Thursday 15 July 2010

Another creature that we have been hunting on our trip, apart from the moose, beaver and bald eagle is a puffin! This quest started back in Ireland and during our trip around the Ring of Kerry I hunted mercilessly to see one. I had no idea that they populate the Canadian coasts as well.

Anyway, we set off on a Bird Island Boat Tour this morning, with promises of puffin sightings. After a 45 minute cruise out to the 2 small bird islands, we were rewarded with sightings of northern gannets, 2 species of cormorant, various gulls, razorbills, more bald eagles and yes PUFFINS ! I had no idea they were so small and the presence of the bald eagles makes them very nervous so they were impossible to photograph without a telephoto lens, but we enjoyed seeing many of them swimming and nesting. There was also an abundance of grey fur seals, who popped their heads out of the choppy water to look at us quizzically. We really enjoyed the trip despite the choppy rough sea around the island and we got an off shore view of parts of the Cabot Trail we had driven on Tuesday.

Back at the log cabin we enjoyed the first sunny evening since our arrival. The sun only sets after 9pm in summer, but it has rained every evening since we got here. We had the proverbial braai and relaxed on the deck whilst the squirrels and chipmunks entertained us. It is amazing how brazen they become when there is food around. They were taking bread off the floor right next to us, running over our feet a couple of times, dragging off pieces of bread 3 times their size and when we stopped feeding them, one even came running onto the deck, looked up at me and chattered loudly as he demanded more tidbits!

I was enjoying relaxing on the deck too much to move, but Liam went off to explore the Alexandar Graham Bell Museum. During his adult life, he settled in Baddeck on Cape Breton Island and this is where he spent the rest of his life. Not only did he invent the telephone, but he invented many other things including the first powered flight in Canada; a boat he built held the world speed record for a while and he was a founder member of the National Geographic Society. He also worked with and educated many deaf people including Helen Keller.