Sunday 9 November 2008

West Dover & St Margaret's Bay

Just returned from a fortnight in Canada, staying on the beautiful shores of St Margaret's Bay.Naerby was the bustling(!) fishing village of West Dover, which bears no resemblance whatsoever to its larger namesake.

The granite boulders that define the shoreline and islands make a lovely scene, and every corner reveals a stunning view of a lake, creek or bay.
The one piece of commercialism in the place was (like most things at this time of the year) closed.

The sheltered waters held a good variety of birdlife, and each morning's walk promised something new.
Male and female Hooded Mergansers

The equally daft-looking Buffleheads

Red-necked Grebes were frequent visitors

American Black Ducks were everywhere, on freshwater and the sea

Red-Breasted Mergansers

A Horned Lark (aka Shore Lark) was seen and heard on the beach, as was a flock of about 30 Snow Buntings
And there were plenty of Common Loons (Great Northern Divers)

6 comments:

Rambling Woods said...

Nice birding...The loons are in trouble on the great lakes due to the zebra mussel that was brought into the ecosystem and many are dying, so you got to see a real treat..

Mary said...

Welcome home! I look forward to all the great stuff you saw. What a nice variety of water fowl. It figures that you would see both a Lark and a Loon while I'm desperately trying to find an "L" bird for my ABC's...sigh. That lake looks lovely!

NW Nature Nut said...

Looks like you had a nice time. That last photo is gorgeous!

Greenie said...

Steve ,
Sounds like a great trip , and looks like a great place to chill out .

me ann my camera said...

Lovely photos.Peggy's Cove lighthouse perhaps? Glad that you saw so many different species. Nova Scotia is always beautiful and picturesque no matter what the season. It looks like you had a lovely trip to the Maritimes. Great pictures.

Kingsdowner said...

Peggy's Cove indeed Ann - the place was deserted as it was off-season.
Thanks for the comments on the loon problem, Ramblin', and for the welcome back from Mary.