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.”

“A frigatebird flew by over the water as I hung sheets on the clothesline one day. I had a western flycatcher down the road a few years ago and gull-billed terns after a hurricane. The Hawk, Matthew’s Lake at Hemeon’s Head (Black Point) are teeming with migrants this time of year.”

She also loves to visit the Little Harbour area, West Head in Lockeport and Blanche in Shelburne County.

The area she monitors for piping plovers recently had nest predation or washout from storms, but she helps when she can in other areas and with the banding of chicks at Louis Head.

She depends on several different birding apps, including the Audubon app (she is a board member of the organization).

The Sibley app is useful if she is stuck on an identification and she likes the iBird Pro app, which is quick and easy to maneuver.

Alexander used to keep a life list but now tends to spend more time in observation of bird behaviour than she does listing them.

However, she does post unusual species, or those observed on trips, on the eBird site.

“Since I’ve travelled many places in the world I would guess my life list would be over 2,000 by now,” she said.

The Christmas bird counts are on her annual to-do list.