Pick Up Day!

Having enjoyed two glorious days weather sightseeing in Halifax today was the day to pick up our RV and so it was no surprise that it was all change! Low cloud, mist and later heavy rain and thunder was the order of the day.

Peggy's Cove On A Good Day ( Image By Marinas.Com)

However, and I'm not too sure this is a good thing or not, we were given a brand new RV unit to try out. The plan, having taken on groceries and the all important alcohol was to head south to escape the metropolis and check in at Wayside Campground, Peggy's Cove. The Cove is a small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margaret's Bay.

After we settled into our pitch we managed a short walk around the shore and wooded areas of the campground during a lull in the weather. Unlike our trips to the west coast of Canada, where Steller's Jay were the norm, Blue Jays are the east coast variety and several were seen during our walk. One thing that has surprised me is the amount of Great Blacked-backed Gulls in the area, by far the most common thus far, and in fact a new Canadian species for me, having not seen one during my previous trips. Herring Gulls are also plentiful in numbers and with visibility very poor we're yet to record any other Gull species.

Belted Kingfisher, and Great Blue Heron around the sea inlets, plus a slight surprise when a Turkey Vulture drifted over, quite unexpected until a quick look at my Sibley's Guide does list them on the southern areas of Nova Scotia.

The rest of our walk produced a stunning summer plumage Purple Finch, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrow, Black-caped Chickadee and Common Grackle before the rain returned.

Spring Peeper - (Library Image)

As darkness fell on our first night and the rain got even heavier, a new and unexpected sound greeted us! After a little research from Dee we discovered a new species for our Canadian List known as a 'Spring Peeper', called locally 'pink-winks'. The Spring Peeper is in fact a small chorus frog, rarely seen but often heard, and in our case 'all night long'. They breed from March to June and it's the males you can hear calling looking for a mate. They are a nocturnal species and we just happened to park right next to a nice little population!!