Wildlife Sighting Updates

Visiting Hearn Island

Summer is Here!

Well we are definitely seeing some wildlife!  On the water, the guides are reporting sighting everything from Porpoises, Seals, Minke Whales, even White Tailed Deer!

For some, the chance sighting is majestic, though impossibly quick – other times the wildlife is equally curious and playful about us.

Last week, while paddling through Ryan’s Gut, I was astounded to see that the fast-moving heads sticking out of the water were in fact, a doe and her two fawns. The sight of these left us speechless.

Shortly after, by The Window, it was a mink we saw, chasing rabbits around the barren rocks.   Both of these of course, happened with no cameras around!

Harbour Seal curious about those paddlers!

Harbour Seals

By Hearn Island a Harbour Seal surfaced once in a while to see what we were up to.  Harbour Seals live up to 17 years,and are the most common species of seal in Nova Scotia.  They eat mostly  fish, and  squid, octopus, clams, and sometimes, crab or shrimp. Harbour Seals are a more common sight during the ebbing tide, as they return to the water to feed during the rising tide. Typically, one of these seals weighs in around 300 pounds.

An Osprey

Ospreys

Out by the Back Door to The Rogues’ Roost nests a pair of Ospreys.  They are the Provincial Bird of Nova Scotia. Ospreys live up to twenty years.

Although many have adapted to custom-built nesting sites, this pair lives happily on their own in the Roost.

There are currently about 400 breeding pairs of adults Osprey in the province.

A Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is one of the most spectacular sights to see while paddling in Lower Prospect.

Five feet tall with a wingspan over six feet, this majestic migratory bird returns to Nova Scotia each spring around mid-March.

The flight of a Great Blue is nearly prehistoric, flying with slow mechanical beats of the wings,  with the neck folded onto the back and legs trailing.

Canada Geese

Canada Geese by The Window

We’ve also been seeing some Canada Geese. Their classic V-shaped flight pattern and distinctive “honking” makes this species easy to spot.

Most Canada Geese in Nova Scotia are traveling migrants and are “just passing through”, though, several thousand pairs of Canada Geese now breed in Nova Scotia.

They are primarily herbivore, and have strong family ties. Canada Geese generally mate for life, and young chicks do not separate from the parents until after returning from the first migration.