Day 5 Whale Cove

Our first White-tailed Deer of this visit wondered into our parking area just prior to departing and on route out of Kejimkujik National Park a brief stop at a few observation points produced, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle), Black-capped Chickadee, Red-eyed Vireo and an Osprey taking fish on the Mersey River.

White-tailed Deer

We were now heading up towards Digby, a town situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the St. George's Strait, more commonly called Digby Gut, which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy. Here we stopped for a short while to investigate a disused railway track which runs alongside the Annapolis River.

Cliff Swallow

A nice group of Cliff Swallows were nesting under the old rail bridge and we stood and watched them for a while giving me the opportunity to practice some flight shots. A short walk produced a couple of Savannah Sparrow, plenty of Yellow Warblers, Belted Kingfisher, Alder Flycatcher and several American Goldfinch, looking absolutely stunning in their summer plumage.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  - Sadly on a dull day!

Our planned stop for tonight was Whale Cove Campground around 40 or so kilometers from Digby along the Bay of Fundy shoreline. A stop for lunch on route overlooking the ocean offered good views of a large flock of Eider, very common around these parts, Common Loon, American Black Duck and a Great-blue Heron.

American Redstart

After checking in at Whale Cove Dee and I took a stroll down to the quay before the predicted Tropical Storm Andrea arrived. A few of the houses towards the cove had Hummingbird feeders, offering a nice opportunity to get up close to a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at last. The walk down offered superb views of the cove and the abundance of birds was just amazing with several American Redstart, Alder Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Common Grackle and American Goldfinch.

Alder Flycatcher

Raptors, a little short on the ground during our trip thus far included (2) Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk and Bald Eagle. Out to sea lots more Eider and Double-crested Cormorant, a family of (5) Common Loon, first time ever I've been lucky enough to see youngsters of this iconic bird and (3) Gannet, two of which were also juveniles. Thankfully we arrived back just prior to the storm arriving and as we were battening down the hatches no less than (7) Turkey Vultures flew in off the ocean!