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Info-Research Solutions (© 1996)
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Researching the
Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada
FOR THE BIRDS
APRIL 2006
By
Helen O'Shea
Ø Alice Horne called March 16 to report a pair of American Robins in her yard.
Ø Colleen and Joe Rosta of Northside East Bay reported a dozen Canada Geese in the lake across the road from their house.
Ø Frank Gill and Joan Shepard watched a Sparrow Hawk (Kestrel) eat a European Starling in their parking lot in early March. Stella Tellum feeds the birds and this hawk took advantage of a free meal.
Ø Pearl Magee had a Golden-crowned Kinglet, a pair of Boreal Chickadees and a Woodpecker on March 20. March 25 two plump, rusty Robins arrived. Her Tree Sparrows have moved on. There were 3 Robins on March 29. She looked out her window and discovered a Sharp-shinned Hawk watching her feeders. Closing the window frightened it into flight. On March 30, 2 Fox Sparrows arrived but stayed only the one day. Later she had 3 Song Sparrows and 10 Juncos visit the feeders. She watched Grackles fly overhead along with a flock of a dozen American Robins. April 4 Pearl watched 3 mature Bald Eagles circle behind Morrell Hutt’s property. Her Song Sparrows are still with her.
Ø Ilene MacKay had 2 pair of Crossbills.
Ø Dorothy Magee had a flock of a dozen American Robins.
Ø Flora Gardner had American Robins on March 10.
Ø Judy Burke of Catalone Gut had 4 Grackles arrive at her feeders on March 16. She also has 20 Mourning Doves, Blue Jays and 3 Bald Eagles.
Ø Ruth Stevens saw 10 Canada Geese at Catalone.
Ø Florence MacIntyre of Brickyard Road has a large number of Mourning Doves.
Ø Cyneth and Gordon Hutt have watched 7 Eiders for a week. They arrived on March 19. They also have a male and 3 female Ring-necked Pheasants near their house. The male returns regularly to visit Gordon although the females are not seen as frequently.
Ø Sister Wilma Best reported a Robin in the cemetery in Mainadieu on March 28. The previous week she heard lots of squawking from the Blue Jays. Looking out the window she discovered a cat stalking them.
Ø Carter Stevens had a Fox Sparrow in his yard on March 30. Earlier in February he had a Common Redpoll. The Juncos have also arrived.
Ø Clyde Dollimount emailed me this photo of the male Ring-necked Pheasant that he took on February 22 at 13:00. This bird followed him from Mrs. Fleet’s former house and up Garf Cann’s driveway.
Please Click on the Image to Enlarge It
Ø Gary Peck reports American Robins have been at the Visitor Centre since the last week in March.
March 18 a Crow with nesting material in its beak was flying over Lorway Street. March 26 there were 6 House Sparrows on the lawn of Burns MacMillan. There were 2 Black Ducks below the home of Christine Boudreau. Off Hutt’s Wharf there were 4 Eiders, a male Red-breasted Merganser. A male Ring-necked Pheasant was on a hill between the home of Garf Cann and Eugene Magee. We watched a pair of Crows chase a mature Bald Eagle over the yard in front of Han Beck. A Raven was soaring over the house of John and Lucy Hardy. April 2 a Crow with “tree beard” as nesting material was in the yard of Phil Power on Braddock Street. April 5 there were more than 75 Grackles on the utility lines in front of the home of Florence and Marcel Miron. I frightened them off as I came outside after the session of Piecemakers.
March 11 there were 6 Surf Scoters at the Fortress Barachois and 2 American Black Duck in a little pond in the grassy area at the Royal Battery. There were 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 6 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 pair of Bufflehead and 6 Black Ducks off Commercial Street. There was a mature Bald Eagle soaring over the firing range on the bypass in Sydney. March 18 there were a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers, a Common Loon and 2 Herring Gulls at Havenside. At the Government Wharf there were 40 Gulls. At the Fortress Barachois there were 4 Black Ducks and a pair of Bufflehead. March 25 there were Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls, a Common Loon, 3 Black Ducks. Off the Royal Battery there were a pair of Eider Ducks. Off the Government Wharf there were 2 Black Guillemots and a Common Eider was off Jimmy Dale’s Wharf. At the Submarine net weights on Havenside there were 5 female and 2 male Eiders. A male Eider was swimming off the wharf of Sammy Carter. At the Fortress Barachois there were Great Black-backed Gulls, 6 American Black Ducks. At the Government Wharf there were a pair of Black Guillemots and a pair of Long-tailed Ducks (Oldsquaw).
March 10 heralded the arrival of 3 Slate-colored Juncos and a Pine Siskin, Pine Warbler and an American Goldfinch. March 12 there were 3 Mourning Doves sunning on our back porch. A Song Sparrow arrived March 14 and gobbled millet under the rose bush. March 16 a Boreal Chickadee arrived along with 8 Black-capped Chickadees. March 18 a Common Redpoll arrived as did a Blue Jay along with the “regulars”. March 19 a male Crossbill arrived for a seed meal. A female Ruby-crowned Kinglet arrived and kept the pair of Blue Jays, Redpoll, Mourning Doves and Boreal and Black-capped Chickadees company. March 20 the birds were chasing each other in pairs. March 21 a male Purple Finch appeared. By March 22 the number of Red-breasted Nuthatch had increased to 3.
A male Common Grackle landed on the feeder on March 23. By the next day there were a pair of Grackles. With a frosty morning on March 25 the birds arrived early along with 2 pair of American Goldfinch and 3 Crows. One made hello noises and also sounded like a horse whinnying. It sat in the tree while I refilled feeders and made a couple of trips to the composter.
March 29 the first Fox Sparrow arrived at 8:00 a.m. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet and 4 pair of White-winged Crossbills came in mid-afternoon. April 1 there were 3 Fox Sparrows, 3 Song Sparrows, a Kinglet, several American Goldfinch, 12 pair of White-winged Crossbills. The Fox Sparrow was gone with the snow and rain of April 6. On April 7, our first American Robin arrived.
March 16 we watched the Turkey Vulture soar between Mira Gut and Catalone Gut. There were a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers at the latter location and a mature Bald Eagle on the ice. At Little Lorraine there were 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and 2 Great Black-backed Gulls.
Nuthatches place a sunflower seed in a crevice in a tree limb, etc. and proceed to hammer out the meat. Chickadees hold the sunflower seed with their feet and then hammer out the meat with their beaks.
My first Fox Sparrow arrived at 8:00 a.m. on March 29 and continued to eat millet all day long. March 30 a pair of Fox Sparrows landed in Pearl Magee’s yard and another Fox Sparrow in the yard of Carter Stevens of Big Lorraine. My Fox Sparrows increased to three and were still in the yard on April 4. Robins have arrived in various locations and are reported in the “sightings”.
A pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks, obviously ready to nest, decided to feed in my rose bush off the various sparrows, juncos, mourning doves, etc. I raced outside in the late afternoon to chase them away on April 4. They reluctantly circled the yard a few times. Luckily, at 6:00 p.m. the Song Sparrows and Fox Sparrows were still feeding.
May Easter bring you lots of goodies in the form of new birds to watch. Keep your binoculars and bird books ready at the windows and in the car. There may be new arrivals during the month. Contact me at avidbirder@yahoo.ca for new sightings.
Helen O’Shea
Extracted from © The Seagull, Helen O'Shea, For the Birds
