Trip to the Tablelands

 

We drove to the Tablelands for a guided tour of this geologically significant area of Gros Morne Park.

Our enthusiastic ranger on 2nd day on the job

Gros Marne is a Unesco world heritage site because it "provides a rare example of the process of continental drift, where deep ocean crust and the rocks of the earth's mantle lie exposed." Thus the Tablelands.  The soil contains high concentrations of toxic minerals and little nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium, the essential minerals for plant life.

What vegetation you do see grows because of later glaciation which brought in other rocks.  Lichen was able to grow on the bits of normal rocks, and then other vegetation was able to establish itself.

Typical Gros Morne landscape on right, Tablelands landscape on the left. Low vegetation growing along the trail where outside gravel was brought in.

The trees are still very stunted.

The other successful plants are the carnivorous species because they get their nutrients from the insects they capture and digest:

Picture plant, Newfoundland's Provincial flower,

Butterwort:

And sundew.

Afterwards we continued on to Trout River, a typical Newfoundland fishing village.

They've built a boardwalk along the shore as a low-key tourist attraction.

We were the only tourists there.

But the season doesn't start till July.

Typical Newfie mode of transportation in front of the post office:

Later in the evening on our walk to the campsite pond 

a few warblers were gracious enough to pose for Leo.

An American redstart:

And the Bird of the Day, bay-breasted warbler.

Lousy Picture, but a lifer!

Gros Morne - Berry Hill

Berry Hill Pond  

The next morning we drove to Gros Marne  National Park. Not long on the road we stopped for a fellow stranded with a flat tire. It turned out he was an Irish piper on his way to Gander to work for 2 months on the Come from Away musical.  He was in the Broadway production for 5 years. Eventually he got a hold of a tow truck through AAA and we carried on.

Here he is playing the flute with the cast of the musical.

We arrived at Berry Hill campsite in the late afternoon. 

In the evening Leo and I walked down

 to Berry Hill pond in between rain showers

For some moody shots of the pond.

The whole campsite was blanketed with bunchberry.  

According to the brochure there are two kinds of bunchberry in the park, but we only saw the one common across Canada.

Also blooming was

Marsh marigold.

There were lots of warblers singing, but we had difficulty spotting them in the dense tuckamore.  Leo  did however get a shot of that most ubiquitous Newfoundland bird (and loudest singer), the white -throated sparrow.

Ferry to Port aux Basques

Cormorants on the light standards at the ferry dock

We caught the ferry to Newfoundland at 12:30 pm the next day.  We stood out on the sundeck for a while but there really no birds or sealife to be seen. 

While we were having lunch in the restaurant Leo spotted a dolphin.  I was all doped up on Gravol to avoid seasickness so mostly I slept. 

We pulled into Port aux Basques about 7 pm.  It was all you imagine a Newfoundland fishing port to be.

We drove to Cheeseman Provincial  Park just 10 k from ferry terminal. The campsite was a former private campsite so we were packed in a little closely. But the washrooms were deluxe and very clean.

We went for an evening walk on the Smokey Cape Trail.

There were beautiful views in every direction. 

Spring flowers were blooming.

Bunchberry

Elderberry

Chokecherry

Blue Bead Lily

Azalea?

Bog Laurel

Off to Newfoundland

 

 After our lobster feed we drove to Leo's sister's Cathy's house in Chester Basin.  We slept in their new (to them) motorhome, a 34-foot diesel Newmar Discovery.  We will be travelling in luxury.

We were all ready to head off in the morning when Rick discovered that the fridge was not working on gas.   Eventually he turned on the generator to run it on a/c.  We stopped for lunch at the Walmart parking lot in New Glasgow while Rick worked on the gas line.  Eventually he removed a part that was choking off the propane, and we were able to carry on.

The sun came out when we crossed the causeway onto Cape Breton. 

It was a 5-1/2 hour drive to the Mira River Provincial campsite near Sydney.  

Mira River Provincial Park

We were excited to hear some eastern warblers at the campsite.  Our Merlin app detected a northern parula which I chased down but could not see high in the deciduous trees.  Later we did get a brief view of a Blackburnian warbler (Bird of the Day!) which Leo informs me we've seen before in Montreal.

Otherwise, we saw a pileated woodpecker, goldfinches, juncos and robins.

Lobster Feed

It's lobster season in Pictou County so John got his sister to bring us 4 lobster.

And the feast was on.

All done.

 

Off to Nova Scotia

We flew from Vancouver to Nova Scotia on Monday morning with a stop in the Calgary Airport.  It was a long day in cramped quarters, but we finally arrived in Halifax at 11:30 pm.

We slept in till 11:30 at Leo's sister Anne's house.  In the afternoon we drove down to Fisherman's Cove in1 Eastern Passage for a little sightseeing.

I seem to have left my camera at home and Leo is in charge of photos so I had to steal this photo off the internet.

Thanks, Sabrina S.

There's a bunch of touristy little shops on the waterfront. Anne's partner John knows the people who own the craft shop in the little pink building.  Also, ice cream cones!

Two fister!

 Across the cove lies  Lawlor Island, a former quarantine island.  Interestingly, this is where the first Doukhobor colony to arrive in Canada (under the leadership of Tolstoy's son!) was quarantined.

A Walk in the Dairy Fields

We walked in the Dairy fields one morning.

There are a ton of Lincolns sparrows singing there. Not sure if there's more this year or if we just notice more of them because we're using the Merlin app, which identifies their calls. They do have a lovely song.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Also singing its insect-like song was a savannah sparrow:

And the willow flycatchers have returned to their usual perches in the Dairy fields, calling out their signature fitzbew.

Also back are the lazuli bunting, but Leo couldn't get a clear shot of one.  Here's their song though, for your enjoyment.

Some Birds at Scout Island

 

Went for acwalk at Sscout Island where Leo got some good shots of a western tanager (above).

We saw a pair of Canada goose with one gosling.  Unfortunately they flew off in a panic and left their gosling behind (don't think it had anything to do with us watching quietly from shore).  When we walked back the gosling was gone.

Along the willow trail we saw a red-necked grbe sitting in her nest.