Cape Breton Blog

Looking for a great beach to walk, surrounded by breathtaking scenery and with loads of treasures washed up onto shore? Well, may I suggest the beach at the Englishtown/Jersey Cove sandbar? Located at the end of Route 312 where it meets the cable ferry that crosses the narrow channel separating Jersey Cove from Englishtown, this beach has it all. A mix of sand and gravel with a unique dune system, sandbar and tidal flats and a lagoon, this is also an excellent swimming beach with submerged sandbars. There is always incredible birding over the water, and during late summer and early fall, shorebirds make this a stopover on their way south.

If you are travelling from Baddeck or Sydney, take Exit 12 to Englishtown, cross channel on ferry ($5.00 per vehicle) and park on the right at the well-defined area just to the right of the ferry pad. From Ingonish or the Cabot Trail North go straight onto through Route 312 and use the same well-defined parking area just before ferry.

In addition to the birds, including belted kingfisher, gulls – ring-billed, great black-backed and herring, both common and Arctic tern, black-bellied and semi-palmated plover, spotted, semi-palmated and least sandpiper, ruddy turnstone, greater yellowlegs, great blue heron, various sea ducks including common goldeneye, surf, white-winged and black scoter and many others, the beach yields up huge razor clams, atlantic scallop, kelp, seaweeds, surf clams, oyster drills, periwinkles, moon snails and the occasional channelled whelks. Dune vegetation is sparse because of the rocky nature of this stretch of shoreline so there is not much soil for plants to grab onto. White spruce found on this on bar is typically stunted. Dune vegetation consists of various hardy and salt tolerant grasses, sea lavender, wild rose, beach pea, a wild variety of dusty miller, sea rocket and others.

Of the seaweeds found here, alaria is very common, that large, brown variety with long, slender fronds that are branched at the base with large, flat holdfasts that cling to rocky bottoms. Laminaria is fan shaped, much divided (narrow fronds) also with single holdfast. Fucus – rockweed – is very common and has swollen air bladders along the mid-rib. The bladders keep plants suspended upright in water to allow them to absorb more light and to more easily process in a process similar to photosynthesis. Bladders differ in size from species to species. Their brown-green colour comes from the chemical algin, similar to chlorophyll in green, terrestrial plants. Brown kelp can grow at considerable depths, up to 75′. Kelp is harvested for this agent, algin, and is used to make puddings and sauces smooth, as an additive to paints and dyes to give it its smooth texture and to increase its homogeneity. The whole plant is used as fertilizer, and is a source of iodine and potash. Dulce, the most famous red algae, a European species, is edible. Because of its red tint, it can live at greater depths. Red pigments absorb more blue and violet light that can penetrate up to 200′ feet. Kelps are also used in the pulp and paper industry in the finishing of fine papers.

Caution: If you wish to go swimming, please be aware there is a strong undertow here – this is the Atlantic Ocean! Also, there is no shade so bring sunglasses, hat and plenty of sunscreen.

LEAVE NO TRACE: Please remember to remove everything you bring with you onto the beach!

The great blue heron is Cape Breton Island’s largest wader. A remarkably patient hunter and strong and graceful flyer, the great blue heron is quickly recognized by even the most reluctant birder. In flight, the first impression of a very large (up to 4’ in length with an impressive 6’ wing-span), long-legged, blue-grey bird with long and thick neck drawn into a tight “s”, prompts immediate recognition. Upon closer examination, the bird’s white head, accented with unmistakeable thick black stripes above each eye that extend over forehead, crown and rear of head, its rakish and ornate breeding plumes set at a jaunty angle, its bi-coloured bill (dark above with a yellow lower mandible) and strong, dark legs, confirm its identification. Shaggy breast feathers (outlined in black) disappear following breeding. There is little difference between the plumage of male and female birds and even the juvenile great blue heron early resembles its parents, lacking the chest feathering but graced, instead, with heavily streaked breast and belly. The great blue heron’s long, rounded and sharply pointed bill is well suited to probing the shallows for small crustaceans and equally suited to catching the small fish that are the mainstay of its diet which is supplemented with frogs, aquatic insects and even small mammals. The great blue heron is not noted as a songbird. In fact its harsh and guttural “gronk”, although distinctive, lacks any musical associations whatsoever. Both sexes engage in bill clacking and will sometimes call with short, harsh notes if alarmed.

