Appalachian Trail from Vermont to Virginia

 As Autumn  approaches, we are migrating south with the birds.  This has been a "warbler year" as we started in Texas following the Mississippi flyway north to the nesting grounds of over 30 species of warblers from Wisconsin to Northern Newfoundland.  We are following the Atlantic flyway south along the Appalachian Trail.

 Across the Green Mountains of Vermont we spent 3 days at a nice RV park along the West River.  Next into New York where we crossed the Hudson River north of Albany into the Adirondack Park staying at the forest campgrounds.

We stayed on the east end of Lake Ontario where we photographed this unusual sunset.  Then south through the Amish farmlands of mid-Pennslyvania and camping in the Tioga State Forest.

 Following the Appalachian Mountains south through the narrowest areas of Maryland and W. Virginia we headed into Virginia.  We spent three days in the Shenandoah National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway enjoying the views from the high ridge over the Shenandoah Valley and the "Blue" mountains.

 Always alert for all of God's creatures, great and small, we found this Millipede, one of many large ones crossing the trails and roadways.  We had to train this one to pose (all 4" of him) on our camping permit so you could see him.

We followed all the scenic byways and avoided the traffic of all the large cities along the northeast coast.  This is not an easy task.  Sometimes we would see the traffic reports with crashes and back-ups on TV and were very happy not to be a part of it.

We headed southeast along the Virginia/N Carolina border back to the Atlantic Ocean.  We are now taking a break from our long trek and planted ourselves for a week at Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks.  Back to the ocean waves and seabirds with Willets, Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones keeping us company on the beach.  Terns, gulls and Brown Pelicans sailing by through the thunderous waves.

Our prayers are with you all as you read this.
Ty & Ida Baumann

Autumn Signs in New Hampshire

Autumn is in the air and all around us.  Leaves are beginning to change color, others are drifting down in the wind.




 A large variety of fungi are also decorating the forest floor like this Crowned Clavaria on the left.

Covered bridges are a constant reminder of the rich rural history of the New England countryside.  Many tourists come just to see them just as they do the lighthouses on the coast and the many waterfalls in the mountains.

 This waterfall is the Glen Ellis Falls that plunges nearly 50 feet off the moss covered cliffs in the White Mountains National Forest.

We spent a couple days at Lake Winnipesaukee - the first day greeted us with beautiful sunshine, hundreds of boats on the water and people everywhere.  The next day was gray and rainy, all the people left for work and school - "What a difference a day makes".

 We spent a week in the White Mountains, the home of numerous wildlife including this Mama Moose and her hidden half grown calf outside the Dolly Copp campground where we spent 3 nights.

Here's Ida between a "rock and a hard place" resting from a three mile hike up the Boulder Trail to the Ledges with panoramic views of the White Mountains.

We are now in the Green Mountains of Vermont enjoying the last of summer in New England.

Blessing to all,
Ida & Ty

The Coast of Maine

It's great to be back in the good old U.S. of A. with its lower fuel and food prices, lower sales taxes and mileage instead of kilometers.  The rocky coastline of Maine with it's fog shrouded islands, craggy cliffs and rock strewn beaches welcomed us to this picturesque state.


Schoodic Point in the eastern part of Acadia National Park was the most peaceful and beautiful section.

 In contrast, we visited the main part of the park where we joined thousands of visitors,  having been forewarned in brochures that this is one of the most heavily visited parks in the U.S.  We left the RV at the Visitors Center and rode the propane fueled shuttle buses on the 27 mile loop to all the natural features.  To the right is Thunder Hole where the waves crash into the hollowed rocks with quite a roar.

 We left the crowds behind for more peaceful coves, spits and birding areas.  We intercepted excellent fall passerine migration finding 18 species of warblers, some vireos, catbirds, flycatchers, bobolinks, tufted titmice and scarlet tanagers.

Always on the alert to new and strange wildlife we encountered our first Dragon of our journey.  However, not to worry, St. George on horseback was already slaying the dragon.  This large sculpture is by the town hall in St. George, Maine.

We drove to Owl's Head Lighthouse making the long, steep, climb into the lamp room where a tour guide narrated a brief history of the lighthouse (built in 1824) and the West Penobscot Bay area.

