East Coast Trail, Icebergs and a Sea-eagle!

We drove down the South-East side of the Avalon Peninsula to walk a couple of sections of the East Coast Trail.

The East Coast Trail is 366 km in length, with 270 km following the coast.

One of the first birds we saw on the trail was a Boreal Chickadee. They have brown feathers on the head and on the flanks. Black-capped Chickadees, common in southern Ontario, have black heads. This was a "lifer species" for me!

Green Comma - a common species in Newfoundland.

Hudsonian Whiteface! - a new dragonfly species for me.

After walking down, and back up the wrong trail, we eventually found the 35 metre long LaManche Suspension bridge which spans the LaManche River.

Views from the Suspension Bridge!

Germander Speedwell in a meadow.

An ice cream stop provided a nice snack after our trail hikes and a nearby wetland provided a great spot to see a few more species, including a Greater Yellowlegs!

Northern Pintails, just hanging out!

As we headed further south, we viewed two very large icebergs from the highway. The trees in the foreground help to provide some size perspective. Finding these two was an unexpected surprise!

The following day when we headed to Bonavista, we were hoping to see an iceberg that had been reported a few days earlier. It was much smaller than expected and was breaking into smaller pieces. The boat in the photo had approximately 25 people on it.

The iceberg chunk reminds me of a bird with wings spread!

Glacial chunks washed ashore: Some locals used boats to reach the iceberg and break off pieces. Glacial Water is considered by some to be the purest source of water on earth. However, that topic is up for debate as the melted water isn't necessarily contaminant free.

A Stellar's Sea-eagle has been hanging out in North America for the past 2 years. It was on our wish list to see, but figured the challenge would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Lady luck was on our side, and the Sea-eagle was reported close to an area we planned to visit! A bit of searching down a road, while watching for parked cars helped us find this magnificent bird, normally found in Asia and Russia. When I snapped this picture, it appeared to be having a big yawn! Bald Eagles can weigh up to 14 pounds while the Stellar's Sea-Eagle can weigh up to 20 pounds!

https://www.animalmatchup.com/vs/bald-eagle-vs-steller's-sea-eagle