The focus of my visits to Prince Edward Island is family, not photographs, but I always manage to grab a few shots of bird life on the island, even though I usually travel there with minimal equipment.
The trip this year was especially fun as we were celebrating my parent's 61st wedding anniversary and the whole family was there to participate.
I love photographing the Great Black-backed Gulls at the beach. They are huge and are relatively tolerant of people. The red spots on their bills add a bit of color but the markings were especially noticeable on this big bird - maybe a sign of age?
The red cliffs of Rustico Beach are visible in the background.
The Finches on the Island were exhibiting signs of disease this summer so people were asked to take down all their feeders to prevent large numbers of birds from gathering in one spot. Of course that didn't stop the Goldfinches from finding natural feeding areas such as Sunflowers and Thistles.
The Kingfishers were out in force along the river in New Glasgow and that was where I really missed having a longer lens with me.
There were lots and lots of shorebirds at Cavendish Beach, including this Greater Yellowlegs that I snapped off the Homestead Trail.
One of my favorite bird shots of the trip was this one of a pair of Ruddy Turnstones with a Bonaparte Gull for size comparison on the wharf in Summerside. The Turnstones are not residents of the Island - they stop by on their way through during migration. I was actually taking part in a water obstacle course in the harbor (another story!) when I spotted these guys near by.
