June 27, 2014. Friday. Chance Cove Provincial Park to St. Vincent, Newfoundland

We awoke to a very wet morning, but the Boreal Owls were still singing! The lift-gate back door on the van made a passable rain shelter for breakfast, and then we drove south to the southeast tip of Newfoundland. Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve is closed because of winter road damage that has not yet been repaired. The visitor center was open with interesting displays on pre-Cambrian large-bodied animals (to about 5 ft long!) and open wifi.

We continued onward looking for caribou, birds, and a bit of dry on the south end of the Avalon Peninsula. We didn't find the caribou nor the dry, but holy smokes -- did we find the birds!

After a few wet stops, we stopped at a designated caribou watching spot along the road. After some effort, cold and defeated, we retreated to the car without seeing caribou. We talked about pressing on because a local said the road to Cape Freels was very bad, but finally we decided to take a chance and go out to St. Shotts Village and Cape Freels.

The local was right about the road, but first some background. Last summer was an banner year for Snowy Owl reproduction and vast numbers moved south through New England and as far south as Florida in search of winter food. All winter I'd been tormented by photos on the internet of Snowy Owls by the bucket-full, and unexpectedly we might have seen one in Michigan. The funny thing is that Snow Owls look like a white-plastic grocery bag out in a field or up on a fence post. So for the entire trip, Liz and I have been scrutinizing every piece of white plastic we've seen, and we've seen a lot of white trash. Today, finally, through the wind-blown rain on the way to Cape Freels, we spotted our bird. Elated by the owl, the gannets and other birds at the cape were nice, but how can you get excited about more seabirds when you've seen a Snowy Owl? Well, how about a juvenile Iceland Gull (LB#630)! In the car, watching through driving rain, we ate a late lunch and watched the sea for gannets, kittiwakes, Black Guillemots, Common Murre, and others.

Heading out, we stopped to visit our white friend again, as it was still hiding behind its rock staying out of the rain. Back on the main road, still looking for caribou, I commented that finally we could stop looking for white trash along the road. Never one to give up, Liz looked up and suggested that perhaps I should stop and look at one more piece of white trash. Yep, she'd spotted another Snowy Owl! So not only did we finally see a Snowy Owl, we saw two of them!

We finished the day at St. Vincent Beach where the capelin (little fish that come ashore to breed like grunion) are in and the whales are coming close to shore to feed on them. Dozens of Northern Gannets were plunge-diving to get the capelin too. It was still wet, windy, and cold, so we drove another minute or so, found Whale Song B&B, and moved in for the night.

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
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