The Nova Scotia Fairies

In the heart of the beautiful wilderness of Nova Scotia nestles a tiny lake, hidden among the trees. It has no inlet, so it is as clear as a spring, and one can see the bottom almost everywhere. On a fine summer day a gentle breeze makes a thousand little wavelets dance on the water, while the golden sun softly kisses them and makes them glitter like many little sparkling diamonds. Nothing can be more exquisite. I think this place must be one of the fairies' favorite hunts. On the little penninsula, where our tents are pitched, I am sure that those who come around us every day are fairies, although they don't appear in the form of the dainty little figures with golden hair and gauzy leggings that we read about in story-books. They show lemselves in different forms of wild life.

Many bright-colored warblers, singing sweetly, flit among the branches over our heads, giving life and bits of color to the sombre green of the pines: thrushes are nearly tame enough to hop near us, seeking food in the bushes, but often they delight us by making the silent woods ring with their harmonious, flutelike voices. In the evening twilight, and even after dark, when the woods are hushed and still, their dreamy, haunting songs sound all about us from the very tops of the fir trees.

A pair of loons reed on the lake very year, and it is a lovely sight to watch them come floating within ten feet of our little lock, searching for food for two hungry youngsters, swimming sedately behind. We have often watched the mother feeding her young. She will dive suddenly and in a short time come up, a little way from the babies, with a small chub or perch in her bill. They scurry quickly up to her and one or the other of them grabs the fish and swallows it.

Often these strange birds come so near that one may easily see the red of their eyes and the black and white markings of the head and neck. All day long, and all through the night, their strange, wild calls and goblin laughter sound loudly over the water and echo about the shores. On some of the numerous rocks rising out of the lake the great black backed gulls lay their eggs on shallow nests of grass and roots.

Once we brought two fledgelings who had just emerged from the eggs to our camp. Most of the time they lay on a soft pile of leaves in the woods or stood on a big rock sunning themselves, their feet in the water. They were very cunning to watch, and it was great fun to bring them up tame, and observe their habits.

By: davidbunch

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