Saturday, 6-18-16: Prince Edward Island, Canada

  Today is Monday, June 20th.  We are camped in New Hampshire and it's so hot and muggy that we have our air conditioner on for the first time since we left home on April 20th!  In trying to stay as current as we can, I will try to publish a post from today in addition to the posts from Saturday.

  Saturday, 6-18-16: Another day on this beautiful island province of Canada.  The bird list is up to 62 and we have completed most of the hikes that look interesting to us.  We even went to the Green Gables park, home, cemetery, school, etc. (there are two short hiking trails on the grounds) which seems to be a big deal here even though we had never heard of the "famous" Anne of Green Gables book.

Drake Mallard 

In good light the green on the head of these male ducks is striking.

The mallard is the ancestor of all domestic duck breeds, except the Muscovy Duck.

Beaver Dams

Osprey

Always nice to see old friends

Male Ring-necked Ducks

Always thought these ducks should be named "Ring-billed Ducks" as its chestnut neck ring is usually only seen at very close range if at all, while the white ring on the bill is usually a prominent field mark.  

They are very fast fliers and undertake longer migrations than most other diving ducks.

American Robin

 Aptly nick-named "Robin Red Breast"
Two days ago on Prince Edward Island in a 35-40 mph wind and cold morning temperatures, the wind chill was in the low teens.  Today (Monday, June 20th) in New Hampshire the temperature skyrocketed to 87 degrees.  It wasn't just warm, it was actually HOT.  In fact, it was so hot that these Robins were using pot-holders to pull earthworms out of the ground!

"Able to leap tall trees in a single bound ...."

Song Sparrow

 The very common singing sparrow (Thanks, Walt Anderson, birding GURU!).  Their song is relatively complex and beautiful.

Common and widespread in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI.  They are usually solitary though may form loose groups.

Cedar Waxwings

These beauties are the most specialized of all fruit-eating birds.  Rather than regurgitating the fruit seeds, they eliminate them with their waste.

Blue-winged Teal

(Male above); These ducks have the highest mortality rate (up to 65%) of all the dabbling ducks, probably a combination of hunting and their long over-ocean migration.

Handsome male

Preening male

Female preening (aptly named "Blue-winged" Teal)

Female bathing