Driving through Popham Beach State Park. we noticed some egrets feeding in the salt marsh grass.  Upon closer examination we discovered 2 Great Egrets but more importantly, a rare U.S. visitor from the "Old World" and a new life bird - a Little Egret.  Also seeing some good shorebird movements along the coast: Black-bellied & Semipalmated Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Whimbrels, Sanderlings, plus lots of Common Eiders on the Ocean shores.

Now we are heading west then south through New Hampshire and Vermont avoiding all the big cities between here and Florida.

Blessings to all,
Ty & Ida Baumann

The Bay of Fundy

This was our last look at Newfoundland as the ferry sailed west back to Nova Scotia.  We sighted Fin and Minke Whales, Dolphins, Greater Shearwaters, Atlantic Puffins, N. Fulmars, N. Gannets and added Red Phalaropes to our 2012 list which now stands at 475.  All we need is two more retirement birds to reach 600, it may be awhile before that happens.

 We drove along the southern shore of Nova Scotia through hilly farmland that reminded us of Wisconsin.  Our next destination was Grand Pre' on the Minas Basin off the Bay of Fundy.  The bird net had reported over 18,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers were feeding near Evangeline Beach.  We were blessed with a campsite within walking distance and weren't disappointed with the birds.  We were surprised at the vast area of red mudflats at low tide.  We also saw Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers.  Three Peregrine Falcons kept the nervous birds swirling in flocks of thousands.  A sight to behold with light and dark shifting in the sunlight.  Over 75% of the world's population of Semipalmated Sandpipers come to this area to feed on Mud Worms; doubling their weight before flying to South America.

The tides truly are remarkable here, being the highest and lowest in the world.  While we were here it was 46 feet (hard to believe).  The boats lay stranded on the mud half the day, then are ready for fishing when the water comes in.  At some rivers the tidal bore is so fast that zodiacs take tourists for a great ride - at a pretty high price.  We just watched the adventuresome young people pounding through the rapids.

Dense fog now covered most of the southwestern shores of Nova Scotia so we decided to head to New Brunswick and follow the Bay of Fundy west to Maine.

 One of our fun stops was at Hopewell Cape and these beautiful "Flower Pot Rocks".  At low tide we walked along a mile of beach between the arching rocks and caves.  It's important to climb away from the beach before the tide comes in making each rock an island in the water.

We say a fond farewell to Canada and look forward to returning to the USA.

It's been a great adventure!  All 8,000 miles of it, you can figure out how many kilometers that is as we are tired of thinking metric.

Blessings to all!
Ty & Ida Baumann

Newfoundland Journey

 Beautiful landscapes abound in every direction as we travel into the numerous peninsulas of this large rugged Island of Newfoundland.  We found the wildlife and the people to be as varied as the landscapes.  Each area seemed to be founded and inhabited by European nationalities.  There was the Irish Loop, the Viking Trail, the French fishing villages, plus the Scotch, Dutch, English and Portuguese.  All claimed a piece of this New Found Land.

Upon closer examination we found the diverse habitats teeming with abundant wildlife.  Every pond, stream and lake showed signs of beaver activity which included this cooperative and industrious pair.  He became very "talkative" (mewing sounds) when his female counterpart joined him for a birch twig snack.

Many of the sheer cliff faces and rocky haystack islands were colonized by Atlantic Puffins, N. Gannets, Common & Thick-billed Murres, Razorbills, Black Guillemots, Black-legged Kittiwakes and numerous other nesting seabirds.  What made this experience so incredible was the proximity and eye-level viewing.  We visited three different Puffin colonies, one at Cape Bonavista,  five nesting islands at Elliston harboring 10,000 pairs, and Witless Bay Ecological Reserve with many thousand flying like swarms of bees over the islands and water.  Some Puffins were excavating burrows in the soft peat, some flying in with fish for their young, some fighting, while others posed for the camera like these pictured.

 Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve on the Avalon Peninsula exhibited a phenomenal colony of sea birds distributed apartment-like on the steep 900 foot high cliffs.  At the top were 24,000 pairs of N. Gannets with big fluffy chicks (pictured), below in layers were ten thousand pairs of Com. Murres, 10,000 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes and additional seabird species.  (No we did not count them but the biologists did).  This coastline is shrouded in dense fog 28 days a month.  However this day we were blessed with sunshine and blue skies affording spectacular views.

