Some photos from this past weekend in Terra Nova National Park (3hr drive West of St. John's).
Gray Jay:
My lifer Newfoundland Spruce Grouse (they aren't found on the Avalon peninsula):
One spot I've been eyeing for a while in the park is a section of previously burned forest. Apparently the fire burned about 15 years ago. It didn't take us long to find a Black-backed Woodpecker working the trees for grub:
These fungi were covering the ground in the burned area. I've seen them before, but not this widespread. I'll have to try to figure out what species they are.
This Great Black-backed Gull swallowed a flounder (flatfish) whole after stabbing it repeatedly. I'll get the video uploaded soon!
Another Black-backed Woodpecker in another are of the park:
Hermit Thrushes are widespread breeders on the island:
Their flute-like song is one of my favourites:
I had about 10 Palm Warblers over the weekend in the park. Despite being so common in this area I've yet to find any singing on the Avalon:
Shorebird migration barely exists in the Spring in Newfoundland (unless you count vagrants from Europe!) - so seeing a small flock of 8 Least Sandpipers was nice:
Red-breasted Merganser:
Another Spruce Grouse - I had 5 in total over the weekend! All of them were very tame.
Only my second warbler species so far this year:
This Yellow-rumped Warbler stood out with its golden hues over the back. I assume this is a second year bird (hatched last year) based on these brownish feathers:
2 Redheads found just over a week ago in nearby Gander were still around so I stopped by to have a look at them myself. These are only the 9th record for the island!
The other highlight was a minimum of 3, probably up to 6, Northern Saw-whet Owls singing in the park. Here is a recording from one of them:
