I enjoyed a short circuit of the eastern end of the Chebucto Peninsula on a cloudy and drizzly day.

Double-crested Cormorant

Double Crested Cormorant 100

Canada Goose

Canada Goose 100 CCGS Hare Bay

GASPÉ, QC – Chantier Naval Forillon today announced the delivery of the fifth search and rescue vessel it has built for the Canadian Coast Guard, the CCGS Hare Bay, as part of a major contract, the first having been delivered in 2017. The contract calls for the yard to supply the Coast Guard with a total of ten vessels by 2023.

The entire team is pleased to have contributed to the production of vessels that will serve the Canadian Coast Guard in various provinces across the country. Boat enthusiasts will be able to admire the units produced by Chantier Naval Forillon in the various rescue stations in British Columbia, Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands (Qc), among others. The CCGS Hare Bay will be stationed in Nova Scotia, where it will provide essential search and rescue services, including on-water searches, response to distress calls at sea and assistance to vessels in difficulty.

“Search and rescue vessels are an essential component of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet and are vital to marine safety and to supporting environmental response operations. Congratulations to the skilled workers at Chantier Naval Forillon for their exceptional work in building the CCGS Hare Bay,” said Mario Pelletier, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard.

The contract was won as a result of the shipyard’s positive response to a number of criteria, including its strong shipyard organisation, proven expertise and value for money. Over the years, the team at the helm of the company has sought and found ways to increase production without neglecting the quality of the vessels built.

As a result, more than double the number of jobs have been created since the contract was confirmed, mainly as project managers and naval architects. The 37 employees have been joined by 34 who are retained on a year-round basis. The company is now operating with 70 employees on board and Jean-David Samuel, president and CEO of the shipyard, attributes this growth to the Coast Guard contract. “Obviously, this contract has proven to be structuring for the company. And we are pleased to be able to offer value-added jobs because of it,” he said.

Founded in 1952, Chantier Naval Forillon is a company that builds and repairs boats. Its advantageous geographical location allows it to accommodate coastal and ocean-going vessels weighing up to 800 tons. It also provides services to several shipowners in Eastern Canada, and its infrastructure makes it one of the best equipped shipyards in the province for the construction and repair of boats.

CCGS Hare Bay 100 Double Crested Cormorant 101 Canada Goose 101

Yellow Ladies Tresses Orchid

Note the small yellow spot on the tongue. The single orchid flowers are about 1/4 inch long (6mm)

Yellow Ladies Tresses Orchid 100

Head of Northwest Arm, Halifax

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Sloop Nine off Sambro Island

Nine 101

Herring Cove

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Nine 100

Portuguese Cove

Portuguese Cove 101

Sambro Harbour

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Portuguese Cove

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Sambro Harbour

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The Dingle

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West Pennant Creek

West Pennant Creek 100

There are photographers that specialize in daylight sky and cloud photography. These photographs show why the interest exists.

Clouds

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On our evening walk at Chignecto Provincial Park we walked pass the red rocks. Normally the flow of water here is but a trickle but after a particularly heavy rain the trickle becomes a waterfall and so I named it Red Rock Falls.

Red Rock Falls

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The stunning Blackburnian Warbler and Northern Parula are a joy to meet and photograph. The Northern Parula is so tame I've had them feeding within a metre of me.

Blackburnian Warbler

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Northern Parula

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The Cedar Waxwing was gathering nesting material. They are late nesters like the Goldfinch. It was a cooperative bird but hard to photograph on auto focus because the camera insisted on focusing on the twigs in front of the bird.

The Magnolia Warbler is not a shy bird but tends to mind its own business and ignore passersby so I am always pleased when I can capture a few images.

Cedar Waxwing

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Magnolia Warbler

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These photographs are an eclectic mix of recent experiences as I visited a few of my local haunts. The lack of shorebirds is disconcerting.

Black-capped Chickadee

Dead Man's Fingers

Fungi

Coral Root Orchid

.....past its prime

HMCS Toronto

Entering Halifax Harbour off Chebucto Head

Forest Floor Lichens

Forest Floor Mushrooms

Forest Stump

Red Squirrel

Round Lake

Stump and Pickerel Weed

Sunrise at Duncan's Cove

Western Head

Aster Species

Nodding Ladies' Tresses Orchid

I took a stroll in the woodlands this morning in an attempt to catch up on all the birds I've missed with Covid and my expedition to Cape Chignecto Provincial Park. Most of the warblers are gone from the woodlands now but later migrants and year round residents are still there to be found.

Eastern Wood-pewee

This flycatcher boasts the quintessential woodland song and is a particular favourite of mine. It has disappeared from many of the locations that I had become used to seeing them and enjoying their song.

This flycatcher is another victim of farmers and land developers.

Red-eyed Vireo

White-breasted Nuthatch

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

The full moon, plus a few hours, is rising over Cape d'Or as seen from the beach halfway to Cape Chignecto. These photographs are my best ever of the rising moon. Normally the distance light has to travel along the surface of the earth through heat tremors, dust and air currents degrades the image. I was lucky this evening.

Moon Rising Over Cape d'Or

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I struggled with these Osprey photographs. Although the images are cropped they are still shot at 1200mm ISO 6400. I need the high ISO in order to freeze their movements at such a long focal length. Unfortunately this creates a spray of noise all over the image and especially in the background sky. Removing all this noise creates a pastel painting like effect on the photo which although not unattractive is unrealistic. I just have to get closer to improve the quality of the images.

Osprey

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Eastern Bluebird

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Eastern Bluebird

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I was fortunate to be able to watch a pair of Eastern Bluebirds raise their family at Chignecto Provincial Park.

I never knew so many grubs and multi legged and appendaged critters existed until I photographed the adult bluebirds toting them to their young. The adult's hunting skills are awesome.

Eastern Bluebird

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Woodland and forest edge birds tend to mix when photographing from road sides. These photos were taken with my hiking camera.

Yellow Warbler

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American Redstart

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Black-and-White Warbler

Black-and-White Warbler 1000

Red-eye Vireo

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Ruffed Grouse

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