Monday, November 1, 2010

Moosonee Day 3 - Ship Sands Island!!!!!

Jenn and I woke early, and headed for the docks in Moosonee. We wanted a ride out to Ship Sands, which turned out to be more difficult than we guessed (No one wanted to take us out there)...

To make this short, we found someone who would take us out (and pick us up around 4:30pm) for the low low price of $200. yikes


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We got dropped off, and wandered the edge of the mud/grass for hours as we looked at birds. The first things we saw were numerous Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings. It was great to see them in this northern habitat, and they allowed for some super-close views!

Below is a complete list of birds recorded throughout the day:


Snow Goose     5     blues and whites
Canada Goose     50
American Black Duck     50
Mallard     50
Northern Pintail     50
Green-winged Teal     500
Long-tailed Duck     10
Red-breasted Merganser     100
Common Loon     1
Bald Eagle     4
Northern Harrier     10
Peregrine Falcon     1     
Black-bellied Plover     20
Sanderling     3
White-rumped Sandpiper     1
Pectoral Sandpiper     25
Dunlin: 1500+?Sabine's Gull     1     adult! on mudflats
Ring-billed Gull     40
Herring Gull     60
Short-eared Owl     1
Northern Shrike     1
Common Raven     X
Horned Lark     500+
Lapland Longspur     100+
Snow Bunting     1000+
Common Redpoll     15






Some notes on the above list:


Snow Geese: 5 "Lesser's" seen flying past. The locals told us that most of the remaining geese (a high number for the date) had moved to the other side of the river mouth, which is why we saw so few).


Green-winged Teal: mainly in one large flock! 500+ birds. 


Common Loon: that we saw on the boat ride out. 


Northern Harrier - 10+ - they were everywhere! This is a low-guess


Peregrine Falcon - one large and VERY dark juv. Female that we watched chase Snow Buntings. An awesome sight!


Black-bellied Plovers, Pectoral Sand's, White-rumped Sand and 3 Sanderling: we were happy to see some lingering shorebirds amongst the huge number of Dunlin. Not bad for late Oct!


Sabine's Gull:  !!! What a strange sighting. An adult on the mudflats. First fall record for the area. 


Short-eared Owl: funny bird.. doing what they do best - flying out over the water. 


Northern Shrike: an adult out in the grass. Sitting on the ground! What's you're guess, Harrier's, Shrikes, Peregrines or all of the above: 




--- we saw little piles of feathers EVERYWHERE




Common Redpoll: we actually had some feeding on the ground with the buntings. 


1000+ Snow Buntings might have been a low guess. A look below at the grasslands of Ship Sands Island!




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Our ride arrived around 4:30, as the tide was getting quite high. Not to mention the 30kmh+ winds that were blowing on shore. Waves? Yes..


The small creeks that we jumped at the start became too large to jump, and I landed with one leg in 2ft of water (filling my boot). The water taxi was getting bashed against shore, and taking on water. The driver couldn't get the boat turned around, and it was stuck on shore. I eventually jumped in the water (both legs now soaked, and rubber boots full), along with Jenn (more soaked boots) to get the boat un-stuck, and we were finally moving!

We tried to bail water as we went back upstream, but it was slow. Once we would get a few buckets bailed, a huge wave would crash over the back (usually hitting me in the face).

Eventually we got rolling properly, and we asked to get dropped off at Tidewater Provincial Park --- which was the next phase of the adventure - and part of tomorrows posting!

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Jenn on the edge of the mud (as the tide came in). It's something like 5-7km of mud at low tide! We couldn't see the water of James Bay anymore!!! Must return someday in late august. 

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