Red-eyed VireoThis Red-eyed Vireo was photographed on my recent trip to Brier Island. It's a strikingly handsome bird when the sunlight illuminates the red eye. I was not lucky this time with the red eye. Red-eyed Vireo
Brier Island SunsetDuring a recent visit to Brier Island I photographed the sunset from the south end of the island. I suspect there was some smoke in the air to augment the colour. Brier Island Sunset
Sandy Cove SunsetIn my quest to find and photograph our comet C/2024 S1 ATLAS I've tried various locations. This one was at Sandy Cove. I had a decent view of the eastern sky but no joy. I have only been able to find a blurry blob not worthy of photographing on several recent tries. Perhaps it is disintegrating in the solar wind. It's somewhat reminiscent of my trip to Barbados to see Halley's Comet which also turned out to be a tail-less blurry blob albeit much brighter. Sandy Cove Sunset
A Time to Rest or a Time to FlyWhen I returned for my second visit to the resting area at the guzzle at the east end of Evangeline Beach the gathering of Semipalmated Sandpipers was smaller than my earlier visit but this time I came to photograph aerial displays and they did not disappoint. Large flocks are a means of protection from predators like Peregrine Falcons since a melee of flying birds can instill confusion in the predator, simply the challenge of picking out one bird from the melee to pursue since this one supposed victim can quickly disappear into the melee of the undulating flock. I never disturbed the birds and sat quietly with my 600mm lens. The problem with flocks of birds is that if one bird for whatever reason is spooked and emits a warning note or simply takes off others sometimes all of the flock follow. A Time to Rest or a Time to Fly
The Challenge of Counting Semipalmated SandpipersA challenge always worth accepting is to estimate the size of a Semipalmated Sandpiper gathering. This bunch at the guzzle at the eastern end of Evangeline Beach is just such a challenge. I estimate the area occupied by the sandpipers as about one acre plus or say 60,000 square feet. The multiplier is the real test. The sandpipers cluster together typically four to twelve individuals per square foot. Lets take the median number of eight per square foot. Consider that they are six inches long and two inches wide. A tight cluster where they are touching, which is common, indicates a maximum of twelve for every square foot. My next posting will show examples of this bunching. So using the median number of eight per square foot and 60,000 square feet to share their space with would indicate that this flock is 480,000 individuals, not counting the birds in the foreshore grasses and other pockets of birds in the surrounding area. A more accurate measure would be to place a grid over the field of birds and count the birds in each square of the grid to obtain an average per grid square, if you have the time. 500,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers
Evangeline Beach Shorebirds Part ThreeSemipalmated Sandpipers are amazing flyers. One of their major stopovers is at the head of the Bay of Fundy. A large cluster rested on the sand and mud flats adjacent to the eastern end of Evangeline Beach. Others were clustered in the shore grasses. I photographed this melee using a 70-200mm lens in order to capture most of the Semipalmated Sandpipers in one frame. Courtesy of Wikipedia: DescriptionIt is a small sandpiper, 15–18 cm (5.9-7.1 in) long and weighing around 18-51.5 g (0.6-1.8 oz).[3] Wingspan ranges from 13.8 to 14.6 in (35-37 cm).[4] Adults have black legs and a short, stout, straight dark bill. The body is dark grey-brown on top and white underneath. The head and neck are tinged light grey-brown. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds, in particular the western sandpiper; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints". Breeding and habitatTheir breeding habitat is the southern tundra in Canada and Alaska near water. They nest on the ground. The male makes several shallow scrapes; the female chooses one and adds grass and other material to line the nest. The female lays 4 eggs; the male assists in incubation. After a few days, the female leaves the young with the male; the young feed themselves. These birds forage on mudflats, picking up food by sight and feel (bill). They mainly eat aquatic insects and their larvae, spiders, snails, worms[5] and crustaceans. Semipalmated sandpipers rely heavily on horseshoe crab eggs during spring migration.[5] Females will also eat small mammal bones as an extra source of calcium during egg laying.[5] Status and migrationThey are long distance migrants and winter in coastal South America, with some going to the southern United States and the Caribbean. They migrate in flocks which can number in the hundreds of thousands, particularly in favoured feeding locations such as the Bay of Fundy and Delaware Bay. This species is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe. Although very numerous, these birds are highly dependent on a few key stopover habitats during their migration, notably Mary's Point and Johnson's Mills along Shepody Bay, an arm of the Bay of Fundy.[6] During the months of July and August, the Nature Conservancy of Canada runs an information center about these shorebirds in Johnson's Mills, New Brunswick.[7] The Shorebirds at the Guzzle, near the east end of Evangeline Beach
Quest for Comet C/2024 S1 ATLAS Update OneI managed a few photos from the parking lot at the Swiss Air memorial. I essentially took these photos hand held. I rested the camera on bean bags on the SUV's window sill and shot blind since I could not see anything useful in the monitor. I shot at 1 second exposure and ISO 102400. There are jiggly stars as one would expect using this technique. I will reduce the ISO to 6400 and increase exposure to 5 seconds on a tripod this evening. Quest for Comet C/2024 S1 ATLAS
Quest for Comet C/2024 S1 ATLASI have tried for three nights to see comet C/2024 S1 ATLAS and have not seen it with 10X42 binoculars or naked eye which means I am probably the only person in Nova Scotia who has not seen this comet. I will keep trying. I did photograph a spectacular sunrise just east of Peggy's Cove on Oct 16, 2024 and photos of the Oct 17, 2024 supermoon on Oct 18, 2024 one day late thanks to cloud on Oct 17, 2024.
