I found Sandhill Cranes up Rock Road, way up as far as they could get. My Bronco plowed through the soft road and deep and long puddles. Don't try this with your family Honda since you'll never be seen again.

These are new birds in breeding plumage not the two that tried to overwinter here.

Even so the cranes were a long ways off. The full frame images were shot at 800mm. The two crops shown below suffered from haze, air currents and also by using a low resolution (25mp) camera.

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Crane 800 Sandhill Crane 801 Sandhill Crane 802 Sandhill Crane 803

The first Eastern Bluebirds arrived here yesterday, two males. They are singing and squabbling as expected. The homeowner has a ready supply of worms with hundreds more on order plus several bluebird boxes cleaned and ready to go. All is well!

Eastern Bluebird

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This adult male Harlequin Duck was resting away from the worst of the coastal swells. The Harlequin Duck is uncommon to rare depending on locations. They tend to hang about coastal coves away from the worst of the weather although I have photographed them in the surf. They are a prize to see or photograph.

Harlequin Duck

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Severe Crop and Enlargement of Harlequin Duck Photograph

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Harlequin duck

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This article is about the species of wild sea duck. For the domestic duck breed, see Welsh harlequin.

Harlequin duck
Harlequin drake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Histrionicus Lesson, 1828
Species:	H. histrionicus
Binomial name
Histrionicus histrionicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
H. h. pacificus (Brooks, 1915) (disputed) H. h. histrionicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Ocyplonessa Brodkorb, 1961 Anas histrionica Linnaeus, 1758 Anas minuta Linnaeus, 1758

The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (Italian Arlecchino, French Arlequin), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", meaning "actor". Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker, lords and ladies and blue streak.

Taxonomy

In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the harlequin duck in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Dusky and Spotted Duck". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from Newfoundland in eastern Canada.^[2] When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the harlequin duck with the ducks, geese and swans in the genus Anas.

Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Anas histrionica and cited Edwards' work.^[3] The harlequin duck is now the only species placed in the genus Histrionicus that was introduced in 1828 by the French naturalist René Lesson.^[4][5] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[5] The name histrionicus is from Latin and means "theatrical" or "like a harlequin" (histrio means "actor").^[6]

Two prehistoric harlequin ducks have been described from fossils, although both were initially placed in a distinct genus: Histrionicus shotwelli is known from Middle to Late Miocene deposits of Oregon, United States and was considered to form a distinct monotypic genus, Ocyplonessa. Histrionicus ceruttii, which lived in California during the Late Pliocene, was at first taken to be a species of the related genus Melanitta.^[7]

Adult breeding males have a colorful and complex plumage pattern. The head and neck are dark slate blue with a large white crescent marking in front of the eye that extends up to the crest, a small round dot behind the eye, and a larger oval spot down the side of the neck. A black crown stripe runs over the top of the head, with chestnut patches on either side. A black-bordered white collar separates the head from the breast. The body is largely a lighter slate blue with chestnut sides. A black-bordered white bar divides the breast vertically from the sides. The tail is black, long and pointed. The speculum is metallic blue. The inner secondary feathers are white and form white markings over the back when folded. The bill is blue-grey and the eye is reddish. Adult females are less colourful, with brownish-grey plumage with three white patches on the head: a round spot behind the eye, a larger patch from the eye to the bill and a small spot above the eye.^[8]

Their breeding habitat is cold fast moving streams in northwestern and northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland and eastern Russia. The nest is usually located in a well-concealed location on the ground near a stream. They are usually found near pounding surf and white water. They are short distance migrants and most winter near rocky shorelines on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They are very rare migrants to western Europe.

The eastern North American population is declining and is considered endangered. Possible causes include loss of habitat due to hydroelectric projects and loss of life due to oil spills near coastal areas.

I enjoyed a coastal drive on a blustery day. I went to Peggy's Cove to witness the predicted 8 metre swells. The wind direction is important in creating spectacular coastal surf. Southerly winds, south, south-west and south-east are best.

This can be a spectacular month with the total lunar eclipse tonight with predicted clear skies and the partial solar eclipse at sunrise at the end of the month.

Coastal Tour 100 Coastal Tour 101 Coastal Tour 102 Coastal Tour 103 Coastal Tour 104 Coastal Tour 105 Coastal Tour 106 Coastal Tour 107 Coastal Tour 108 Coastal Tour 109 Coastal Tour 110 Coastal Tour 111 Coastal Tour 112 Coastal Tour 113 Coastal Tour 114 Coastal Tour 115 Coastal Tour 116

Herring Gull

Coastal Tour 117 Coastal Tour 118 Coastal Tour 119

Peggy's Cove Homes

Coastal Tour 120 Coastal Tour 121 Coastal Tour 122 Coastal Tour 123 Coastal Tour 124 Coastal Tour 125 Coastal Tour 126 Coastal Tour 127 Coastal Tour 128 Coastal Tour 129 Coastal Tour 130 Coastal Tour 131 Coastal Tour 132

Harlequin Duck

Coastal Tour 133 Coastal Tour 134 Coastal Tour 135 Coastal Tour 136 Coastal Tour 137 Coastal Tour 138 Coastal Tour 139 Coastal Tour 140 Coastal Tour 141

The Red-shouldered Hawk cooperated for me today. As hawks go the Red-shouldered Hawk is relatively tame and easy to photograph if you can find one in the clear.

