The 27th was a prelude of what was to come with yellow-rumped, yellow, magnolia, black-throated green, northern Parula, black and white, common Yellowthroat, chestnut-sided and American Redstart kicking off the wood warbler season.

In addition to those lovelies, both red-eyed and blue-headed vireo had returned and both Swain’s and hermit thrush were singing on territory and ovenbird were calling loudly from wet, mixed woods. Ruby-crowned kinglet were calling that morning as well, but not yet singing. That didn’t begin in earnest until June 1. The most pleasant surprise, however, was a single brown thrasher, a species oft-seen in the years of living in Ontario and this was my first Cape Breton encounter with this large ground forager since returning home! Since May 27, more wood warblers have returned to our area including eastern palm, blackburnian and blackpoll.

Flycatchers appeared quite suddenly June 1 with olive-sided, yellow-bellied, least and alder in suitable habitat. Lincoln’s sparrow often appears late but this year it returned by June 1 as well and was singing on territory immediately upon its arrival. Of course, there is little that compares to the haunting and simple song of the white-throat but the Lincoln’s always makes me stop and listen.

Ok, so, our itinerant blogger/administrator who conceived of having this Cape Breton Blog is Zac, a ‘Caper Away’ as they dub those who were raised on the island but had to leave for one reason or another, but who still have a strong connection to the island.

Our two recent addition ‘guest bloggers’ are, respectively, Bethsheila Kent, a Cape Breton resident and naturalist who will be writing about, you guessed it, all things ‘natural’ in Cape Breton. An avid birder, botanist… you name it, she’ll keep us posted on what’s happening in the wondrous unfolding of Cape Breton’s natural history.

Then we have Jess, who was also raised in Cape Breton, and so has a head chock-full of cherished memories. She now lives but a stone’s throw away from Cape Breton, so still makes frequent visits and will keep us informed of her ‘encounters of the Cape Breton kind’ past and present. She’ll also be sharing some ‘digital delights’ both from her extensive collection and those recently ‘captured’.

We hope to have more guest bloggers joining us as we want to offer you, our readers, a varied array of Cape Breton information for your planning and dreaming pleasure!

Read on!

'Perched in a Birch' : photo by Jess

The eagle shown here is one I photographed yesterday through the mist and fog, it is only a short distance from where “my eagle tree” is. He actually let me get out of the car, trudge through the still crunchy grass below the tree, always watching, to make sure I wasn’t a threat. This particular bird could have used a bath before his photo shoot, as he looked pretty dirty. His head and neck, which are usually very white, were brownish with mud. I can only imagine he was fishing in the mud before I captured him in the photo. As I said before though, there is no shortage of eagles in Cape Breton, and the chances of getting your own spectacular eagle sighting is fairly good.

Coltsfoot

Spring has come onto the Island and slowly, every so slowly, things are beginning to happen. Continuing cool temps and little sunshine have hampered early bloomers such as Eipgea Repens, better known as Trailing Arbutus or Mayflower, Nova Scotia’s provincial flower, from budding but Coltsfoot, never afraid of the cool and damp, made its appearance several weeks ago in protected areas of towns and villages. it is just now appearing along roadsides and in the wilder places. Daffodils and Narcissus have begun flowering in wild and landscaped places, a lovely shot of yellow in an otherwise drab, early-spring landscape. Hardwoods are budding but it will still be some time before leaves begin to unfurl.

Ring-neck Duck

Not really a negative for me as I am an avid birder and this is the very best time of year for observations of inbound migrants. Indeed, a recent field trip out here in Victoria county, south of Smokey, provided some excellent sightings of returning bay ducks including Green-winged Teal and Ring-necked Duck. The mating American Kestrel were a treat, to be sure, as were the 4 Common Snipe wheeling above the calm waters of the Bras d’Or. The family of American Bald Eagle provided an excellent photo op for, not only the field trippers, but interested island-visitors who stopped on the roadside to find out what it was we were all focusing on with binocs and scopes. The best sighting, personally, was all-too brief – a Chimney Swift spotted by a member of our group and quickly identified by its unique flight pattern. A lifer for me! Our group observed or heard a total of 37 species on a route that took us from Nyanza to Big Harbour then on to South Gut St. Ann’s and included the season’s first Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Tree Swallow, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Swamp Sparrow (heard but not seen). Not bad for the end of April!