Shorebirds of Rainbow Haven's Salt MarshWhilst waiting for the American Avocets to appear at the Rainbow Haven's Salt Marsh I photographed the diverse mix of shorebirds. I previously posted photos of Baird's Sandpiper but the Ruddy Turnstones kept their distance so they were not photographed. The Ruddy Turnstones are a reliable sight at Duncan Reef. Black-bellied Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Sanderling
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Driving the Sambro Loop in FallThe Sambro Loop fall colours trip was my most successful. I particularly enjoy juxtaposition of water, clouds and colourful foiliage. Sambro Loop Fall Colours Trip
Woodland hike in Bell Park on a sunny SundayLaura and I enjoyed a Sunday walk at Bell Park on the route to Mount Uniacke Estate. It is a richly forested area with good trails and not too strenuous. This location also offers great winter photography especially by the lake. The highlight was meeting a colony of lycopods, from the family of clubmosses. Bell Park Sunday Hike
lycopods, from family of clubmosses
Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants also known as lycopods or lycophytes. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching stems bearing simple leaves called microphylls and reproduce by means of spores borne in sporangia on the sides of the stems at the bases of the leaves. Although living species are small, during the Carboniferous, extinct tree-like forms (Lepidodendrales) formed huge forests that dominated the landscape and contributed to coal deposits. The nomenclature and classification of plants with microphylls varies substantially among authors. A consensus classification for extant (living) species was produced in 2016 by the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG I), which places them all in the class Lycopodiopsida, which includes the classes Isoetopsida and Selaginellopsida used in other systems. (See Table 2.) Alternative classification systems have used ranks from division (phylum) to subclass. In the PPG I system, the class is divided into three orders, Lycopodiales, Isoetales and Selaginellales. CharacteristicsClub-mosses (Lycopodiales) are homosporous, but the genera Selaginella (spikemosses) and Isoetes (quillworts) are heterosporous, with female spores larger than the male.[1] As a result of fertilisation, the female gametophyte produces sporophytes. A few species of Selaginella such as S. apoda and S. rupestris are also viviparous; the gametophyte develops on the mother plant, and only when the sporophyte's primary shoot and root is developed enough for independence is the new plant dropped to the ground.[2] Many club-moss gametophytes are mycoheterotrophic and long-lived, residing underground for several years before emerging from the ground and progressing to the sporophyte stage.[3] Lycopodiaceae and spikemosses (Selaginella) are the only vascular plants with biflagellate sperm, an ancestral trait in land plants otherwise only seen in bryophytes. The only exceptions are Isoetes and Phylloglossum, which independently has evolved multiflagellated sperm cells with approximately 20 flagella[4][5] (sperm flagella in other vascular plants can count at least thousand, but is completely absent in seed plants except for Ginkgo and cycads).[6] Because only two flagella puts a size limit on the genome, we find the largest known genomes in the clade in Isoetes, as multiflagellated sperm is not exposed for the same selection pressure as biflagellate sperm in regard of size.[7]
Wentworth Falls TripI went to photograph the fall colours of the hardwood lands of Colchester County and Wentworth Falls. Unfortunately the water level at Wentworth Falls was so low that there was no drama. Usually it is one of the easiest to access and the bridal veil nature of the falls can be spectacular. Colchester County Fall Colours Trip
Surfer at Martinique BeachCatching surfers in these poses is difficult especially since the talent is not always evident. Most photos were of bobbing heads in the surf and lots of wave photos. The conditions appeared excellent for experienced surfers Surfer at the far west end of Martinique Beach
More Early Fall Colours in Nova ScotiaThis fall colours trip was primarily in Jerry Lawrence Provincial Park and points on route and nearby. Nova Scotia Fall Colours
Early Fall Colour in Nova ScotiaThis fall colours trip was along the Musquodoboit River. It was a bit early for the full show. Musquodoboit River (low water level)
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