FOR THE BIRDS

JANUARY  2004

By

Helen O'Shea

 SIGHTINGS

• Pearl Magee still has the Fox Sparrow that appeared on December 9.  It arrives at daybreak and dusk each day.  As well, she still has a White-throated Sparrow.  December 29 she had 9 Cedar Waxwings make an appearance and a Common Redpoll on January 3.  Usually there are 15 - 20 Mourning Doves and in late December a flock of a dozen Evening Grosbeaks.  She has had between 12 -15 American Goldfinch and a daily assortment of Black-capped Chickadees, Juncos, and Pine Siskins.

• Victor Anderson told me that he has a pair of flying squirrels landing on his platform feeder late at night and early in the morning to eat sunflower seeds.  He had an American Robin on the day of the Christmas Bird Count.  He has a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches, for the first time in 2 years.  One day he saw them in Greg MacMullin’s yard.  He had a flock of Evening Grosbeaks and a pair of Song Sparrows.  In late December he saw a Pileated Woodpecker at Grand Lake.

• Ian Harte saw a Pileated Woodpecker on the hill at Mullins’ Shell at Mira on January 2. He also saw 3 Harlequin Ducks at  Gooseberry Cove the same day.

• Joe Rosta reported a Pine Grosbeak at his feeder in Northside East Bay on December 10.  That weekend Colleen Rosta had seen 3 dozen Canada Geese in flight.

• Lizzie Morrison reported 5 Canada Geese at Mira and a Bald Eagle taking a mink.

• Judy and Manning MacDonald have about 30 Snow Buntings in their yard and sometimes see them on the berm at Catalone Gut.

• Sheila & Tom Fudge have Gray Jays in their yard.  They called the morning of January 4 to report a large white bird that was briefly landing on a rock in the Havenside Barachois and then swooping away.  It was about the same size as a Bald Eagle.  When I drove that way to take a look the fog was very dense and no birds were in sight.

• Gerard Kelly met us over the holidays and talked about the Gray Jays and Blue Jays in his yard.

• Lynda and Eric Krause of Sydney have Grackles in their yard.  They enjoy watching Black-capped Chickadees and other small birds wait in their holly until the larger birds are gone and there is a clear path to the feeder.

• Florence MacIntyre related the story of a dead Crow near her house.  2 other Crows carried its body off and dropped it in the woods vocalizing the whole time.  Now that Owls nest in the trees behind the home of Cathy and Darryl Cross at Brickyard Road not a crow stays in the area.

• Bill O’Shea reported 5 pair of Bufflehead off Church Cove and 6 Scoters, 2 female Common Eider off Black Rock the morning of January 6.

 AROUND THE TOWN

A large flock of European Starlings was on Phil Power’s house and across the street from Jeff and Thelma Vallis on December 10.  A pair of White-breasted Nuthatch were in the trees in front of the home of Everett and Greta Beaver.   Dec. 24 the pair of White-breasted Nuthatch were still there.  We also saw 4 Black-capped Chickadees in the tree beside Millie Parsons’ and a Song Sparrow in the yard of Gary and Elaine Carter.  A pair of Ravens were on Main Street and a mature Bald Eagle was flying over the street.  5 dozen House Sparrows were in the yard of Burns MacMillan on Dec. 26.  Dec. 31 we saw 15 American Goldfinch across the road from the home of Tommy and Louise Carter.  On Jan. 5 there were 3 raucous Blue Jays in a tree in the yard of Judy and Roger Magee.  There were 5 Crows in the field beside the garage of William Tutty and 4 Iceland Gulls flew over the home of Muriel and Johnny Burke.  There were 6 American Black Ducks below the property of Bobby Burke.

 AROUND THE HARBOUR

There was a Dovekie at the Fortress Barachois on Dec. 13.  We also saw 4 Thick-billed Murres, a pair of Long-tailed Duck, a female Common Eider, a Black Guillemot and 5 Red-breasted Mergansers as well as 3 American Black Ducks.  On Dec. 14 we saw a Black Guillemot, 16 Black Duck, 4 pair of Long-tailed Duck, a Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Herring Gulls, 8 Crows, 11 Bufflehead, a raft of 20 Eiders, a Dovekie, and a White-winged Scoter.  Dec. 28 there were a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, Gulls, Black Duck, and 3 Crows at the Fortress Barachois.  There were 2 male and 3 female Goldeneye below the home of Pauline Kelly.  On Havenside there were 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, 5 Herring Gulls, 3 Common Loons, 2 Black Ducks and a Black Guillemot.  New Year’s Day there was a pair of Black Guillemots, 6 Scoters, 40 Starlings, 5 Black Ducks.  Off the Government Wharf there were 5 Black Guillemots, 3 Glaucous Gulls, a female Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Iceland Gulls and a Great Black-backed Gull.  On Jan. 6 there were 9 Bufflehead off Havenside as well as 3 Long-tailed Ducks and  a Goldeneye.  4 Black Ducks were off Han Beck. 

AT MY FEEDERS

A Boreal Chickadee arrived for a visit on Dec. 12 and appears occasionally. Jan. 6 we had 53 Mourning Doves arrive in a flutter. It was at least 3 dozen too many. December 16 we had 8 Black-capped Chickadees-a record number. A Song Sparrow arrived Dec. 20 and is sometimes joined by another. 14 Pine Siskins arrived Dec. 22 and on Jan. 7 we had 23. We have had 14 Evening Grosbeaks make a couple of appearances. Dec. 28 remnants of a Mourning Dove were in the yard confirming the presence of a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Every once and a while all of the birds scatter and wait for half an hour or more to reappear. Dec. 29 we were delighted to see a White-breasted Nuthatch. Dec. 31 a hawk frightened the squirrel who dove into a bird house on the back porch and refused to come out for about 20 minutes

ALONG THE COAST

Dec. 29 we drove toward Main a dieu where we saw a pair of Long-tailed Ducks, 10 Surf Scoters, a pair of Common Loons, a Blue Jay and a Raven.  At Catalone Gut we watched dozens of crows heading toward a roost, a raft of 70 Surf Scoters, a Common Loon and a Horned Grebe.  At Mira Gut there were more than 20 Surf Scoters, 12 Gulls, a Common Loon and 26 Gulls on the beach.

ALONG THE HIGHWAY

Jan. 3 we watched a Rough-legged Hawk flying over the home of Charlie and Camilla Peck.

A NOTE FROM HUGH KYTE

In early January, I received a newspaper article from Hugh Kyte of Cornwall, Ontario on the disappearance of Song Birds.

A great gift for a birder is a bag or bucket of seed for those snowy times when the supply is low and  demand is great.

Let me know about your sightings for the next edition of the Seagull.

Helen O’Shea

Extracted from © The Seagull, Helen O'Shea, For the Birds

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