Saturday, June 18, 2016

Wednesday, 6-15-16 Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada

  Mist or rain, 42 degree temperature and 30 mph NW winds pretty much sums up today's weather.  These conditions make keeping glasses, binocs, and cameras in good working order a real challenge.  We took the 15 mile ferry crossing from Nova Scotia to PEI this morning and then traveled north to PEI National Park.  New trip sightings were 2 Red Foxes, 2 Snowshoe Hares and, unbelievably, the first Pied-billed Grebe of our entire trip.  
  Just heard on the radio that parents let their children swim in an area posted for alligators and a child was killed.  If so, can't fault the kids or the gator and hope the parents are prosecuted for child endangerment since, unfortunately, one can't be charged with STUPID.




The BirdMobile in the misty rain at the park. 








Spider Web
Close to the ground to catch insects that live or travel in the grass.



Huge dunes at the beach





Long boardwalk trail across the lake




Pied-billed Grebe
If you had told us that the first P-b Grebe we would see would be several thousand miles from home, especially after we have been in numerous refuges and National Parks where they were on the bird lists, we would not have believed you.  
They breed here and this parent was taking a fish meal back to its mate or to one of its chicks.



Snowshoe Hare
 The smallest of the hares; slightly larger than the Eastern Cottontail Rabbit




 The ears are shorter than their head with black tips and their hind legs are very long.  They can easily leap up to 12 feet if disturbed though usually they rely on cover/camouflage for defense.




 They breed 2 to 5 times each year with one to eight babies per litter and the young are weaned at one month of age.  Their main predator here is the Canada Lynx.





Hares are typically a little larger than rabbits.  Unlike rabbits who make a fur-lined nest and give birth to altricial young (as do humans) who are blind and naked, hares never make a nest and give birth to more precocial young who are fully-furred and can run about soon after birth.



Bathroom Signs

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