When we discovered that mother nature had presented us with another rain-free (albeit still freezing) day, we opted to make a day trip to Bay Bulls, Witless Bay and Cape Spear.
We had heard tale that a large berg was grounded in Bay Bulls and were looking forward to another great Iceberg experience.
We were not disappointed.
A tourist ship in the shot for size comparison. Funny thing is that this berg had flipped only a few days prior to our visit. Reports indicate that before the flip it was maybe three times this height.
Since the berg was closer to the southern side of the bay, we decided to take a stroll on a section of the East Coast Trail and see if we could snag a better view.
Mickeleens Walk is a splendid trail.
Well maintained with stone,
board-walked
and natural sections.
The blankets of moss were thicker and more lush than any we had seen before.
Although most of the water views are blocked by trees, a hurricane a few years back provided a few scenic shot opportunities now and then.
Of course, we were equally distracted with what was happening on the ground, as well.
Though we have not yet identified them, much of what we saw seemed new to us.
Along the way we snagged us another lifer from the bird realm.
This is the Northern Waterthrush and
we certainly enjoyed the multiple serenades we were given.
The views were nice, too.
We'll turn our attention back to that beautiful iceberg now. After about a mile and a half we managed to find ourselves pretty much directly in front of it.
We also found ourselves directly behind a bunch of trees but that was o.k.
The sheer magnitude of this berg was still quite obvious.
If the birds sitting on a berg suddenly take flight it means that it is about to calve or flip.
This particular iceberg had several gray streaks which are reportedly volcanic ash.
Some folks were breaking trail to get a clearer view.
We viewed from the established trail and then headed off to eat lunch in Witless Bay.
While we ate the temperatures dropped significantly. That did not however deter the Terns
and Black-backed Gulls from trying to locate some lunch of their own.
We then headed off toward Cape Spear with a few stop for scenery along the way.
At one stop we discovered this Herring Gull sitting on her nest
and took in the views for a bit.
On our way to Cape Spear, the eastern most point in North America.
The original Cape Spear Lighthouse built in 1836.
The new modern building and foghorn tower built 1957.
By the time we reached Cape Spear the weather had taken yet another turn and was essentially intolerable for exploring. So, after some quick looking around, we head back to St. John's to turn on the heat and settle in.