The cacophony of calling Gannets, bill clacking, mock bill sword fighting, mutual preening and chick feeding filled the air with both deafening sound and the rich aroma of fishy guano making for an over-whelming and unforgettable experience. Other birds of interest included: 17 fly-over Whimbrels, numerous Shearwaters, the best a Cory's which was a new life bird for us.



Certainly one of our memorable Newfoundland experiences was spending an pleasant afternoon visiting with Neil & Jan Payne (parents of Mark Payne, Wildlife Sanctuary Ranger).  From the porch of their lovely summer home in Campbellton we saw and heard a Minke Whale on the calm waters of Notre Dame Bay.

Our journey here is nearing an end as we head to the Ferry Dock for our return to Nova Scotia.
A fond farewell to Newfoundland, Canada
Ty & Ida Baumann

Western Newfoundland

 Our six hour voyage on the Atlantic Vision Ferry from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland with sunny, calm waters was an enjoyable pelagic bird filled trip.  We added Manx and Greater Shearwaters to our life list along with N. Fulmars, Sooty Shearwaters, Wilson's and Leach's Storm Petrels.  A number of dolphins and whales added to our wildlife observations.

We found Newfoundland's landscape to be amazingly diverse.  The harbor's barren rock with it's wind stunted evergreens gave way to sharp mountain peaks, boreal forests, interspersed with extensive bogs, rivers and ponds.  It's unique coastline, rock formations, large estuaries, quaint fishing villages nestled in each cove provided a local flavor and historical perspective along the Viking Trail.

 We stopped at many provincial parks along the route, this one with beautiful arches and waves splashing into the openings.  The openings stood about 15 feet and twenty five at the top.  Another park we stayed at was called "Blow Me Down Park"  and we experienced it's namesake of strong gusting winds.

 Our mountaintop vantage point on Onion Cape gave us views of Labrador's coast in the background, massive icebergs being carried south by the ocean's currents, and the historic place (L'Anse aux Meadows) where Lief Erickson landed over 1,000 years ago.  From here we also saw over 20 Humpback Whales entertained us with pectoral fin slaps, fluke waves, and full breaches with water flying everywhere.

This is a close-up of the above iceberg which was over 200 feet tall as you can see it dwarfs the village in the above picture.  From this harbor in St. Anthony's we also had a very close encounter with a minke whale, (hard to get a picture of).  At least icebergs don't move fast or disappear under the water.

The generous number of "Moose Crossing" signs posted along the highway kept us ever vigilant. We did see 17 moose along the Viking Trail from the ferry landing to the northern most tip of Newfoundland.  Birds of note included nesting Blackpoll Warblers, Fox Sparrow, Com. Redpolls, Pine & Evening Grosbeaks, Gray Jays, Boreal Chickadees, Black-backed Woodpeckers and Piping Plovers.

Greetings to all from the far north.
Ty & Ida Baumann

Northeast Nova Scotia

 We had a great send off from New Brunswick seeing our third moose; three red foxes running on the beach; and a yearling black bear crossing the highway.  Just into Nova Scotia we slowed down for two Am. Woodcocks on the road and a doe with twin fawns.  We camped along the Northunmberland Shore seeing this beautiful sunset with Prince Edward Island to the north.  We drove along St. George's Bay then traveled NE to Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

 The Park includes miles of breath-taking coastline with steep sea cliffs, sheltered coves and crashing waves.  Corney Brook campground provided an interesting day with Pilot and Minke Whales and an assortment of seabirds followed by a nearly sleepless night with 50+ mph winds buffeting the RV.

The next morning brought calm and sunshine.  We walked the 5 mile Skyline Trail on French Mountain.  What a unique experience with Spruce Forest and bog environment (pitcher plant to the right) leading out to a beautiful coastline vista.  We finally found our boreal birds that we had been looking for since we left Wisconsin: Spruce Grouse, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Red Crossbills, and Pine Grosbeaks.

Our seabird boat trip adventure took us to Bird Island off the eastern coast of Nova Scotia  We saw over 800 pairs of Atlantic Puffins and Razorbills on the rocky cliffs of these colonial nesting islands.  In addition to these were Black Guillemots, Great Cormorants, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Gr. Black-backed Gulls and 20+ Bald Eagles sitting in the sea caves waiting for unattended gull chicks.

Next up?  The six hour ferry ride to Newfoundland and another new adventure.
Best wishes and prayers,
Ida & Ty Baumann