Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
July 2013
On our recent trip to Newfoundland, Gros Morne National Park was our most anticipated destination. It's beautiful and natural bounty did not disappoint us. From the rolling hills to the Tableland mountains, it was a wonderful experience. We strategically set up camp at Berry Hill Campground for 4 nights as it was nestled on a hill in the centre of the park.
Our first morning waking up in Gros Morne, we got up at 5AM and started the day birding. There were plenty of birds around, but getting a decent image was very challenging. We seen White-winged Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, White-throated Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets,
The Tablelands is a very unique place as it is one of the best and most accessible examples of the earth's exposed mantle. It's rare opportunity to walk on an ancient ocean with it's orange-brown rock, called peridotite.
We travelled all the way to Trout Lake & back and enjoyed the drive through the mountains and some fascinating small towns. On our return, we seen a Silver phase version of the Red Fox.
The next morning we started with a shoreline walk at Lobster Cove.
A trip to Gros Morne would not be complete with a boat tour of Western Brook Pond. We met up with some friends who were also touring The Rock, and headed to the trail leading to the boat launch. The 3km trail to Western Brook Pond was an event in itself. It was a series of paths and boardwalks through Tuckamore trees, bogs and meadows that finally led to a beautiful vista of the fjords. The boat ride. although crowded, was really interesting.
On our third morning, we woke up to rain and heavy cloud cover. It rained off and on for most of the day and, although it did make for some interesting pictures, the visibility was quite low. We returned to the Western Brook Trail to photograph wildflowers and we hoped to get a few bird images on the way. We came across a Boreal Chickadee, Magnolia Warbler, Black & White Warbler, Yellow-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-rumpled Warbler and Pine Siskins.
We spent the rest of our time exploring the ocean shoreline : Broom Point, Cowhead, Shallow Bay, etc. We seen a small group of Caribou and a Bald Eagle in our travels.
Even though we were still going to be in Newfoundland for 10 more days and had many adventures before us, it was still hard to leave this truly unique and fascinating place. Gros Morne, we shall someday return.
Woodland Caribou Photo by Tony deGroot
