CALL OF THE WILD
Actress Jane Alexander shares her birding experiences in Shelburne County.
It was the flute-like song of the wood thrush that led Jane Alexander into the worlds of birding and conservation.
The acclaimed actress/author has been a piping plover guardian in Shelburne County, where she has a home, for almost 20 years.
She once lived in a “beautiful wooded area” in New York state.
“The wood thrush would sing his heart out at dawn and dusk and I became captivated by the song,” she said.
It was her “spark” bird, the one that began her passion for all birds.
Here in Nova Scotia, Alexander is lucky to have the hermit thrush in her woods.
Wherever she lives, she observes what birds like in the area and tries to keep a bird bath as well as plants and insects that attract them.
The knapweed is an abundant plant on her property here and a magnet for goldfinches that breed in the brush and wait for the seed heads to be ready for their chicks in mid-August.
She never uses any pesticides or herbicides.
Pelagic trips organized by the
Nova Scotia Bird Society are very special to Alexander.
Several species of shearwaters, jaegers, phalaropes and petrels are often observed, and a Manx shearwater sighting sometimes generates excitement.
Her favourite seabird is the northern gannet, which plunge dives 50 feet or more, straight into the ocean after small fish.
“It’s a thrilling sight,” she said.
She says she loves living in southwest Nova Scotia because “you never know what might pop up in your backyard.”