Rondeau Ric

We have been losing our flowers. I think I found the culprit.

On a pelagic cruise at Witless Bay, Newfoundland, Canada on June 5, 2018, we saw thousands of nesting Black Guillemot. Cepphus grylle The Black Guillemot can stay underwater for up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Guillemot/

We had a midge bloom Wednesday night. The noise was electric, it sounded like an electrical outlet that was shorting out - a constant hum. A loud, constant hum that slowly gets on your nerves. The photo was taken at 9.30 p.m., well after sunset. There were clouds of insects hovering about 50 feet above the ground. Not a great image but it gives you an idea of what the sky looked like.

This is the gannet colony at Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland, Canada, June 6, 2018 It is the most accessible seabird colony in North America. Thousands of gulls, razorbills, common murres, black-legged kittiwakes, northern gannets, and double-crested and great cormorants nest here. In the winter 20,000 scoters, long-tailed ducks, harlequin, dovekies, thick-billed murres, and kittiwakes can be found here. Morus bassanus Most plunge-dives are relatively shallow, but the Northern Gannet can dive as deep as 22 meters (72 feet). It uses its wings and feet to swim deeper in pursuit of fish.

While in Twillingate looking for icebergs in the fog, we found this blue chair. It was about the only colour we saw in the town due to the fog. There were no icebergs.

One of the interesting yet unadvertised sites in Newfoundland is the folded rocks near Port aux Port. You have to ask locals exactly where they are and how to get to them but it is worth the effort. This formation is also called the Faults & Folds of West Bay Beach. "The folds of rock are related to the churning tectonic activity that gave rise to the earth's mantle hundreds of millions of year ago." For scale I am about 6 feet tall.

We have seen just one redhead woodpecker once since we got back from Newfoundland. Today he/she showed up at the peanut feeder. We had two other red  birds as well. A rose breasted grosbeak and a cardinal.

Puffins, Elliston, Newfoundland, June 1, 2018. Standing in front of their burrow. Sort of a reverse American Gothic. Fratercula arctica The oldest Atlantic Puffin was over 33 years, 1 month old when it was sighted and identified by its band in Maine in 2010. It had been banded in the same state in 1977. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Atlantic_Puffin/

Pine grosbeak. Life bird! Seen at Berry Hill Trail at Gros Morne National Park on May 27, 2018. Except for a stray we need to travel to see new birds but that's ok. I took lots of photos but I like this one even though it doesn't show the entire bird. A different look. Pinicola enucleator Not all Pine Grosbeaks are the same. Not only do they differ in the amount and intensity of red across their range, they are also different sizes. Body size and wing and tail length generally increase from Newfoundland westward to the Yukon Territory. But birds on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Island) in British Columbia, Canada, and in California are among the smallest of all Pine Grosbeaks. Wings and tails of birds on Haida Gwaii are around a half inch smaller than birds in Alaska. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Grosbeak/ #

While travelling up the west coast of Newfoundland, near Cape Ray, in the fog, a regular occurrence, we saw spotted sandpipers on a rock out in a bay. Actitis macularius The male takes the primary role in parental care, incubating the eggs and taking care of the young. One female may lay eggs for up to four different males at a time. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spotted_Sandpiper/ .

Lobster Cove Head lighthouse in Gros Morne National Park near Rocky Harbour. Seen from across the bay. We went over to the light later in the day and saw minke whales in the bay.

Not certain when I took this photo. It would be sometime in May 2018 at Rondeau Provincial Park. Still going through 900GB of photos from our Newfoundland trip. Hopefully I'll be posting some of them soon. Melospiza lincolnii Sometimes, singing a beautiful song might not be enough to win over a female. In a laboratory study, female Lincoln's Sparrows were more attracted to males that sang during colder mornings more than those singing during warmer mornings. This may be because males singing in the cold showed off more than just their song; singing in the cold requires more energy and could mean that males singing in the cold would make better mates. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/gui…/Lincolns_Sparrow/overview

On our trip back from the maritimes our GPS sent us through downtown Montreal with stop, stop and sort of go traffic. Got through that then saw a traffic jam ahead of ud. Managed too get off at an exit which was right beside us. Ended up at a small zoo, the    Ecomusem Zoo The animals were all native to the area and were injured animals that could not be released  into the wild. Don't know this barn owl's story but it looked like it was having a nap. Tyto alba Up to 46 different races of the Barn Owl have been described worldwide. The North American form is the largest, weighing more than twice as much as the smallest race from the Galapagos Islands. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Owl/

Not sure why you would. Back road in New Brunswick.

do you know the rest? I don't think his name was Ed. Witless Bay Newfoundland

On the ferry back to the mainland from Newfoundland we saw 3 or 4 whales. I didn't even yell "thar she blows!" They were along way off and there isn't enough detail to identify the species. Off to the Cabot Trail tomorrow - Monday? We don't really keep track.

A rare sunny day on our Newfoundland trip. We walked a great trail at Springdale and one of the birds we saw was this white-throated sparrow. Zonotrichia albicollis The oldest recorded White-throated Sparrow was at least 14 years, 11 months old, when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Alberta. source - www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-throated_Sparrow

Finally saw icebergs today. Two were at Amherst Cove, Newfoundland. This one was very large and close to shore. Several hundred more images to go through.

Today we went out to Cape St. Marie's, Newfoundland, to the Bird Rock to see some of the thousands of northern gannets, kittywakes and guillemots that nest there, An amazing spectical. Morus bassanus In North America, the Northern Gannet breeds in only six well established colonies: three in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, and three in the North Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland. In the eastern North Atlantic, it is distributed in 32 colonies from the coast of Brittany  in France northward to Norway. source -  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Gannet

St. John's harbour, Newfoundland, in a rare sunny moment.

Went for a walk and ther sun actually came out. A bird started singing a song I didn't recognize. Turned out it was a Wilson's warbler. Cardellina pusilla When most songbird nestlings are ready to leave the nest, they hop out and don’t return to the nest, but some Wilson’s Warbler fledglings head back to the nest for a night or two after fledging. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Warbler

Seen at a T intersection in a small harbour town in Newfoundland. For those unfamiliar with Newfoundland colloquialisms "bye" is boy

Ellison Newfoundland, June 1, 2018 Minor adjustments, limited editing capability on the road. Finally had a little bit of sunshine. Fratercula arctica The Atlantic Puffin may live to be more than 30 years old. It does not breed until it is three to six years old. source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Atlantic_Puffin