For some reason, I expected to have slightly more success over recent days in finding new birds, however I still feel that I am in a bit of a rut. There are certainly some more terrestrial birds out there that I have missed, and I blame the recent stretch of poor weather for much of that situation. There has been almost no chance of wandering through a wooded patch, or loitering close to a marsh, during that time. I also hoped to see some interesting marine species while on board the Bella Desgangés, but there was not much to be seen until the last few hours of the sailing, when there was more ice in the surrounding waters. Nevertheless, eventually I did find a small selection of feathered creatures.

Like many people, for most of my adult life, Duck = Mallard. During the Tour of Gondwana, I was able to see a nice selection of Southern Hemisphere ducks, and in the interim years in Oregon, I filled in most of the northern species as well. A few gaps remained for me, however, so, after a few weeks of scanning every essentially duckless lake, river, or marsh that I rode past, I was happy to finally observe American Black Duck, a species restricted to the northeastern part of the continent, near Rimouski, Quebec.

As a bonus, in the same general area, I found my first Common Eider. Several days later, I now know why the word Common is in its name, as that species is now the most abundant waterfowl, by far, in my general field of view.

At Harrington Harbor, I was pleased to see a Gray-Cheeked Thrush come hopping out of what passes for a wooded area up there. In fact, I am not one hundred percent sure of the identification of the bird in this photo, but I saw a more definitive bird a few days earlier, which skulked off before I could photograph it, so I am going with it.

At Red Bay, while I didn’t see much of the World Heritage Site, I was able to add Black Guillemot to my list.

And, once again, another bird from my must have seen before list. Canada Jay are well known for being tolerant of humans, and especially for hanging around campgrounds in the northern latitudes. I have spent my fair share of time in such places, but the birds I saw in northern Newfoundland are my first official sightings.

Finally, while on board the Strait of Belle Isle Ferry, three Northern Gannet flew by at close range, but I could not get my camera out in time. I do expect to see that species again in the near future, however.

I am still hopeful that in the upcoming days I will find a few of the species that I have so far missed, but for that to happen I will have to hope for better weather.