Birds

  • Plover conundrum (Part two)

    Link to Part one. Yesterday I promised the kids I'd take them to the Port at Nanisivik to see if one of the Coast Guard ships was there (one had been seen off Victor Bay a couple of days ago). Despite it being an exceptionally dreary day in a summer dominated by dreary days, I

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  • Plover conundrum

    Tuesday I found myself at Nanisivik Airport and with a half hour to spare I headed down to the former townsite. Earlier in the summer we had tried to get to the reliable spot for Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), but were foiled. One of the things that are done when they work on reclamation

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  • King Eider (Somateria spectabilis)

    From high on a hill you could see them coming. Low to the water, stretched out in a line. Forty King Eider that, if they continued on their path, would pass a little way off shore below me. This time of year we often see large flocks of King Eider, mostly males and immatures, around

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  • Paradise…

    … for a Baird's Sandpiper must look like the dry tundra around Marcil Lake (our water source). Wednesday night, a foul mood forced me out into the foul weather. I needed to get out of the House, out into the wild. I needed to get the smell blown off me as my Grandpa would have

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  • Bad photographer. Bad!

    A few days ago the sun once again showed itself briefly late in the day, about 11pm or so. As I had seen what I thought was a Red-throated Loon on a nest on an island I decided to head out that way and try my luck. Sure enough, the loon was in the same

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  • Nesting Redpoll

    It must be the day for me to post other people's photos. Indigo Sweetwater, that passionate patron of northern blogs, has taken a couple of great photos of a nesting Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea), at let me know after I bemoaned the fact that my son has seen one up here, but I've yet to.

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  • Take me out to the Bird Game #103

    The boys of summer are at it again. Who knew they were bird watchers.  The latest edition of I and the Bird (#103) is up at the Bird Freak.  As always, you'll find a fine selection of wild bird related posts from about the world. Visit, for you're bound to find one that hits it

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  • Raven’s Nest

    My son, I'm quite proud to say, is turning into quite a budding naturalist.  He takes great delight in the natural world around him, and never fails to tell me of the birds and other things he's seen when we are apart. He also delights in the small, flipping rocks to find what lies beneath.

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  • Dance of the Qarsauq

    I'm not sure if I spending more time afield these days, or just being lucky, but I am witnessing more and more breeding behaviour this year than in the past. And seeing amazing scenes that I've never seen before. A trip to Victor Bay to spend time at Leah's parent's camp didn't unfold as planned,

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  • Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus)

    Now that we are getting some cloudless skies, I've been looking for some free moments to get out to the outflow of the water lake and get some photos.  I managed to find a couple of hours late last night, got dressed in some camo, and headed out. My goal was to get a decent

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