This is a good news - bad news story.

I left Ohio for Nova Scotia by air on Friday 10/25. The good news was that the planes were on time and the connections good. The bad news was that Canadian immigration has tightened up on entrants and really wanted positive identification of citizenship. The good news was that I had a driver's license with my birthdate and that had always been enough to cross the border by car. The bad news was that Ohio DL no longer has place of birth on it. The good news was that the immigration officer was kind and allowed me to enter the country anyway. (Be warned - USA & Canada are both cracking down on border crossings without proper id. If you are going to cross this international border (I tend to forget that fact), have a birth certificate or passport - "An expired one will do." - with you.)

The good news was that I had excellent accomodations arranged at a B&B called the Sand Castle (4 room suite, private bath - C$55, each additional person C$5).
The bad news was that it's an hour and half from the airport. The good news was that I had an excellent map provided by the tour leader.

The good news was that the accomodations were outstanding, more than I could have hoped for (TV, VCR, no charge for local calls.) The bad news was that my travel alarm was not working and there was no alarm clock in the suite. The good news was that there was a convenience store only a couple of miles away and a new battery purchased there solved the problem.

The bad news was that the day (Saturday, 10/26) started off foggy. The good news was that, by the time the boat pulled out, the fog had cleared and the day was shaping up sunny with calm seas. The bad news was that as we left the cove the seas roughed up a bit.

The good news was that tour guide Peter MacCleod (MacCleod Bird Tours) was a believer in chumming, so a good selection birds came in close to the boat for viewing. The bad news was that some of the more common birds (Great Skua, Manx Shearwater, and Dovekie were target birds for me) were not to be found. The good news was that an Iceland Gull (my only life bird of the day) followed us for several miles and we all got outstanding views.

Birds of the day were: Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Northern Fulmar, Greater Shearwater, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Common Eider, Oldsquaw, Surf Scoter, Killdeer, Common Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Iceland Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Black Guillemot, Atlantic Puffin, Downy Woodpecker, Common Raven, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, European Starling, Yellow-

rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow. Some of these were not seen on the water obviously, but on shore before and after we went to sea.

The good news was that we had a wonderful day at sea, even if the birding was not superb. The bad news was that the following day's trip was canceled for lack of sign-ups. The good news was that Peter was interested in going birding on Sunday and offered to show me the area and see what we could find.

The good news was that we were off at an early hour on Sunday morning (10/27) to Hartgen (sp?) Point to look for sparrows and perhaps a Dovekie. The bad news was that while tramping through the woods across the point, I slipped on wet clay soil and got really dirty and took a pretty nasty bump on the head. The good news was that no harm was done there and we pressed on. The bad news was that the birding was quite slow.

The good news was that the day was still young and there were other places to bird.

The good news was that an outstanding birding spot, Rainbow Haven, was nearby. The bad news was that the birding was pretty slow there, too. We couldn't find the Sharp-tailed Sparrows that had been seen there the day before. The good news was that we found, among the gulls near the trap shooting club, a second winter Ross's Gull; a life bird for me, and one of the "in your dreams" target birds for the trip. The bad news was, when we returned to the parking lot, some vandal had smashed out the window of the car and stolen my backpack (with my Barbour rain suit and galoshes), my briefcase (with my house keys, a credit card, my records and file for the trip, Nikon 10x20 binoculars I use while traveling, my telephone calling cards, the rental car agreement, other such stuff, and, worst of all, my return airline tickets), and a bag containing, among other things, Peter's address book. The good news was that he/she/they did not get our wallets, the spotting scopes, field guides or binoculars.

The bad news was that we were far from the airport. The good news was that we were close to the RCMP Cole Harbour Detachment. The next hour or so was spent reporting the theft, canceling cards, notifying family, Hertz, and Air Canada about the damages, missing negotiable items and making arrangements for my return trip home. (Also, getting the Ross's Gull on the hotline.)

We stopped for lunch and continued birding, stopping at several Halifax area hot spots, ending up at cove near the Volvo Plant. The good news was the car was drivable. The bad news was that it was getting cold and the broken out window provided plenty of fresh air. The good news was that there was an approach to the cove near the Volvo Plant. The bad news was that the approach crossed railroad property. The good news was that there was a parking area by the tracks. The bad news was that there happened to be an engine on the tracks and the engineer chased us out of the area. The good news was that there was a place to set up the scopes just off the railroad's right of way and that is how we saw a Lesser Black-backed Gull, another life bird for me.

Peter invited me to his home for dinner. We had steaks and commiserated with each other about our lost belongings and celebrated our lucky finds. He helped me tape up the broken window and I returned to the Sand Castle. The good news was that I had these fine quarters. The bad news was the heat had gone off and my landlord was not there. The good news was that he returned as I was packing up what was left of my things to go to another hotel for the night and got the heat on again. He stayed and chatted awhile, offering to let me make any long distance calls I needed to in order to deal with the losses of the day.

New birds for the trip were: Wood Duck, Mallard, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Ring-necked Pheasant, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Greater Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Bonaparte's Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Ross's Gull, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Hairy Woodpecker, Horned Lark, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Water Pipit, American Tree Sparrow, "Ipswich" Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lapland Longspur.

The birding was done, but the trip wasn't. When I got to the airport, Air Canada was ready and waiting. The good news was that they would reissue tickets for my flight home. The bad news was that needed to know the ticket numbers of the stolen ones; without that, I would have to pay full fare. The good news was that I was sure my travel agent would have that information. The bad news was that my travel agent's 800 number was not accessible from Canada. The good news was that I had charged the tickets to my American Express Card and they had the ticket numbers. The bad news was that the fee for reissuing lost tickets was C$70. The good news was that I had just that much Canadian currency left.

The good news was that the flight from Halifax to Toronto was smooth and uneventful, the bad news was the US immigration also wanted proof of citizenship. The good news was that I was eventually allowed to proceed. The bad news was that the interview had delayed me enough to be late for the flight to Cleveland. The good news was that Continental held the plane for 10 minutes so I could catch it. The bad news was that my luggage did not make it

The good news was that I was home, safe and unharmed. The bad news was that my car, which had just had a tire repaired the day before I left on the trip, had that same tire flat. The good news was that the parking service had an air pump and got the tire pressure restored, at least temporarily. More good news - the tire store again repaired the tire, at no charge! Still more good news - my luggage caught up with me, undamaged, later that evening.

All that remains is to file an insurance claim for the stolen items, pay Hertz for the broken window, and replace all the keys, membership and credit cards that are gone. A real roller coaster ride emotionally for the week-end, but three life birds make it all worthwhile.

It is important to note that of all the people I met in Nova Scotia, there was only one who was truly unpleasant (the thief) - well, the train engineer was only doing his job and was polite about it. Everyone else was helpful, cooperative, friendly, and kind. The RCMP officer was especially nice - he didn't even excoriate us for our carelessness in leaving things on the back seat of the car (we know it was stupid and neither of us generally make that mistake, can I hope for as much from my friends on Birdchat?) - and permitted us to use the station phone to cancel credit cards and the like. I guess the moral of this good news-bad news tale is that it only takes one instance of thoughtlessness to undo all the times one is careful to not tempt the evil ones.