in the nest sporadically raising themselves in the nest toward the parent’s chest. Even after several viewings, we had not tired of the spectacle; it was as though we had our own personal webcam trained on the Bald Eagle’s nest!

The weather seemed to me to be perfect walking weather, a brisk breeze eradicating any presence of Blackfly, though Tom Kavanaugh explained that the wind made it difficult to hear some of the notes in the bird songs for identification purposes. There was time and opportunity for some interesting local flora and fauna photography; a small delicate clump of Mayflower almost hidden by the moss surrounding it (above) and a large moth pupa attached to a twig (below), as well as the scenic rocky surrounds of French Cove which cut away abruptly at the water’s edge. Time too for a short sit in the shade of the coastal pine trees that canopied the moss covered woodland floor in a soft velvet green as we munched on fresh home made cookies.

Right: Scenic French Cove, on the Chapel Gully Trail, Canso

The return loop almost completed we sight a Northern Harrier and an Osprey almost invisible by its height in the blue stratosphere. The group then headed for the Dam behind the Canso War Monument and after negotiating the patches of soft mud and bog found a Black Duck with four of her young chicks in the freshwater habitat and a rabbit hiding in the hedgerow watching us as we passed by.

A final stop before viewing Tom’s birdfeeder, the small copse across the road from his house provided sightings in plenty of Cedar Waxwing. Tom has an array of feeders each with different seed, Niger, sunflower, and mixed seed, as well as fruit, oranges and grapes, all of which hang strategically in the shelter of a large tree in his yard, located on the brow of a hill overlooking the ocean. He explains how the birds come in off the ocean or even loop around at this point when they realize that they have just run out of land at Nova Scotia’s most easterly point and they double back on themselves. Vagrants of all kinds land at his feeders especially after stormy weather, though on this particular day, we were delighted by one of his more usual visitors at his feeders, the colourful male Evening Grosbeak.

I left the company of the group feeling incredibly relaxed and with a sense of well being after spending my Saturday morning with the NSBS members. I had enjoyed the walk and had had the opportunity to see the trails that I have often walked alone in a new light with the benefit of the combined local knowledge of Tom and Steve who were able to both inform and entertain. I had also gained some insight into the acumen of some of the NSBS members in identifying bird songs and even mimicking the individual notes of a song so as to attract the attention of the less visible birds and draw them out into the open for viewing as well as gaining an understanding of how to identify birds over distance from their flight patterns. I am most grateful to all members of the group for the enjoyable morning and especially to the walk leaders Tom Kavanaugh and Steve Bushell.