Red Fox
Out for a drive on the Bethel Road, not far from Macphail woods, and came across a red fox working a field for a meal. We stopped and watched her for quite a while and she didn't seem to mind as she kept hunting. She was a very able hunter. We watched her do the pounce thing and be successful. We watched her eat one of her catch and then she left, carrying one in her mouth to take home with.

I've put together some of the better pics into a gallery at the following link.

UBC to exhume blue whale from P.E.I. burial
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
CBC News

A blue whale, buried in western P.E.I. in 1987, is set to become the centrepiece of a new biodiversity centre at the University of British Columbia.

The whale washed ashore near Tignish in 1987 and was buried in Nail Pond. It will be dug up this spring and shipped to Vancouver for display at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Andrew Trites of UBC's marine mammal unit was surprised to find how well preserved the whale was.

Common Redpoll
One of the most enjoyable visitors to bird feeders in winter are redpolls. The common redpoll is a small goldfinch sized bird that is very active and vocal when in groups. The most distinguishing feature of redpolls is the red-colored patch on their forehead and a black chin. The males have some pink splashed on the chest, while females have no pink. During the summer, they are located further north and to them, our winters are southern vacations if you can believe it :).

February 8, 2008
CBC News

With new research suggesting a big increase in the population of grey seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, fishermen in western P.E.I. are looking for a bigger hunt this year.

Grey seals are only a small percentage of the overall Canadian seal hunt, with most of the attention paid to the harp seal harvest. But grey seals are an issue for fishermen because they live, and eat, in the gulf year round.

"We're competing with the seal," said Shelton Barlow, head of the Prince County Fishermen's Association.

...

February 4, 2008

Flocking to the Island

Wild pheasants are being reintroduced to Prince Edward Island with the help of the province and a local conservation group

Wild Chinese ringneck pheasants are hitching a ride to Prince Edward Island.
The province is assisting the P.E.I. chapter of Pheasants Forever, which formed last year, to reintroduce this bird to the Island.

Pheasants have been raised for years in pens on P.E.I., often released for hunting on private reserves.

January 16, 2008

The PEI-Birders mailing list is a great way to get involved with birding activities on PEI. Here is the 2007 year end report.

As 2007 drew to a close, the PEI Birders List which has been in operation for 3 years had 147 members. More than just a few were from outside of the Maritime Region. Collectively, we reported 245 species in 2007. I would like to thank all of you for your help in this endeavour.

January 7, 2008

Where have all the muskrats gone?
Trappers wants study into population’s mysterious decline

NORTH RIVER — It shouldn’t be happening.
Female muskrats give birth to 15 to 20 young a year, more than enough to compensate for devastating diseases, trapping pressure, changes in weather patterns and reduced food supplies, says a University of Prince Edward Island biologist.

So why, then, is one of the most prolific of furbearing mammals pulling a vanishing act?

“I’ve never seen anything like this before in the literature or elsewhere,” said Daryl Guignion.

January 1, 2008

Kensington police Chief Lewie Sutherland has received a lot of calls in his 28 years of law enforcement, but Sunday morning "was the first time I've ever been called out for a seal."

The seal was propelling itself across a snow-covered front lawn on MacLean Avenue in the Prince Edward Island town of 1,400 people.

It was about a year old, more than a metre long and weighed about 180 pounds. And it seemed to be on some kind of mission.

"Where he was going, I have no idea," Sutherland told CBCNews.ca on Tuesday. "But he was going at a good rate."

December 20, 2007

MINISTER ANNOUNCES RECREATIONAL FISHERIES CONSULTATIONS

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI -- Strategies and actions needed to enhance Prince Edward Island’s recreational fisheries will soon be open to public discussion and input. Today, Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry George Webster released the Recreational Fisheries Discussion Paper and website, www.gov.pe.ca/go/fishpolicy, and launched a process to create a recreational fisheries policy for PEI.

Island should do more to protect fish: conservationist
Last Updated: Monday, June 4, 2007 | 4:55 PM AT
CBC News

Prince Edward Island's efforts to protect wild Atlantic salmon are being criticized by conservationists.

Conservation groups from around the world are meeting this week in Bar Harbor, Maine, to talk about what is and isn't being done to protect the species.

Alarm sounded on Atlantic salmon
Last Updated: Saturday, May 26, 2007 | 12:16 PM AT
CBC News

Wild Atlantic salmon is on the brink of extinction, according to conservationists, who say only effective federal policy backed by big bucks can save a species that was once plentiful in many Atlantic rivers.

The latest numbers made available at the annual meeting of Atlantic salmon conservationists in Halifax on Friday show 14 Nova Scotia rivers that flow into the Bay of Fundy have lost almost all of their salmon.

Park plover problems spread across P.E.I.
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 1, 2007 | 10:52 AM AT
CBC News

Difficulty with nesting, which has led to few piping plover chicks being reared in P.E.I. National Park, is a problem being mirrored across the province.

'It's so hard to control predators.'— Jackie Waddell, Island Nature Trust

While numbers of the endangered piping plovers are high in the park and across P.E.I., there are few chicks being reared.

In the park, 30 birds have been counted but only four chicks hatched, park officials said.

Recordings help in Island's highest bird count
Last Updated: Monday, September 24, 2007 | 10:29 AM AT
CBC News

Tapes and CDs helped P.E.I. birders count a record number of bird species over the weekend.

More than 100 species of birds were seen or heard over the weekend during the 8th annual Bennett Birding Classic, a fall bird count and fundraiser for the Island Nature Trust. Teams of birdwatchers had up to 24 hours to identify as many species as possible.

Beavers are becoming a problem for some of the watershed groups on PEI and the CBC did a story about the issue. It was well done and the video is available on the CBC website. Here is the link. Note, it requires Real Player.

http://www.cbc.ca/pei/media/video/pe-beaverdams.ram

Here is a good description of the beaver, at the PEI gov website.

http://www.gov.pe.ca/envengfor/index.php3?number=1010070&lang=E

Farmer cuts down eagle's nest, says 'there's other trees'

Gerald MacDougall, director of fish and wildlife for P.E.I., said the province would have paid the retired farmer not to cut the tree down. He said the loss of the nest is devastating because there are only about 25 bald eagle nests on the Island.