Noticing summer
It has been a pretty good summer since it officially arrived June 21. It has been reasonably warm and sunny Monday to Friday with periods of rain on the weekends. Good for the gardens. I am guessing the farmers are happy. The water tables seem to be good. Things could not be greener.
Being a weekend warrior I headed along the Southern Shore to take in some summer.
I left St. John’s and headed south in the morning fog. Some would call this up the shore while others would say down. Whatever, the first stop was Lower Pond in Witless Bay. Gulls and kittiwakes from the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve come here in droves to bathe in the fresh water. A rare little gull had taken up residence here since late spring. The bird was still present sitting on the rocks contently preening its feathers among the kittiwakes fully twice its size. A careful look through the mass of gulls did not turn up any other unusual visitors. However, out the corner of my eye I noticed a robin shaped bird fly overhead. Luckily it stopped on the tip-top of a tall larch tree. I was surprised to see it was an eastern kingbird. Looking a little wet from the drizzle and fog, it stayed put for about 10 minutes before flying on.
Eastern kingbirds frequently over shoot their intended target in Nova Scotia and end up in Newfoundland in late spring. July was an unusual time of year to see one here. While watching the kingbirds I heard the sharp kip-kip call notes of a red crossbill. Then it started to sing. I heard them here the weekend before. Hopefully they are nesting in the woods nearby. There will be lots of food for the crossbills and other finches this winter when the cones developing on the trees now ripen in the fall.
It was too foggy to see Gull Island where thousands of seabirds nest, but there were scattered puffins and razorbills on the silky calm harbour water diving for food. A swarm of gulls and kittiwakes circled near the crab processing plant looking for tidbits of waste. A stately common loon swam just off the beach.
The next stop was Mobile. As I arrived at the bottom of the long narrow inlet an immature
“The signs of summer were strong. The smell of new kelp washed up on the beach mixed mingled with the lush herbaceous vegetation growing deep on the other side of the road. Pink and purple lupins outlined the quiet lane ahead of me through the drizzly fog. Despite the damp darkness it was warm enough for a dragonfly to be out active hunting.”
bald eagle was flying low across the cove being chased by two herring gulls. I lost sight of the eagle behind a bank, but knew exactly where it was based on the pointed diving efforts of the two raucous gulls. A loon watched curiously from the safety of the water. It swam closer to the shore in its dapper black and white summer dress and uttered a few mournful loon calls. This could be interpreted showing its dislike of the presence of the eagle or maybe it was the noisy gulls.
I scanned over the misty water with binoculars. When the caplin are in this place can be alive with birds and whales. Today there was just one puffin and another loon swimming in. A couple of common terns were flying along the shoreline calling to each other as they hunted the shallows for small fish. A spotted sandpiper was standing on a rock uttering sharp little peep notes now and then. It was mildly nervous about something but was not flying away. This was an indication it had a nest or recently hatched young nearby. It was keeping an eye on me ready to sound off its arsenal of alarms and distraction displays if needed. Today I presented no big threat as long as I did not get out of the car and walk around in the grass.
The signs of summer were strong. The smell of new kelp washed up on the beach mixed mingled with the lush herbaceous vegetation growing deep on the other side of the road. Pink and purple lupins outlined the quiet lane ahead of me through the drizzly fog. Despite the damp darkness it was warm enough for a dragonfly to be out active hunting. Bumblebees were visiting long-stemmed irises standing in a damp meadow. A spider web sagged with the weight of the dew it had collected. This is summer. Summer is now. This is the season we agonized for all winter and spring. If there was ever a time to stop and smell the flowers, perhaps with a tangy touch of summer kelp, this is it. Do not let it slide away without getting your fingers, nose and eyes into it.
To complete the summer experience along the shore we need the caplin. There was a group of perhaps 10 humpback whales actively lunge feeding off Powles Head, near Trepassey, on the Sunday. I think they were feeding on caplin.
Summer is about to get better.