Laura and I enjoyed a late afternoon with friends at the Halifax waterfront on Canada Day. The weather was hot but quite bearable.

Canada Day July 1, 2018, Halifax Waterfront

Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 1 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 2 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 3 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 4 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 5 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 6 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 7 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 8 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 9 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 10 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 11 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 12 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 13 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 14 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 15 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 16 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 17 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 18 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 19 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 20 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 21 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 22 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 23 Canada Day Halifax Waterfront 2018 24

I enjoyed my annual but quick visit to the Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid patch yesterday in sweltering heat. To my delight none of the orchids have been trampled this year. It's not a good idea to bring dogs in here leased or not because these elegant orchids are easily damaged.

Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid

Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 1 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 2 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 3 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 4 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 5 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 6 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 7 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 8 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 9 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 10 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 11 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 12 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 13 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 14 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 15 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 16 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 17 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 18 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 19 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 20 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 21 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 22 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 23 Showy Lady's Slipper Orchid 2018 24

The Eastern Wood-Pewee appears in my experience to be declining. Many of the locations where I used to find them are now uninhabited by this species. It is easy to identify thanks to its magical woodland song.

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow 1

Red-eyed Vireo

Wildflowers are always special; a treat to see and smell, a boon to birds and bees, and a reminder of how it used to be everywhere before the strip loggers arrived.

Dogwood

Dogwood 1

Golden Heather

The Natural Resources Department(the strip loggers) does very little good but one thing they did do right was designating the semi-wilderness barrens and scrub forest of the south-eastern Chebucto Peninsula as a nature reserve. One of the reasons had to be the abundance of the semi-arctic Golden Heather.

Indian Pear

Indian Pear 1

Painted Trillium

Painted Trillium 1 Painted Trillium 2 Painted Trillium 3

Rhodora

Rhodora 1

White Rhodora

Rare with a very short flowering period

White Rhodora 1 White Rhodora 2 White Rhodora 3

Warblers are a tricky bird to photograph. I can usually identify about 95% by song, peeps and tweets can be tricky, see about 15% and photograph about 5% with maybe 1% remaining as usable photographs. Thank goodness for the ear!

Warblers are being devastated by habitat destruction. Nova Scotia, Canada, is a fine example of third world forestry as the countryside is stripped clean like a moonscape. It's shameful.

American Redstart

The name should be America's Redstart

American Redstart 2

American Redstart 4 American Redstart 5 American Redstart 6 American Redstart 7 American Redstart 8 American Redstart 9 American Redstart 10

Female American Redstart-usually stumps beginners.

American Redstart 11 American Redstart 12

Black-and-White Warbler

Black-and-White Warbler 1 Black-and-White Warbler 2 Black-and-White Warbler 3

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler 1

Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler 1 Black-throated Green Warbler 2

Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler 1 Blackburnian Warbler 2 Blackburnian Warbler 3 Blackburnian Warbler 4 Blackburnian Warbler 5 Blackburnian Warbler 6 Blackburnian Warbler 7 Blackburnian Warbler 8 Blackburnian Warbler 9

Blackpoll Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler 1 Blackpoll Warbler 2 Blackpoll Warbler 3

Canada Warbler

I have no good photographs of this elegant warbler this year(so far) but I post what I have here because the bird is so special

Canada Warbler 1

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler 2 Chestnut-sided Warbler 3

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat 1 Common Yellowthroat 2 Common Yellowthroat 3

Northern Parula

Northern Parula 1 Northern Parula 2 Northern Parula 3 Northern Parula 4 Northern Parula 5

Ovenbird

Ovenbird 1 Ovenbird 2 Ovenbird 3 Ovenbird 4 Ovenbird 5 Ovenbird 6 Ovenbird 7

Pine Warbler

Pine Warbler 1 Pine Warbler 2 Pine Warbler 3 Pine Warbler 4 Pine Warbler 5 Pine Warbler 6 Pine Warbler 7

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler 1 Yellow Warbler 2 Yellow Warbler 3 Yellow Warbler 5

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4

I visited my usual locations for early orchids. Unfortunately members of flora groups and their friends have torn out most of the rare orchids. Indeed I could not find a single Ram's Head Orchid.

Social media will ensure the end of all rare plants and birds. Locations are posted on line for all to see and unethical(most are) photographers and gawkers stampede to the locations and with pails and shovels remove the plants which don't even survive the move in most cases. Photographers use recorded bird song to pull female birds off the nest to expose the nest to predators or bait birds especially raptors. Unethical nature magazines still post photographs of baited owls flying toward the camera and think it's great and even give rewards to the photographers. Sick!

Ram's Head Orchid

Dragon's Mouth Orchid 1 Dragon's Mouth Orchid 2 Dragon's Mouth Orchid 3

Pink Ladies' Slipper Orchid

Pink Ladies' Slipper Orchid 1 Pink Ladies' Slipper Orchid 2 Pink Ladies' Slipper Orchid 3

Pink Ladies' Slipper Orchid, White Variant

Less common but still easily found

Pink Ladies' Slipper Orchid 4

Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid

Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 1 Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 2 Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 3 Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 4 Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 5 Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 6 Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 7 Yellow Ladies' Slipper Orchid 8

I see Sambro Island and Light almost every day yet it seldom shows such an ominous look as in this series of photographs. I played around with variations in the photographs but as usual the best photograph is the one that came right out of the camera.

