Mark Dennis

Sharp-tailed Shuffle This post started out as an opinion about eBird’s predictive capabilities because, for some reason, the bird recording device that isn’t about listing, apart from the listing bits, has a thing wher…

I just did a blog post covering the Sharp-tailed Sand and various other local Nova Scotia Birds. capesablebirding.wordpress.com/2025/10/23/s... #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

There is provision for the forming of a well ordered militia, I'm sure it was written down somewhere.

A sensible appointment, a pragmatic manager of some experience who will hopefully make us harder to beat. Stopping in the Premiership is the target, but the squad is capable of much more, and this will be Dyche's opportunity to show that he has more about him than his Premiership history suggests.

For the first time, I tried a dish of Bramble Jelly (jam) instead of pushing half oranges onto branches. The Baltimore Orioles seem to prefer it but spend more time fighting than eating, I have three at the moment. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

We get 1-2 American Avocets annually in Nova Scotia and they usually stay a day or two. This one is currently at the Bay of Fundy bore watchpoint in Truro, where you can watch the tide turn and a bore flow upstream, sometimes its impressive. #birds #Birding #Birdwatching #NovaScotia

On 7th October, Nova Scotia got its first Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. I think six people saw it before it flushed and vanished. 16th October one of the original finders re-found it, a few saw it before it flushed. I was there at dawn today, it came back. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching #Novascotia

About Salt Breeze In my novel ‘The Chaser’, the seventh title in my Nova Scotia birder mystery series, I introduced a new pair of detectives, Hannah Washington and Cherrie Foote. Their first case together, the death of a notorious birder in suspicious circumstances, saw the unlikely pairing work well as they pieced together the clues. In Salt Breeze I decided to explore their lives a bit more, throw them into difficult circumstances and really develop their personas. I know that this sounds like I, as a writer, knows exactly what they are doing. This is far from the case. I generally start a book with an idea and it develops from there and as I write. In Salt Breeze, being fish out of water so to speak was enough to drive along the story of my detectives solving the crimes, if they can, in remote and very redneck Kiskuk Point on Nova Scotia’s south shore. Kiskuk Point is a made up name but, naturally, there are some similarities to the area I live in. Now the sales pitch. I’ve written 18 full length novels so far, since my self-publishing writing career started in September 2020. I hope I have a lot more in me, only time will tell. All my work is available from Amazon, why Amazon despite the incongruities? I self-publish and they allow me to do so. Were I to use another publisher, the financial outlay would never be recouped. Amazon is technically free, even if they take the pride of Lions share of the proceeds. I write to be read, so I price both print and eBooks as low as they’ll let me. If you enjoy reading what I’m told are good stories, please give me a go if you can get over the Amazon thing.

As it is my latest novel, I guess I should tell people about it a bit more often, but I don't like to push. If you want to know more, I did something in Alt-txt which tells you a bit about Salt Breeze and my writing journey. #writingcommunity #Books #NovaScotia

In southern Nova Scotia we have the luxury of having Roseate Terns with us in summer. One year, I got to go to the local Island colony to try to photograph flying banded birds. This one carries a plastic band from Brazil, quite the annual journey. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching #Seabirds

No, kept dipping.

Godwits on Cape Island at this time of year all need a good looking at. Four Hudsonian today, one day one of them will have white wing linings I'm sure. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching #Shorebirds

Hiding in Plain Sight Sharp-tailed Sandpiper hadn’t been reliably recorded in Nova Scotia until Dave Currie and Ray Wershler identified one at Hartlen Point on 7th October, 2025. The bird didn’t stick and only a very fe…

A new birding blog post from Nova Scotia. capesablebirding.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/h...

Me too.

This one was a bit confusing at first. A hybrid White-rumped x Dunlin from Cape Sable Island NS. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching #shorebirds

Hard to think what attracts our regular fall American Goldies to the rotting kelp piles. Cape Island NS. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

It's a month since I last told people about the books I write. There's a birder mystery series, various stand alone novels and we do our own travelogues. The image is from our Australia trip from 2018. Digital copies are 2.99CAD. Everything I do is available from Amazon. #Books #Birdingtravel

Yellow-rumps are around southern Nova Scotia in numbers, Blackpolls have all but gone through, now is the time of the Orange-crowned Warblers. Some will last into January before pushing off either south or daisywards. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

It's the eBird Global Big Day today, unfortunately for me it always coincides with the first weekend of duck killing in southern Nova Scotia making it less of a joy for me to be out. This yard and year White-crowned Sparrow is some compensation. #birds #birding #birdwatching

A call re a Nova Scotia rare Red-headed Woodpecker had me scurrying the few miles to the next county to see it. On the way, news broke of an NS first Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 300km away. Maybe tomorrow, although it has just flown off. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

Soon be time for winter gulling. Too soon? How many white winged gulls in this shot at Dennis Point, Pubnico NS. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

Even within Great Cormorants it's not always straightforward. Colwick Park, Nottingham.

As soon as I posted that American Kestrels always fly off when you stop, I got one that didn't. Cape Sable Island, NS. Connecticut Warblers always stay hidden, let's see how that one works out. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

A hurricane that remains entirely pelagic, never crosses land and so has little contact, if any, with migrating birds.

A Clay-coloured in our Cape Sable Island yard this morning, a scare bird in NS, doesn't breed here. Scilly birders, make sure you check all those Chipping Sparrows carefully, oh, wait! #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching.

Don't worry about it, most people scroll past us anyway and even friends don't bother after your first book. I think the feeling guilty about bothering people is an English thing. I still have it despite living in Canada for over twenty years. Keep writing, you are good.

In Nova Scotia we've had nothing but fish storms barrel past offshore. No birds from them, and with our ongoing drought all our summer birds have about gone. If the UK is to get vagrants from N. America, they're going to have to come from the middle and south of the continental migration.

I live in Canada. Tip in restaurants if the service is good, otherwise, nope, nowhere else.

Stop by an American Kestrel on a wire and it will fly off at 100m, stop for a Merlin and they always seem to be deciding whether to eat or just ignore you. Cape Island Nova Scotia. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching

Belted Kingfishers around Cape Island are usually pretty skittish, so it was nice to get photo op with one today. Taken with a Canon R7 and the 200-800mm lens.

A rat found my bird feeders and I reluctantly had to deal with it. I find it easier to do if I name them so, sorry Donald but you lot made right mess of the basement last time. I don't have a photo of a rat so I'm using this crab instead.

After a few weeks with no seabirds, suddenly Cory's are back off Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Up to 15 buzzing around a lone fishing boat (not in this shot) with at least one Scopoli's candidate. We sometimes get late season incursions of Cory's. #Birds #Birding #Birdwatching #Novascotia