[ValleyNature] re porpoise? or seal? in Eel Lake

[James W. Wolford]

>> Here in the Wolfville area, there have been periodic records of  
>> harbour porpoises (as well as harbour and young harp seals even)  
>> heading inland at least along the tidal parts of the mouth of the  
>> Cornwallis River, as far as New Minas and perhaps further.  I also  
>> recall an incidence of a harbour seal up the Kennetcook River as  
>> far as Stanley (photographed).  Jim in Wolfville
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>>> From: pgould at staff.ednet.ns.ca
>>> Date: October 25, 2009 8:05:32 PM ADT
>>> To: naturens at chebucto.ns.ca
>>> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Strange sight in Eel Lake
>>> Reply-To: naturens at chebucto.ns.ca
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I had seen seal(s) in the lake a few times when I used to live in  
>>> Eel Brook.
>>>
>>> That area has always been a great spot for ring-billed gulls.
>>>
>>> Paul Gould
>>> Quinan, NS
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Quoting Dusan Soudek <soudekd at ns.sympatico.ca>:
>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>   my guess would be that the creature you saw may have been a  
>>>> harbour
>>>> seal, rather than a harbour porpoise. There are numerous records of
>>>> harbour seals making their way on occasions upriver into strictly
>>>> freshwater environments. There are freshwater lakes in the Canadian
>>>> Arctic that support permanent harbour seal populations. And  
>>>> there are a
>>>> number of sightings over the years of harbour seals in Dartmouth's
>>>> Sullivan Pond. I have never heard of a harbour porpoise in  
>>>> freshwater.
>>>>   Dusan Soudek
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "nhungjohn"  
>>>> <nhungjohn at eastlink.ca>
>>>> To: <naturens at chebucto.ns.ca>
>>>> Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 6:57 PM
>>>> Subject: [NatureNS] Strange sight in Eel Lake
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> To:  All
>>>>>
>>>>> From:  John Sollows
>>>>>
>>>>> Date:  October 25/09
>>>>>
>>>>> This afternoon, my wife and I took a short drive to catch the  
>>>>> little remaining
>>>>> foliage, which  is disappearing unseaonably rapidly down here  
>>>>> in Yarmouth
>>>>> County. (Oh, those breezes!)
>>>>>
>>>>> About 3 P.M. today, we crossed the old Eel Lake bridge, and  
>>>>> noticed a flock
>>>>> of smallish gulls (ring bills?) and a smallish raft of cormorants
>>>>> congregating a little south of the bridge.  In the midst of it  
>>>>> all,
>>>>> something much too large to be prey surfaced briefly a number  
>>>>> of times and
>>>>> moved to the southwest of us.
>>>>>
>>>>> Porpoise?  That is how the behaviour and appearance struck  
>>>>> me.   I wonder if
>>>>> one found its way into the lake throgh the shallow guzzle that  
>>>>> connects to
>>>>> Lobster Bay, during some of the recent very high tides.
>>>>>
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