White-tail Deer

Other nature notes: 4 White-tailed Deer crossing the highway a few weeks back. I am relieved to report they were a little thin from the hard winter but their coats were thick and glossy which means they were able to cope with the incredible snow-load experienced in this end of the country. Spring peepers have begun to sing and a few Wood Duck and n. Leopard Frog were also heard while combing the country-side for our feathered friends.

Until next time – B. Kent

1. The Bell Mansion from the Bras d’Or Lakes

You can’t actually enter the Bell estate, but you can take a schooner that passes Alexander Graham Bell’s mansion. Not only is the tour fantastic just as a schooner voyage what with the billowing sails and the waves breaking against the hull, but the view as you sail close to the cliffs under the Bell mansion is spectacular. This is the same trip I proposed to my wife on, so the possibilities with this tour are obvious! The main wharf in Baddeck is where the ‘Amoeba’ is docked, just walk to the end of the wharf  and you will see a black schooner tied up. Starting this May 30th they have tours leaving at:

11:00 AM
2:00 PM
4:30 PM

2. Delicious Food at the Yellow Cello Cafe

Wow, just the name makes me start salivating. I practically grew up on Yellow Cello pizza for supper and meatball subs for lunch. What I mean is, whenever we wanted to eat out as a family, we went to Yellow Cello, and when we needed take-out we ordered pizza from the Yellow Cello. If you are looking for a good meal this is where I would turn first.
They open May 7th from:

3. Uisge Ban Falls

I pronounce it ISH-ka-ban, but it can also be pronounced OOSH-ka-ban…it’s Gaelic for ‘white water’. The falls have 2 loops (Falls Trail: 3 Km or 1.8 miles; River Trail: 4 Km or 2.4 miles) that you can walk which a friend and I did all the time (we also biked them but I would check before you go that signs allow it). The falls themselves aren’t the most spectacular in the world at 16 metres (50 feet) but the drive to the park is gorgeous and the trails themselves are well kept, easy to hike and take you through sweet-smelling hardwood forests and over loud rivers, it’s just a captivating walk really.
Directions
Travel the Trans-Canada Highway (route 105), take Exit 9, and turn towards Baddeck-Forks (a right turn at the top of the exit ramp). After 10.3km (and crossing ONE single lane bridge) you should come to North Branch road on your left. Take North Branch ~4km to the park’s parking lot (Occasional signs may direct you from the Highway)

4. Biggest Sandwiches at Highwheeler

I love the thickness of Highwheeler sandwiches. My friends and I would use the place as a coffee shop/hang-out, usually during a day of fun we’d stop at the Highwheeler for a drink and a sandwich, or a freshly-baked bun. Great for lunch or a pick-me-up.
Hours:
May to October (6:00am to 10:00pm)

5. Bell Bay Golfing

Now I never actually played a round at this course, but I did help with the beautiful birdseye maple bar you can see in the lounge designed by Bob Lambie from the Dovetail Shop. http://capebretonisland.com/dovetail/bar.html So why is it a favourite place? I loved walking and biking the trails around the holes (again check before biking that could be frowned upon, remember I am a local!) But if you love golfing you probably already know about this world class 18-hole course. They have a Ladies Invitational coming up July 13, 2011 open to the public.

There is of course so much more to do in Baddeck, this is just a smattering of my personal favourites, for more go here: http://www.baddeck.com

