6-13-16 Cape Breton NP, Nova Scotia

Monday, June 13, 2016:  Cape Breton National Park, Nova Scotia

Foggy, misty, 45-55 degrees all day, though the sun did make an appearance, AT 8:10 PM!  On Middle Head Point we got two new trip birds, Great Cormorants and Black-legged Kittiwakes, and nesting Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls with chicks.

Good videos of the crashing Atlantic Ocean surf will be forthcoming when we get back in the US.  (For some reason, videos taken on our I Phone will not transfer to our computer in Canada)

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Many of the spruce trees grow horizontally rather than vertically to avoid the strong winds common at this latitude.

Reindeer Moss

This "moss" is actually a lichen which is a combination of a fungus and an algae and is nature's sponge.  It is able to survive long dry periods but can quickly absorb up to 35 times its own weight in water!  Like the other 431 lichens in the park, it grows extremely slowly in these harsh conditions - only a millimeter or two per year.

Male Common Eider in the fog

Male Magnolia Warbler

Our lunch spot on Ingonish Beach with the Atlantic Ocean's waves crashing onto the rocks

Red Squirrel

Aptly named with that red tail.  A very widespread squirrel that ranges all the way down the Appalachians into North Carolina.

They are conspicuous, noisy residents of coniferous forests.  Active year round, they feed primarily on pine seeds but will also eat nuts, fungi, fruits, tree sap and young birds or birds eggs.

Ring-billed Gulls

Young gulls tested at only two days of age showed a preference for magnetic bearings that would take them in the appropriate direction for they fall migration.  Though we get them in Florida they do not nest in our state.

 Nice size comparison between a Ring-billed Gull on the left and a Herring Gull on the right (Immature)

Great Cormorant

The Great Cormorant on the left is 3-4 inches larger than the much more common three Double-crested Cormorants.  Interestingly, the last Great Cormorant we saw was in East Africa!  These big cormorants nest from Maine all the way up to Greenland.  They are excellent swimmers and pursue prey underwater using their feet rather than their wings.  They are one of two species trained by the human fisherman in Japan to help them fish and they occasionally swallow small pebbles allowing them to dive more easily.