Sambro Island and Sambro Island Light in Ominous Light
Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 1 Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 2 Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 3 Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 4 Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 5 Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 6 Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 7 Sambro Island Ominous Clouds 8

I visited my usual locations to find and photograph the Swainson's thrush. The Hermit Thrush just appeared in front of me as I was packing up to leave Jerry Lawrence Provincial Park. It was gathering food for its nestlings.

The Grey Catbird nests in our front yard rose bramble every year. We see it early in the year up to late May and later into the summer and sometimes all winter. It remains silent when nesting.

Grey Catbird

Grey Catbird 1

Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush 1 Hermit Thrush 2

Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush 1 Swainson's Thrush 2 Swainson's Thrush 3 Swainson's Thrush 4 Swainson's Thrush 5

NRP Sagres (1937)

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This article is about the third and current training ship of this name. For the second, see Rickmer Rickmers.

The Portuguese Navy school ship Sagres under full sail
History
Germany
Name:	Albert Leo Schlageter
Namesake:	Albert Leo Schlageter
Builder:	Blohm & Voss Hamburg, Germany
Launched:	1937
Identification:	IMO number: 8642579
Fate:	Seized as war reparation by the United States
United States
Acquired:	1944
Fate:	Sold to the Brazilian Navy
Brazil
Name:	Guanabara
Acquired:	1948
Identification:	IMO number: 8642579
Fate:	Sold to Portuguese Navy
Portugal
Name:	NRP Sagres
Acquired:	1961
Identification:	IMO number: 8642579 MMSI number: 263141000 Callsign: CTEC
Status:	Training ship
General characteristics
Type:	Barque
Displacement:	1,755 long tons (1,783 t)
Length:	89 m (292 ft 0 in) o/a
Beam:	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draught:	5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)
Sail plan:	2,000 m2 (22,000 sq ft) sail area
Speed:	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)

The NRP Sagres is a tall ship and school ship of the Portuguese Navy since 1961. As the third ship with this name in the Portuguese Navy, she is sometimes referred to as Sagres III.

 

Design and specifications

The ship is a steel-built three masted barque, with square sails on the fore and main masts and gaff rigging on the mizzen mast. Her main mast rises 42 m (138 ft) above the deck. She carries 22 sails totaling about 2,000 m² (22,000 sq ft) and can reach a top speed of 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) under sail. She has a sparred length of 89 m (292 ft), a width of 12 m (39 ft), a draught of 5.2 m (17 ft), and a displacement at full load of 1,755 long tons (1,966 short tons).

Ship history

The three-masted ship was launched under the name Albert Leo Schlageter on 30 October 1937 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. The ship was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, who was executed in 1923 by French forces occupying the Ruhr area. Her first commander was Bernhard Rogge. Sagres is a sister ship of the Gorch Fock, the Horst Wessel, and the Romanian training vessel Mircea. Another sister, Herbert Norkus, was not completed, while Gorch Fock II was built in 1958 by the Germans to replace the ships lost after the war.

Following a number of international training voyages, the ship was used as a stationary office ship after the outbreak of World War II and was only put into ocean-going service again in 1944 in the Baltic Sea. On 14 November 1944 she hit a Soviet mine off Sassnitz and had to be towed to port in Swinemünde. Eventually transferred to Flensburg, she was taken over there by the Allies when the war ended and finally confiscated by the United States.

 

 

In 1948, the U.S. sold her to Brazil for a symbolic price of $5,000 USD.^[1] She was towed to Rio de Janeiro where she sailed as a school ship for the Brazilian Navy under the name Guanabara. In 1961, Ambassador Teotónio Pereira of Portugal, who was also a man of the sea, loved sailing ships, and had been an organizer of the first Tall Ships’ Race, persevered in his mediations and the Portuguese Navy bought the Guanabara to replace the previous school ship Sagres (which was transferred to Hamburg, where she is a museum ship under her original name Rickmer Rickmers). The Portuguese Navy renamed Guanabara as Sagres (the third ship of that name), where she remains in service to this day.

In 2010, the ship performed her longest voyage, a round the world trip performing an approximate total of 35000 miles, under the command of CMG Pedro Proença Mendes. The ship left Lisbon on 19 January and returned on 24 December, having participated in Velas Sudamerica 2010, a historic Latin American tour by eleven tall ships to celebrate the bicentennial of the first national governments of Argentina and Chile.^[2] She also took part in the Expo Shanghai, among other events during that year.

The ship has sailed under the Portuguese flag since 1962. For that reason, in 2012 there were major commemorations of her 75th anniversary and 50 years in the service of the Portuguese navy.

Sister ships

• Gorch Fock (ex-Tovarishch)
• USCGC Eagle (ex-Horst Wessel)
• Herbert Norkus, never completed
• Mircea, Romanian sail training ship
• Gorch Fock II

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NRP Sagres.