That is of course if you don’t plan on going off road. Once you are on dirt then the game changes again. If you are driving to the trail then you can pick whatever off-road knobby tired wonder that strikes your fancy. Its when you need to ride on the pavement and then take to the dirt that you run into trouble. This is where you have to make compromises in some areas to be stronger in others. For example slicks will be helpful in low rolling resistance meaning the pavement will be easy, but when you leave the road and hit dirt you will be spinning wasting energy. Knobbies are better for the trails but on pavement they are loud, heavy,  and feel like you are riding on a beach. My solution: semi-slicks. They have much lower rolling resistance but have knobby edges and slight grooves on the tread. Now be careful coming down North mountain even on semi-slicks, the corners can be…fun, yeah lets go with fun. You can hit 80 km/h so when you reach a corner you will be leaning quite heavily putting you on the knobby edges which will make you squirrel badly and if you aren’t careful, i.e. using the brakes abruptly, you could lose it! Also be careful when using extreme narrow tires as you’d see on a race bike. The Cabot Trail is not nice to those what with random sharp edged potholes and the like. Then there is the forks. Shocks or no shocks. The Cabot Trail is quite bumpy even though it is asphalt. I recommend shocks, but just low travel 2″ to 4″ max, anything more and you will be wasting a lot of energy. Stiff forks will be easier energy-wise, but be prepared for a bone-shaking journey. I would say for a regular rider, 27 speeds is a must, you could get away with 24 speeds but make sure you have a ‘cheater’ gear, which is just a tiny front cog, or an extremely large rear cog. Obviously you want the lightest frame you can afford, those mountains punish extra mass.

So to sum up, if you are doing straight pavement i.e. the Cabot Trail, then go with a hybrid, but if you are doing trail, try driving to the trail and using a dedicated off-road mountain bike, preferably with excellent shocks and disc brakes, or put semi-slicks on your ride. Either way you should have a blast. Let me know in the comments your Cape Breton biking experience, or any questions you may have.

I was hoping that with 3 nominations Carmel Mikol would get a nod, but Female Solo Recording of the Year went to Rose Cousins for “The Send Off” and Rising Star of the Year to The Stanfields for their debut album “Vanguard of the Young and Reckless”. I know that award ceremonies are not a reflection of the quality of a person or band, only an indicator of the overall climate of the industry, but I still can’t help feeling that some great Cape Breton talent wasn’t recognized. Well, there is always next year right? Let us know in the comments what you thought of this year’s ECMAs.

Her album ‘In My Bones’ has ten original songs showcasing Carmel’s vocal strength of which Stephen Cooke of the Chronicle Herald says “Her folk-pop melodies are full of life and personality, while her voice is clear, expressive and direct without overselling the emotion in her soul-bearing songs.”  And Wanda Earhart of whatsgoinon.ca remarks, “From the first lyrics of the opening title track, to the very last note, these first rate original songs showcase one of the most promising Cape Breton born singer songwriters, to hit any stage in years.” Cape Breton seems to consistently grow such talent doesn’t it? But then again I am a little biased aren’t I?

I remember my first trip to the ECMAs. I was only 15 or so and since it was called ‘Awards’ I thought of something akin to the Oscars or the Emmys, you know, just a stiff who is nominated who won affair. I wasn’t expecting so many of the nominees to be playing music for days before, to be able to walk up and down a hall and hear everything from jazz and fiddle to folk and pop. It’s an experience that changes a person, never mind that the very people that grew up around me were there performing. It’s one of those events which start to define who you are, or at least makes you feel proud of where you are from.

So who are some other highlights? Well how about John Campbelljohn for blues recording of the year, Madison Violet for folk recording of the year and Scott MacMillan, who is nominated along with Brian Doyle for roots traditional group recording of the year. Also fiddler Chrissy Crowley for instrumental recording of the year for her album ‘The Departure’. Slowcoaster has the most nominations (remember for Cape Bretoners this article is all about Cape Breton!) at 4 for the album ‘The Darkest of Discos’. They are in some heavy categories – alternative recording of the year, FACTOR recording of the year and group recording of the year, and it’s song “War on War” is nominated for single of the year.

All in all 2011 is looking like a big year for Cape Breton artists! Will you be there or dreaming of going? Who are you rooting for? Any childhood friends nominated? Let us know in the comments.

If you are young can you enjoy the music? Absolutely. Each year sees new talent come out of the Island, and from all over the world. A childhood friend of mine Carmel Mikol played at the Gaelic College from her debut album “In My Bones’ which just took First Place in the Folk Category of the Great American Song Contest. Of course there  is much more music to enjoy, you can choose whichever you like from the schedule (http://www.celtic-colours.com/artists-and-events/venue-schedule.html) which lists the venue and location. Then check the artists list and pick the event you would enjoy the most. So if you missed the fun this year the dates for 2011 are as follows:

October 7-15

And if you like to plan far in advance the 2012 dates:

October 5-13

By all means visit the Celtic Colours website and plan your next trip!