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Hi Randy & All, July 5, 2010
Not that I intend to go there but I wonder if the network of roads that are associated with the Cheticamp Flowage have been extended by ATV trails as far as Two Island Lake (I hope not).
Traffic there used to be quite light because the shortest way in was a tough 8 hr hike up the Clyburn (In that context I notice that the NS Atlas (5th ed) has the Indian Rising label one nose south of where it is). And the trout were accordingly abundant and underfed.
This lake is also notable in that it has a large stand (arm-pit high) of Betula glandulosa SE of the lake.
There was always a brisk NW wind at Two Island Lake from late evening until near dawn. Having not camped elsewhere on the barrens I wonder-- is this typical of the Park barrens in general or is it unique to this lake and powered e.g. by flow of cool night air down the nearby Clyburn ?
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: Randy Lauff
To: MBBA ; NatureNS
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2010 10:59 AM
Subject: [NatureNS] Golden Eagle and other sightings, northern Cape Breton
All,
Tony Miller and I had a very productive atlassing trip in the Cheticamp Flowage and points north into the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
Firstly, the north arm of the flowage (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Antigonish,+Antigonish+County,+Nova+Scotia,+Canada&ll=46.66063,-60.63612&spn=0.062559,0.110378&z=13) is an incredibly productive birding spot during breeding season, I can't think of many comparisons in this province. However, unless you walk around the flowage, which would very much restrict your birding, you have to have decent canoeing skills to contend with the vagaries of this large water body. Depending on the level of the flowage (human controlled), you can canoe up the stream feeding the flowage to a greater or lesser extent; this time, we got over a kilometre farther than we did in 1996...what a bonus when you've got several days' worth of gear!
I have canoed across this flowage on three other occasions, and have always been impressed with the birds. Rusty Blackbirds were not uncommon and we got FY in two squares. Wilson's Snipe have always been easy to see here, but we did not get confirmations of breeding. Several species of duck were present, and we found a few ABDU and GWTE. A real pleasure was to find two broods of Common Goldeneye...the chicks were likely less than a week old.
Sadly, unlike in 1996, we could not entice a response from either Boreal Owl or Northern Hawk Owl. However, the NHOW playback is an effective tool for enticing mobbing behaviour of small birds...redstarts were particularly attracted.
We had several Bicknell's Thrushes, including a male singing later in the morning than expected. I used playback to entice both birds to come out. As I played the BOOW recording after dark though, BITH would respond - agitated?
We had three sightings of Golden Eagle - all immatures, possibly all the same bird. One was about 2 km N of the north tip of the flowage (as mapped), and both Tony and I confirmed this ID; it ultimately flew off to the east. About 1 km south, another showed up, and I couldn't say that it was a different bird; finally, along the N arm of the Flowage itself, another showed up. Ageing is difficult for these birds, but I'm relatively confident they weren't young-of-the-year birds. Sadly then, I think I can only assign the sightings as X.
Similarly, a juvenile Goshawk only got an X, but a second one south of the flowage was an adult and got an H.
Although we walked through kilometres of bog and barren, we only heard one Greater Yellowlegs (H), though we did see one at the Flowage (X).
Finally, Fox Sparrows were almost everywhere; and it was sure nice to see so many Wilson's Warblers - a species I almost only ever see on migration.
_________________________________
RF Lauff
Way in the boonies of
Antigonish County, NS.
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<DIV><FONT size=2>Hi Randy & All,
July 5, 2010</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> Not that I intend to go there but I wonder
if the network of roads that are associated with the Cheticamp Flowage have been
extended by ATV trails as far as Two Island Lake (I hope not).
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> Traffic there used to be quite light
because the shortest way in was a tough 8 hr hike up the Clyburn (In that
context I notice that the NS Atlas (5th ed) has the Indian Rising label one nose
south of where it is). And the trout were accordingly abundant and
underfed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> This lake is also notable in that it has a
large stand (arm-pit high) of Betula glandulosa SE of the lake. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> There was always a brisk NW wind at
Two Island Lake from late evening until near dawn. Having not camped
elsewhere on the barrens I wonder-- is this typical of the Park barrens in
general or is it unique to this lake and powered e.g. by flow of cool night air
down the nearby Clyburn ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=randy.lauff@gmail.com href="mailto:randy.lauff@gmail.com">Randy
Lauff</A>