Wildlife images and video from the central lakes region of New Brunswick, Canada.
Baldness Epidemic
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Did you know that Bald Eagles sneeze? Neither did I, until I heard one recently, just 15 feet over my head. Never once in my childhood did I see a Bald Eagle let alone hear one sneeze. They simply could not be found in my area of New Brunswick thanks to DDT and other pesticides used by the forest industry.
After they stopped spraying in the nineties, eagles slowly started to appear and they have become so common now that you cannot walk a small dog (aka "Eagle McNugget") without risk. Thankfully though they still find lots of catfish instead of dogs and cats. The true irony of the spruce budworm spray program is that it killed the birds and other wildlife that would have eaten the budworm. Nature has its own cycles and humans interfere at great risk.
These meadows and ponds are part of the Portobello Creek National Wildlife Area . Earlier in the summer the pond would be over-run with nesting duck pairs. This footage is from the end of August and all the ducklings are fledged and gone. Here is a a shot from a prior year from a kayak. Every direction you turn, you can flush out a nesting pair.
Every year we look forward to the return of the baby catfish . They spawn nearby and a large school will patrol the shallows for a month or so where it is relatively safe from predators. They can be mesmerizing to watch as the school moves fluidly back and forth scouring the shore for for food.
White Egrets are a rare visitor to our shore. I can only recall one other time I've seen one. This guy arrived one day late in the season when the lakes and rivers had dried to their summer low point. 2020 was an exceptionally dry summer here and I expect his regular summer fishing hole had dried up. He stilted around the nearby stream mouth, pulling out fish at an impressive rate for two days before he moved on. He had little fear of people and was nice enough to pose for me.
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