• List of naval ships of Germany
• List of Kriegsmarine ships
• List of ship launches in 1937

NRP Sagres

I managed a few quick snaps from my living room as it entered Halifax Harbour.

Tall ship 1 Tall ship 2 Tall ship 3

The Pine Warbler is a recent nesting species in Nova Scotia. We have visited and confirmed our colony by song and photograph for the seventh year in a row. Its invasion began through New Brunswick and then crossed over into Nova Scotia. This is Nova Scotia's twenty third(23) confirmed regular nesting species although I am sure there are others we have not yet discovered.

Pine Warbler

Pine Warbler 1 Pine Warbler 2 Pine Warbler 4 Pine Warbler 5 Pine Warbler 6 Pine Warbler 7

These Common Eiders were surfing into  Sandy Cove's beach, Halifax, an unusual activity for them. I snapped a few quick photos.

Surfing Common Eiders

Surfing Eiders 1 Surfing Eiders 2 Surfing Eiders 3 Surfing Eiders 4 Surfing Eiders 5 Surfing Eiders 6 Surfing Eiders 7 Surfing Eiders 8 Surfing Eiders 9 Surfing Eiders 10 Surfing Eiders 11 Surfing Eiders 12 Surfing Eiders 13 Surfing Eiders 14

The Fram is a specialized ship designed for nature experiences in exotic and  cold locations. I snapped this photo(s) from my front window. I had a telephoto lens mounted so I was unable to capture the ship in one frame. This photo is four photos stitched together. It was leaving Halifax at the time. The other photos are the Fram entering Halifax harbour.

Fram

Fram 1 Fram 2 Fram 3 Fram 4 Fram 5

A favorite walk and hike of mine is the Duck Reef loop at Duncan's Cove/Duncan Reef. Park your car at the Duncan's Cove parking area and proceed past the steel gate on the road leading up to the white monolith aka mansion at the top of the hill. This mansion was the location and building of the communications centre of the harbour defenses for Halifax during WW ll. Below the mansion and by the trail is the Champagne Dam the source of war time water.

Location and Route of the Duck Reef Trail

Duck Reef Hiking Trail

The road is public access and proceeds through several waterfront lots, mostly undeveloped. At the top of the hill hill turn right for the clockwise loop or proceed along the barrens for the counterclockwise loop. The route is wet at times so be prepared.

Duck Reef Loop 1 Duck Reef Loop 2 Duck Reef Loop 3 Duck Reef Loop 4 Duck Reef Loop 5 Duck Reef Loop 6 Duck Reef Loop 7 Duck Reef Loop 8 Duck Reef Loop 9

This is the trail sign you will meet on the counterclockwise loop. The barrens here host Whimbrels, Ruffed Grouse, coyotes and white-tailed deer. The wet areas provide habitat for nesting Lincoln's Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow and Palm Warbler.

Duck Reef Loop 10 Duck Reef Loop 11 Duck Reef Loop 12 Duck Reef Loop 13

This view is towards the coastal gun battery from WW ll, about the halfway point of the loop. At the gun battery proceed downhill towards the ocean, or soak up the spectacular view.

Duck Reef Loop 14 Duck Reef Loop 15 Duck Reef Loop 16

Northern Redbelly Snake

Duck Reef Loop 17 Duck Reef Loop 18

The colorful interior of the gun implacements, and great shelter from thunder storms.

Duck Reef Loop 19 Duck Reef Loop 20 Duck Reef Loop 21 Duck Reef Loop 22 Duck Reef Loop 23 Duck Reef Loop 24 Duck Reef Loop 25 Duck Reef Loop 26 Duck Reef Loop 27 Duck Reef Loop 28 Duck Reef Loop 29 Duck Reef Loop 30 Duck Reef Loop 31

Duncan Reef, the site of many ship wrecks.

Duck Reef Loop 32

Duck Reef to the left with no breaking water at high tide.

Duck Reef Loop 34 Duck Reef Loop 35 Duck Reef Loop 36 Duck Reef Loop 37

This is Duncan Reef at high tide. I've seen thirty foot breakers here with southwestern gale winds.

Duck Reef Loop 38 Duck Reef Loop 39 Duck Reef Loop 40 Duck Reef Loop 41 Duck Reef Loop 42 Duck Reef Loop 43 Duck Reef Loop 44 Duck Reef Loop 45 Duck Reef Loop 46 Duck Reef Loop 47 Duck Reef Loop 48

Champagne Dam

This was the water supply for the communications centre, now the white monolith above.

Duck Reef Loop 49 Duck Reef Loop 50

The Duncan's Cove Nature Reserve sign as seen on the clockwise loop.

Duck Reef Loop 51 Duck Reef Loop 52 Duck Reef Loop 53

Duncan's Cove

Duck Reef Loop 54 Duck Reef Loop 55 Duck Reef Loop 56 Duck Reef Loop 57 Duck Reef Loop 58 Duck Reef Loop 59 Duck Reef Loop 60

This is the route to the trail. The concrete works to the right are the WW ll water supply pump house which pressurizes the water from Duncan's Pond. It now services the community of Duncan's Cove, originally an artist's colony.

Duck Reef Loop 61