Atlantic
Bird Observatory
info
 Senegal
info


to those who are in these pictures, or those whose pictures I have used, please let me know if you'd rather they not be posted here.

Atlantic Bird Observatory is located on two islands - Bon Portage and Seal - off the
southern tip of Nova Scotia.

click on the thumbnail for the larger picture



The Atlantic coast near Shelburne, Nova Scotia

The house where we would live for our month on Bon Portage. 

Looking south over the ocean from our house.

A Yellow-breasted Chat

Heading up from the southern end of the Island.


Although there was a generator on the island for
occasional use, our light was usually provided
by kerosene lanterns


A Chestnut-sided Warbler

A Sharp-shinned Hawk.  We actually caught and banded quite a few of these tiny hawks.

A large portion of the island, including this section in the middle is very swampy.

I never did find out exactly what had been growing on this shell, but it sure looked neat!

Magnolia Warbler


Black-and-white Warbler


A Wilson's Snipe.   This was the only one that flew into our nets.

This old wooden swingset on the southern end would probably fall if someone sat on it now!

There was one particularly wet and muddy hole near
the outer nets.

The small cabin where we did the actual banding
of the birds.

Banding a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Banding a Northern Parula


Northern Parula

Danielle releases a Sharp-shinned Hawk she just banded

The intense stare of a Sharp-shinne Hawk, not at all happy about what is happening to it!

Sunrise on Bon Portage.  We opened the mist nets a half-hour before sunrise, so we got to enjoy the early morning every day

The moon setting
over the ocean

Black-throated Blue Warbler

The crew stands outside the banding cabin on
a slow morning


Steve and Caleb practicing log rolling on a slow
misty day


There were no washing machines on the island
so all our laundry had to be done by hand.

The island was dissected down the middle by
a very low-lying bog.  



One of the small ponds on the northern end
of the island.


This was the only stretch of sandy beach on
Bon Portage.


The edge of the aptly-named "Kelp Cove"

We came across this piece of a whale's backbone.  


Sunrise on Bon Portage


Josh extracts a Gray Catbird, while another one waits its turn behind


Danielle extracts a Brown Creeper

The crew gathers around to take pictures of a recently banded bird before it's released

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Steve concentrates on extracting a bird while Trina, who runs the station, looks on


The crew of Bon Portage poses in front of the
banding cabin.


Fixing the boardwalk along the swampy net lanes.

Sunset on Bon Portage


Banding a Northern (Yellow-shafted Flicker).

The southern end of the island as seen from the lighthouse. 

Our first walk once we got to Seal Island


Lloyd's Hole, a low-lying depression that fills
up at high tide

The middle of Seal Island is a large rolling dune with grasses and small ponds

On the eastern side of Seal Island there are the  remains of a recent "shipwreck".  

There are about 200 semi-wild sheep living on Seal Island.

Green Head, a grass-covered knoll on the south-western side of the island.

The West Side Village, one of two small goups of houses on the island.

Looking south across a small bay to the East Side Village

A close-up view of the shipwreck at high tide

A trail along the north-east side of the island
through a patch of ferns and blow-down


Walking around the north side of the island on a sunny, foggy day


Walking around the north-east side


The north-east side of the island


This "fog-bow" seemed to follow us all day as we walked around

The north-east side was one of our favourite spots on the island.  


Along the north-east side there was a high bank caused by wave action that was, in places, probably 30 or 40 feet high.

Taking a break from walking


The leaves of the Skunk Currant changed red with the fall and provided some of the best colour on the island

One of the old buildings at the south side


Wilson's Warbler


A typical view of the forest on both islands

Twinflower is one of the more common plants that trail along the surface of the moss.

Moss of some variety covers almost all available space within the forest.

One of the many sheep paths leading through the forest.

The "banding station" on Seal Island, located in a corner of our dining room.


The seals coming up to the rocks near the coastline to bask in the sun.



Danielle walks across Lloyd's Hole at low tide.


Kyla holds one of the five Saw-whet Owls we caught

Sunrise on Seal Island

The same sunrise, 10 minutes later

This group of sheep could always be found grazing around the Green Head on the south-western side

The West Side Village seen from the wharf


The south end of the island, with the Lighthouse, generator room, storage shed, and old barn.

Looking back at the lighthouse from Mother Owen's Point

Playing "washers" with the two couples that were still on the island while we were there

The lighthouse at sunset


Bits of an old wreck on the southern tip

Sunset on Seal Island


Sunset on Seal Island


Danielle and Tina firing up the wood stove for pizza and cookies.

Evening behind our house


The old lighthouse keeper's house, which now serves as the banders' house for 3 months a year.

Looking south past the old buildings near the lighthouse


Walking around the north end of the island


A particularly rocky section of the north-east trail


The north-east trail


The north-east trail; no wonder the sheep
hang out here, that grass looks like candy!


Looking north from the remains of the shipwreck. Something about the light that day looked almost tropical

Old Man's Beard hanging from the trees. In places it was so thick that you could hardly see the trees beneath it!

Heading up the path that leads to the southern end and the banders' house.

One of the highest points on the island


Sunset on our last night on Seal Island


Moving out.

We had to stop and haul the ATV into the boat

Danielle sits on the back of the boat as the sun
sets over the Atlantic.


Back on Bon Portage, we were pleasantly surprised to see a much more "fall-like" appearance

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak  Those beaks are make for crackin'

A shelf of clouds moves over the southern end of Bon Portage

Sunset on the Red Bank


Steve admires the sunrise on our last day on Bon Portage.

Danielle and Caleb take advantage of the fire between net rounds.

The same sunrise, a little later on after the sun broke the horizon

Lee ferries us over the larger boat as we leave
Bon Portage for the last time.


Our last view of the southern tip, the lighthouse and our temporary residence as we leave the island

Roadtripping home through New Hampshire

A northern Appalachian stream in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

A deciduous forest in the White Mountains, the ferns still holding onto their green colour


Hiking up to Glen Boulder in the White Mountains


Our last night on the road, in the Adirondacks of New York



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