Thanks Susan for your hospitality.

Red-shouldered Hawk 700 Red-shouldered Hawk 701 copy Red-shouldered Hawk 701 Red-shouldered Hawk 702 Red-shouldered Hawk 703 copy Red-shouldered Hawk 705 Red-shouldered Hawk 706 Red-shouldered Hawk 707

This is a continuation of A Really Poor Boating Day, as Part Two

February 17 Gale 121 February 17 Gale 122 February 17 Gale 123 February 17 Gale 124 February 17 Gale 125 February 17 Gale 126 February 17 Gale 127 February 17 Gale 128 February 17 Gale 129 February 17 Gale 130 February 17 Gale 131 February 17 Gale 132 February 17 Gale 133 February 17 Gale 134 February 17 Gale 135 February 17 Gale 136 February 17 Gale 137 February 17 Gale 138 February 17 Gale 139 February 17 Gale 140 February 17 Gale 141 February 17 Gale 142 February 17 Gale 143 February 17 Gale 144 February 17 Gale 145 February 17 Gale 146 February 17 Gale 147 February 17 Gale 148 February 17 Gale 149 February 17 Gale 150 February 17 Gale 151 February 17 Gale 152

February 17 was a really poor boating day and today was even worse. Yesterday the north-west wind blew up to 80kph along the coast and today it was up to 120kph on coastal heads.

Recently there was a tragedy at sea with loss of life. I visited the home port of the lost vessel and crew at Sambro Harbour, a regular point of call for me. Sambro Harbour is also where the local Coast Guard rescue boat is moored.

A Really Poor Boating Day, Part One

February 17 Gale 100 February 17 Gale 101 February 17 Gale 102 February 17 Gale 103 February 17 Gale 104 February 17 Gale 105 February 17 Gale 106 February 17 Gale 107 February 17 Gale 108 February 17 Gale 109 February 17 Gale 110 February 17 Gale 111 February 17 Gale 112 February 17 Gale 113 February 17 Gale 114 February 17 Gale 115 February 17 Gale 116 February 17 Gale 117 February 17 Gale 118 February 17 Gale 119 February 17 Gale 120

February 14 was a poor boating day. The northwest wind produced 4 metre swells off shore but in shore there was a nasty chop.

I used a 560mm lens so there was a lot of haze to slice through to get these images. Welcome to boating in Nova Scotia.

February 14 Gale 100-DeNoiseAI-raw

February 14 Gale 101-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 102-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 103-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 104-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 105-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 106-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 107-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 108-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 109-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 110-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 111-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 112-DeNoiseAI-raw February 14 Gale 114 February 14 Gale 115 February 14 Gale 116 February 14 Gale 117 February 14 Gale 118 February 14 Gale 119

This series of photos is a continuation of my Prospect Bay loop.

Prospect Bay Loop Part Two

Prospect Bay Loop 136 Prospect Bay Loop 137 Prospect Bay Loop 138 Prospect Bay Loop 139 copy Prospect Bay Loop 140 Prospect Bay Loop 141 Prospect Bay Loop 142 Prospect Bay Loop 143 Prospect Bay Loop 144 Prospect Bay Loop 145 Prospect Bay Loop 146 Prospect Bay Loop 147 Prospect Bay Loop 148 Prospect Bay Loop 149 Prospect Bay Loop 150 Prospect Bay Loop 151 Prospect Bay Loop 152 Prospect Bay Loop 153 Prospect Bay Loop 154 Prospect Bay Loop 155 Prospect Bay Loop 156 Prospect Bay Loop 157 Prospect Bay Loop 158 Prospect Bay Loop 159 Prospect Bay Loop 160 Prospect Bay Loop 161 Prospect Bay Loop 162 Prospect Bay Loop 163 Prospect Bay Loop 164 Prospect Bay Loop 165 Prospect Bay Loop 166 Prospect Bay Loop 167 Prospect Bay Loop 168 Prospect Bay Loop 169 Prospect Bay Loop 170 Prospect Bay Loop 171 Prospect Bay Loop 172 Prospect Bay Loop 173 Prospect Bay Loop 174

The Prospect Bay loop is an excellent one to photograph Nova Scotia homes, shore line and ocean vistas. When I took a course too many years ago my instructor had us do an exercise using only one prime lens. There would be no change of lens or use of zoom lenses. My camera in those days was the Pentax Spotmatic which certainly dates me. I used a 100mm macro lens on this trip.

The route starts at Upper Tantallon proceedes to Peggy's Cove, thence to Prospect Bay. There are many diversions to coastal villages along the way so a full day of photography is possible althouth I was on the circuit for less than three hours.

