I was sitting pondside feeding the blackflies yesterday morning in E Dalhousie, Kings, when I heard rustling and crunching from a grassy island about 30’ away. Then a big-whiskered otter appeared munching up a fish. Once it noticed I was there it swam towards me dog-paddling with its head and chest straight up out of the water, did a U-turn and swam off more normally in the other direction out of sight. Perhaps it had young with it or nearby as my blurry photos suggest. Or maybe just normal agitation upon suddenly realizing a potential predator (me) was so close. Not swimming behaviour I’d ever witnessed before.
Nancy D
May 13/21
I heard this morning that 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds came to a lady's
feeders yesterday in Halls Harbour. She said after hearing about
hummingbirds moving into NS had put her feeder up only the day before, so
she was thrilled. She thought they might both have been males as they were
fighting at the feeder.
Lucky her.
Judy Tufts
>>>>>>>>
Judy Tufts
Wolfville
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A lot of the info is given in the description below this call. In both cases it is heard after the Yellow-rumped Warbler- the intro notes plus low, even chatter. I suspect those intro notes are a clue that I am missing. I had heard the same sound several weeks ago in the grasses below alders in a wet stillwater so it is not a recent arrival (about the time the first Swamp Sparrows were around). Thoughts?
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/333694991
Thanks, Nancy D
CBC had a disheartening story yesterday about the presence of the
Emerald Ash Borer in Bedford. It seems that it's now just a matter of
time before ash trees in the province are history.
The forest behind our home opened up tremendously with the deaths of all
the Beech trees; Ash trees are one of the more common remaining
deciduous species.
You can read the story here
<https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/emerald-ash-borer-halifax-bedfor…>.
--- Peter Payzant
Waverley
