[NatureNS] birds on drive to Yarmouth from Wolfville

Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 22:10:20 -0300
From: "George E. Forsyth" <g4syth@nspes.ca>
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Hi All,

Today I spent at a badminton tournament in Argyle Yarmouth County with  
students from the school where I teach in New Minas.

On the six hour return drive on the 101 Hwy I was able to see a few birds.

Foremost, early this morning Digby County was carpeted with robins,  
literally thousands along the road about Marshalltown, and lots  
through the rest of Digby Co, they seemed dispersed on the return drive.

West of the Coldbrook exit (14) there were many red winged blackbirds  
in the trees in the wet area on the south side of Hwy 101. The swampy  
area just east of the cranberry farm south of Weston Kings County  
(between exits 15 and 16) had lots of red winged blackbirds sitting  
high in the trees through out the swamp. As well there were scattered  
small groups of grackles in Annapolis County east of Bridgetown.

On the return drive in Weston a small soaring buteo hawk caught my  
eye, as it soared above the road and I was able to clearly see the  
underside, the absence of a white breast and belly band and no red in  
the tail grabbed my attention. The wings were black tipped and  
outlined with dark, the tail banded, size seemed smaller. I am quite  
convinced of Broad winged hawk, but it seems early.

The grain fields about Weston, Kings Co had flying Canada geese this  
morning and grazing geese this evening on the return.

At the Drumlin Heights School in Argyle a singing cardinal greeted us!

As we left in early afternoon two great blue herons were feeding in  
the bays beside the Hwy 103 at Glenwood.

Driving home the students were talking about where and how far each  
had traveled, somehow the conversation came around to deer. The  
student sitting in the front seat said that she had never seen deer,  
two of the others said they saw them every time their basketball team  
went to Truro. As we returned on the Hwy 101 at Bridgetown I was able  
to point to the edge of a field close to the road where four deer were  
grazing in the shrubs, this student had now seen wild deer!

A great day of badminton and a pleasant drive with great kids through  
the Valley to Yarmouth,

George Forsyth

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