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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --Boundary_(ID_7/DqyDTh387ffKTiBxWiKw) Content-type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT A gentle nudge this morning motivated me to respond to my 4:45 AM wake-up alarm. My plan was to venture out with sufficient time to make the first headland at Martinique Beach Provincial Park before sunrise. I was not disappointed. It was the most spectacular sunrise I've ever seen out here. The tide was lapping sufficiently low to create herring bone ponds of water separated by glistening wet sand, all lit up by the predawn sun which was reflecting down upon the beach from a layer of clouds, which were conveniently positioned just above the horizon just for this purpose. As I came to the first headland just before the wash through I spotted 11 Ipswich Sparrows hopping along the small kelp mounds. They were unusually skittish, perhaps a response to having just arrived on unfamiliar territory. At the whale carcass near the far east end of the beach I noted that the whale's backbone had disappeared over the weekend. Since this bony structure was at least 5 metres long and likely a few hundred kilograms in weight carting it off would require an organized effort. It was near the beach dune but still within the high water mark so probably remained within the jurisdiction of the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans, although they may have delegated this authority to DNR since it is a provincial park. It's illegal to remove anything from a national park without a permit. I don't know what the provincial park regulations are as they pertain to removing animal remains but I suspect they are probably not much different than a national park. At the far eastern headland at the end of the beach stood a Great Blue Heron, my first sighting of the species this year. On my return along the beach I encountered Ipswich Sparrows along a one kilometre section of beach, mostly in the area of the wash through. They were hard to count as they hopped along the beach and darted back and forth into the dunes but I estimate there were about 25-30 individuals. The Bald Eagles at Meaghers Grant are well into their third week of nesting. This morning one sat on the nest as usual while the other bird stood sentry nearby, also as usual. They are about one kilometre from the roadside so are well distanced from human disturbance. Hans _________________________________ Hans Toom Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada Website: http://hanstoom.com _________________________________ --Boundary_(ID_7/DqyDTh387ffKTiBxWiKw) Content-type: text/html; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18904"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>A gentle nudge this morning motivated me to respond to my 4:45 AM wake-up alarm. My plan was to venture out with sufficient time to make the first headland at Martinique Beach Provincial Park before sunrise. I was not disappointed. It was the most spectacular sunrise I've ever seen out here. The tide was lapping sufficiently low to create herring bone ponds of water separated by glistening wet sand, all lit up by the predawn sun which was reflecting down upon the beach from a layer of clouds, which were conveniently positioned just above the horizon just for this purpose.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>As I came to the first headland just before the wash through I spotted 11 <STRONG>Ipswich Sparrows</STRONG> hopping along the small kelp mounds. They were unusually skittish, perhaps a response to having just arrived on unfamiliar territory.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>At the whale carcass near the far east end of the beach I noted that the whale's backbone had disappeared over the weekend. Since this bony structure was at least 5 metres long and likely a few hundred kilograms in weight carting it off would require an organized effort. It was near the beach dune but still within the high water mark so probably remained within the jurisdiction of the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans, although they may have delegated this authority to DNR since it is a provincial park. It's illegal to remove anything from a national park without a permit. I don't know what the provincial park regulations are as they pertain to removing animal remains but I suspect they are probably not much different than a national park.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>At the far eastern headland at the end of the beach stood a <STRONG>Great Blue Heron</STRONG>, my first sighting of the species this year.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>On my return along the beach I encountered <STRONG>Ipswich Sparrows</STRONG> along a one kilometre section of beach, mostly in the area of the wash through. They were hard to count as they hopped along the beach and darted back and forth into the dunes but I estimate there were about 25-30 individuals.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The <STRONG>Bald Eagles</STRONG> at Meaghers Grant are well into their third week of nesting. This morning one sat on the nest as usual while the other bird stood sentry nearby, also as usual. They are about one kilometre from the roadside so are well distanced from human disturbance.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Hans</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>_________________________________<BR>Hans Toom<BR>Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR>Website: <A href="http://hanstoom.com">http://hanstoom.com</A> <BR>_________________________________</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML> --Boundary_(ID_7/DqyDTh387ffKTiBxWiKw)--
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