Prospect Bay Loop Part One

Prospect Bay Loop 100 Prospect Bay Loop 101 Prospect Bay Loop 102 Prospect Bay Loop 103 Prospect Bay Loop 104 Prospect Bay Loop 105 Prospect Bay Loop 106 Prospect Bay Loop 107 Prospect Bay Loop 108 Prospect Bay Loop 109 Prospect Bay Loop 110 Prospect Bay Loop 111 Prospect Bay Loop 112 Prospect Bay Loop 113 Prospect Bay Loop 114 Prospect Bay Loop 115 Prospect Bay Loop 116 Prospect Bay Loop 117 Prospect Bay Loop 118 Prospect Bay Loop 119 Prospect Bay Loop 120 Prospect Bay Loop 121 Prospect Bay Loop 122 Prospect Bay Loop 123 Prospect Bay Loop 124 Prospect Bay Loop 125 Prospect Bay Loop 126 Prospect Bay Loop 127 Prospect Bay Loop 128 Prospect Bay Loop 129 Prospect Bay Loop 130 Prospect Bay Loop 131 Prospect Bay Loop 132 Prospect Bay Loop 133 Prospect Bay Loop 134 Prospect Bay Loop 135

This is my first photo since I reset my computer. I never store photos on my computer but they are stored in two locations. In my case my photos are stored on a 5TB external drive and in the cloud from my website.

I recently had to reset my computer due to numerous operational problems. Its not as bad as I thought. Proceed as follows if you have to reset your computer:

-make a copy of your desktop so you know what to reinstall after your computer wipe;

-make sure there are no photos you want to keep on your hard drive, see storage above;

-reset your computer to factory specifications trashing everything on your hard drive;

-download a fresh copy of Windows 11 or whatever operating system you are using;

-using the desktop copy you saved download or reinstall all your programs.

There will be hicckups!

Lapland Longspur

They still linger in open fields regardless of the cold and wind!

Horned Lark Z copy

I've posted a few scenes of winter from Nova Scotia.

Some Nova Scotia Winter Scenes

Goldfinch

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 121

Song Sparrow

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 124

Black-capped Chickadee

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 122

Goldfinch

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 119

Black-capped Chickadee

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 123

Dark-eyed Junco

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 125 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 126

Tree Sparrow

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 127 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 128

Northern Cardinal

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 100 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 101 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 102 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 103 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 104 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 105 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 106 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 107

Northern Cardinal

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 108 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 109 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 110 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 111 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 112 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 113 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 114 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 115 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 116 Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 117

Song Sparrow

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 118

Goldfinch

Nova Scotia Winter Scenes 120

I happened upon a small flock of Lapland Longspurs, about 12 or so. These little denizens of the flat lands are some hardy braving the -13C to -18C temperatures plus another -10C in wind chill.

I last saw Lapland Longspurs on the barrens leading to Pennant Point in Crystal Crescent Provincial Park but only in ones never a flock like this bunch on February 1.

I have visited their breeding grounds on the fields behind Cape St. Mary's, Newfoundland. They bunch together with Horned Larks.

Lapland Longspur

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Lapland longspur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Lapland longspur
Male
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Calcarius
Species:	C. lapponicus
Binomial name
Calcarius lapponicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Range   Breeding   Migration   Nonbreeding
Synonyms
Fringilla lapponica Linnaeus, 1758

The Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus), also known as the Lapland bunting, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae (Old World finches).

Taxonomy

The Lapland longspur was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the finches in the genus Fringilla and coined the binomial name Fringilla lapponica.^[2][3] The Lapland longspur is now one of three longspurs placed in the genus Calcarius that was introduced in 1802 by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein.^[4] The English name refers to the long hind claws.^[5] The genus name Calcarius is from Latin calcaria, "spurs", and the specific lapponicus refers to Lapland.^[6]

Five subspecies are recognised:^[4]

• C. l. subcalcaratus (Brehm, CL, 1826) – north Canada and Greenland
• C. l. lapponicus (Linnaeus, 1758) – north Europe and north Asia
• C. l. kamtschaticus Portenko, 1937 – northeast Siberia
• C. l. alascensis Ridgway, 1898 – extreme east Siberia, Alaska and northwest Canada
• C. l. coloratus Ridgway, 1898 – Commander Islands

The Lapland longspur is a robust bird, with a thick yellow seed-eater's bill. The summer male has a black head and throat, white eyestripe, chestnut nape, white underparts, and a heavily streaked black-grey back. Other plumages have a plainer orange-brown head, a browner back and chestnut nape and wing panels.

Measurements:^[7]

• Length: 5.9–6.3 in (15–16 cm)
• Weight: 0.8–1.2 oz (22.3–33.1 g)
• Wingspan: 8.7–11.4 in (22–29 cm)

It breeds across Arctic Europe and the Palearctic and in Canada and the northernmost United States. It is migratory, wintering in the Russian steppes, the southern United States, Northern Scandinavian arctic areas and down to coastal Southern Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain. This is the only Asian species of the longspur buntings, and while it probably did not evolve there, it has been present in Eastern Europe for at least about 30,000 years.^[8]