Colonial birds that generally nest in isolated areas in short-lived sites (colonies remain viable for about 10 – 15 years maximum), the Bras d’Or Lake and watershed historically supported nesting colonies in Victoria County at Big Farm (within the Bras d’Or watershed), at the head of Baddeck Bay, on Kidston Island and at Malagawatch. And, as recently as the 1980’s, a sizeable great blue heron colony was active at Baddeck Inlet. Today, sadly, there is little current data available regarding the great blue heron’s nesting colonies on or near the Bras d’Or Lake.

Because of swift changes in elevation for which parts of Cape Breton Island are famous, bird species are often encountered whose habitats overlap, an occurrence that is not common in most other areas of North America. When out walking in mixed woods where softwoods dominate and some swampy, or at least wet areas can be found, one often finds both hermit and Swainson’s thrush.

Hermit thrush, perhaps the more common of the two species, is easily identified by its complete, white eye-ring and a distinctly reddish tail. Its upperparts are variable – brown to grey-brown, and its breast is heavily spotted. Lower belly and underparts are pale white to grey. A robust bird that measures approximately 6” in length, the hermit thrush is best known for its complex, flute-like song composed of thoughtful phrases repeated many times over, each sequence beginning on a higher note until the bird reaches the top of its range, at which time it will begin again. Each time the sequence is begun it is introduced with a long, clear whistled note. Its call note is harsh and with an upturned and slurred whiney “wee”. Hermit thrush prefer drier areas of our mixed woods.
Swainson’s thrush is slightly larger than the foregoing species, measuring approximately 7” in length. It sports a buffy, darkly-spotted breast, the markings being somewhat smaller than those found on the hermit thrush. Its upperparts are distinctly brown in colour and Swainson’s thrush lacks the cinnamon tail colouring of the Hermit thrush. The Swainson’s eye ring is buffy; its flanks and sides a muted, brownish-grey. But it is the song that will provide the best clues as to identification – a complex series of ascending phrases similar to the song of the hermit thrush but the Swainson’s has an added, softly buzzy quality to it that is reminiscent of the veery’s song. The Swainson’s thrush does not begin its song with any warning, rather launching into its ethereal recital that lingers on the dusk air like so much fairy dust, leaving us wanting more. Swainson’s thrush prefer the wet areas of our mixed woods and can often be found on the margins of black spruce swamps.
Both hermit and Swainson’s thrush are ground feeders searching out insects, spiders, earthworms and small fruits and berries. Both build nests, as does the American robin, above ground, in small trees and shrubs, hermit thrush to an elevation of 8’, Swainson to an elevation of 20’.

Wood warblers are an active group of small birds (generally less than 5 1/2″ in length) and all have long, narrow and sharply pointed bills suitable for searching under loose bark for small insects or plucking them from branches and leaves. Some forage “on the fly” and snatch unsuspecting prey from the air. Most are brightly coloured and boldly patterned and all are very quick and agile. A migrant group, wood warblers begin filtering back into Cape Breton in late April with the arrival of the “scouts” of yellow-rumped, norther parula, black and white and magnolia warblers. As the days lengthen and the temperatures rise, other species return to their niches but for this posting I will concentrate on the early returnees.

Black and White Warbler: The aptly named black and white warbler is about 5″ in length, its size typical of these voracious insect eaters. It is heavily striped lengthwise both above and beneath; its crown, too, is heavily striped. This extremely active and gregarious little bird has no other distinguishing features and, although the male and female of the species are similar, the female’s plumage is somewhat subdued. The black and white forages for small insects, as well as their eggs and grubs, as it moves nervously out along thick tree branches or as it spirals upwards on hardwood trunks in nuthatch-like fashion. Its insistent and loud call notes are distinctive – a series of slurry or buzzy descending and ascending notes; its call note is loud and sharp.

Yellow-rumped Warbler: This is our most common and abundant wood warbler and is usually the first of its kind to arrive in our area each spring. The yellow-rumped is approximately 5 ½” in length and is easily recognized by the bright patches of yellow on its shoulders and its rump. The male is more flamboyant in all seasons and has a beautiful, bright-yellow crown patch. For both sexes – dark blue-grey above, white throat bordered with a dark, inverted “v” and a prominent, dark face patch outlined in white. White wing bars are distinct. Female and young of this species are uniformly duller in appearance and lack the yellow crown patch. The yellow-rumped has a variable song, sometimes rising or falling at the end of a long, clear, whistled trill; its call note is loud and sharp. Yellow-rumps forage in all parts of the canopy and hunt “on the fly”.

