Visit Nova Scotia & Newfoundland and discover provinces largely forgotten...even by Canadians. Highlights include visiting the second-largest Northern Gannett colony in North America, the largest Atlantic Puffin colony, and humpback whales so close to shore that you may even smell their blow. Warblers will provide identification challenges too. You'll surely feel like you've taken a step back in time on this extraordinary two-week trip.

Your flight should arrive no later than today.

We'll depart Halifax this morning for the three-hour drive to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. After lunch in the charming capital city, we'll make our way to East Point Lighthouse. This northeastern-most point of the province provides spectacular views and some interesting birding, including possibilities at Surf, White-winged, and Black Scoters. We may also see Great Cormorant and Common Eider.

Today we can venture a little north to Green Gables or stroll the wonderful beaches at PEI National Park. The red rocks on the northern shore provide some beautiful photo opportunities.

At Wood Island, PEI, we'll board the car ferry for the short trip to Caribou Island, Nova Scotia. A short time after arrival in Nova Scotia, we'll visit an old-growth red spruce forest at Abraham Lake. Sadly, in recent years many of the older spruce have fallen victim to spruce budworm.

Our itinerary then takes us through coastal communities like Eecum Seekum, Liscombe Mills, and Sherbrooke. We'll arrive at the Eshbaugh household (pictured above), where we'll stay for the next two nights.

Waternish Road, which runs in front of the house is known locally as "warbler alley" with over 25 warblers occurring there.

We'll depart Sherbrooke this morning and head to Antigonish, where we hope to see Nelson's Sparrow. A lunch break will give us a chance to enjoy Gaelic music performed by locals. And tonight, our rooms will be very close to Chetticamp River, where moose sometimes come for a drink.

After birding Waternish Road, we'll have the option of visiting historic Sherbrooke Village, a historically reenacted town from the 1860s, traveling to Port Bickerton lighthouse (pictured above), or birding a couple of local trails.

We'll depart Waternish and drive to Antigonish, where we'll visit Nova Scotia's Highland Games. Lunch will feature Celtic Music at Judique. Tonight will feature a wonderful lobster dinner or other fare typical of a seaside community. Our lodge tonight is The Cornerstone Motel, which is on the edge of Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Today we can take our time enjoying the incredible vistas of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We expect to see moose and a variety of warblers. A delightful seafood lunch in a small coast town is surprisingly tasty.

This morning we'll make our way to North Sydney, Nova Scotia to board the ferry to Newfoundland.

Our ferry will disembark at 10 a.m. and depending on the weather, we'll either hurriedly make our way to Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, or stop for lunch. This reserve offers the second-largest Northern Gannet colony in the world. We'll stand well within a stone's throw of birds greeting one another, feeding chicks, and generally providing quite a scene. We also hope to spot Razorbill, Black-legged Kittiwake, Thick-billed and Common Murre, and perhaps a jaeger working the ocean far below.

Our activities today depend largely on the weather again. We may return to Cape St. Mary's, or we may travel the coast looking for songbirds like Pine Grosbeak and Boreal Chickadee.

On our drive this morning we hope to spot a caribou or two. We'll also likely see our first Atlantic Puffin. Other highlights will include visiting the lighthouse that was the first to receive the distress signal from the Titanic.

Today is an amazing day. We're likely to see Humpback Whales very close to shore. These huge animals feed on capelin in the bay and often breach to show their happiness. In the afternoon, we'll board a boat to tour Green Island where hundreds of thousands of Atlantic Puffins, Razorbill, and Murres nest.

We'll visit the easternmost point on the North American Continent at Cape Spear. Signal Hill is another highlight where we'll spend some time learning about the history of defending North America. We'll likely get a last glimpse of whales from Cape Spear'

This morning you'll depart St. John's Newfoundland for your flight home.