Magnolia Warbler: Another of the “yellow-rumped” warblers, the “mag” is smaller, measuring a mere 4¾” in length. Both male and female “mags” are heavily, darkly streaked across a bright yellow breast; underparts are bright yellow as well. A black facemask is separated from a grey head by a thin white eyebrow and both sexes show the diagnostic yellow rump and white wing bars. The magnolia’s song is a series of short, rapid notes that rise abruptly at the end. Look for this lively little bird at low to mid- levels of the canopy where it forages for spiders and other insects in coniferous stands.

Northern Parula: Well-reported, the northern parula is a typically-sized wood warbler about 4 1/2″ in length. Its head is slatey grey-blue, its upper back a rich, luminescent green that gives way to the same deep colour as its head. Its breast is a startling, bright yellow spot highlighted by soft, orange-ish shoulder streaks and its underparts are a crisp, clean white. It sports two white wing bars. The northern parula has a very distinctive song beginning with a loud and insistent buzzy whistle, ascending, and ending with a punctuated, single note. It prefers conifers and here, in our area, it nests high in mature spruce. It prefers small worms and grubs. The male of the species differs from the female by a dark band across its chest. A weak, white eye-ring can be seen in good light. The northern parula is an active bird and flits nervously from branch to branch in search of its prey.

Canada honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis) also known as fly honeysuckle is one of those delightful early flowering woodland shrubs that is often overlooked. Small (to a height of only 5’ in ideal conditions) Canada honeysuckle has an open and sparsely branched habit and can be found in both open and shaded woodlands, sometimes in wet areas, sometimes in dry, a testimony to its adaptability. Its light green leaves are elongated and have a short petiole or stalk. Its stems are mostly smooth and unmarked. But what is best about this otherwise non-descript woodland shrub is, of course, its flowers. Developing in pendulous pairs beneath leaf axils, the flowers are fully developed usually by mid-May, about the same time as trailing arbutus or Mayflower is in full bloom. Canada honeysuckle flowers show a greenish tinge when first emerging and mature to a pale yellow. The flowers’ margins, always recurved or turned back, show a lovely rose pink. Canada honeysuckle’s flowering season is long-from May to August – and its fruit, when formed, is a large red berry. Its soil preference is somewhat acidic so if you are out wandering in the northern woods look for this under-appreciated forest dweller in mixed woods with a predominance of conifer growth.

By far one of my most favoured wildflowers, mayflower ((Epigaea repens) is Nova Scotia’s floral emblem and was selected to be so in 1901. Native to the East coast of North America, early European settlers called it mayflower because it was one of the first flowers of spring. Also known as trailing arbutus, this lovely early spring flowerer is a low-growing, trailing woody evergreen shrub associated with the acid soils so common beneath evergreens and therefore, it is abundant and common in Cape Breton. A denizen of shady places, mayflower is almost hidden by grasses and forest litter and flowers often appear when snow is still on the ground.  Forming large mats of dark green foliage (its leaf arrangement is alternate), mayflower leaves are thick and leathery, becoming brownish in winter months but quickly brightening with the lengthening daylight of early spring.

Its flowers appear in leaf axils, forming small clusters and, at first, are a waxy white, maturing to pink before fading and producing a white, berry-like fruit.

Mayflower flowering season is relatively long as flowers are not produced all at once, but emerge over a period of several weeks. A lover of shady places, it is one of those lovely gems found along back country roads where little disturbance has taken place.
Because mayflower does not seed every year and because its roots are shallow, it is a fragile plant best left undisturbed.

Perhaps not anyone’s favourite wildflower, coltsfoot does serve one excellent purpose – it is a definite sign that spring has arrived and there is no turning back! (The temperature has remained above zero overnight now for several 24 hour periods as well, another sure sign of spring…) But back to coltsfoot. An odd plant in the overall scheme of things, it flowers before its leaves are formed, making it an unusual herbaceous species. Its shoots are somewhat woody and resemble aspargus when first emerging and, as quickly as the ungainly stalks appear, the quarter-sized bright yellow dandelion flowers appear on roadsides, along meadow margins and almost everywhere else it has taken hold. A lover of disturbed places, coltsfoot can be a deifnite nuisance if it manages to establish itself in domestic landscapes and can be very difficult to eradicate. It is best pulled, roots and all and disposed of far from gardens. However, in the wild, its delightful, bright yellow flower heads are among the first to appear in our nothern climate and are a welcome change to the subdued tones of late winter.