FOR THE BIRDS

MARCH 2002

By

Helen O'Shea

Sightings

• Carter Stevens was the first to report a Belted Kingfisher in Big Lorraine, on Feb. 13.
• On the 16^th Sheila Fudge reported the Kingfisher on the utility lines at the Havenside Barachois.
• Doug Pearl called on February 26 to say the Kingfisher was on the line beside his house on Havenside until 5:15 p.m. The next day it was on the utility line at the Havenside Barachois in mid-afternoon.
• Susann Myers has watched the Snowy Owl on the Fortress site throughout the month of February. She is also doing a survey of oiled birds and noted several dead and dying Thick-billed Murres at Wild Cove and in Louisbourg Harbour. On a more positive note, she still has several White-winged Crossbills at her feeders, saw an American Robin in the yard, and reported a White-breasted Nuthatch.
• Minnie MacKeigan watched several oiled birds in the area of Havenside and noted several people from the Department of Natural Resources walking along the shore with binoculars checking for more oiled birds. The ones most affected by dumping of bilge oil are the birds that are further out to sea—murres, dovekies, guillemots & razorbills. A patch of oil the size of a dime can cause major heat loss for the bird and eventually lead to its death.
• Glenn Shepard and Chad Magee attempted to catch an oiled Murre off the Fortress site but it managed to elude them. The monitoring of oiled birds is a priority this month.
• Margie and Marmon Smith reported two Hoary Redpolls amid the flock of Common Redpolls at their feeders after one of our February snow storms.
• Joe MacMullin drove to the Fortress site with Bill O’Shea on a windy February 16 in hopes of photographing the Snowy Owl. They had no luck in spotting the bird, but were successful in viewing the two male Ring-necked Pheasants near the old Stella Maris graveyard on Route 22.

Around the Town

A large flock of Common Redpolls was in the stand of trees beside the Stacey House on Main Street. A flock of 20 Mourning Doves was perched in the large tree beside the home of Frank Stacey in mid-February. The trees behind the home of Donald and Isabel Cross are a favorite perch for a large flock of Starlings. A lone American Robin has been seen in various yards throughout the town. Robins have to vie for mountain ash berries and rose hips with the large flocks of Bohemian Waxwings (not reported this month). The harbinger of spring is the worm, not the Robin. Robins can overwinter here.

A Gray Jay (Canada Jay, Whiskeyjack) sometimes passes through the yard of Gary and Elaine Carter. I also saw one flying across the road by the Mainadieu turnoff.

PLEASE CALL WHEN YOU SEE THE FIRST COMMON GRACKLE. THESE ARE THE SLEEK BLACKBIRDS WITH THE LONG TAILS AND YELLOW EYES.

Around the Harbour

Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Loons, Black Guillemots (many getting their darker breeding plumage), Thick-billed Murres (some oiled and obviously swimming in a distressed manner on their sides close to shore), Long-tailed Ducks, Buffleheads, and American Black Ducks are the most numerous birds. We can’t ignore the Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls. The American Crows are along the shoreline. A highlight on February 10 was the pair of Lesser Scaup off the Government Wharf. There were 4 White-winged Scoters nearer to the Lobster Kettle Restaurant.

At my Feeders

The Brown Creeper visits on a daily basis. In cold weather it likes to eat suet from the log. We have Starlings galore—30 was the highest count. A flock of 20 Evening Grosbeaks sit in the trees and swoop in and out from the feeders and the ground. Every time the Crows arrive they disappear. The Sharp-shinned Hawk also spooks them. The morning of March 1 there were 36 Mourning Doves. Now that they have returned there is less wasted food on the ground under the feeders. The number of Slate-coloured Juncos is increasing to about a dozen—especially during weather with lots of snow cover. The males arrive first and establish territory before the females migrate north. Black-capped Chickadees have become bolder at the feeders. A Red-breasted Nuthatch male flies in from time to time to grab a sunflower seed. 9 American Crows often spook the flock of 45 Common Redpolls. Often a bird veers toward the dining room window and thumps it. So far we haven’t had a casualty; just a miserable rumpled bird sitting on a tree branch shaking its head. The Blue Jays are now back at the feeders and have discovered if they ignore the Northern Mockingbird, he does not act as aggressively toward them. The Mockingbird has appeared daily since November 13 and is still guarding his rosehips and chowing down on suet, pear cores, millet, peanut chunks. Susann Myers feeds him pieces of apple. He must sleep in the shrubbery and brush at her place overnight but spends the daylight hours in our yard.

Albert Bridge

On February 27 a Mature Bald Eagle flew 5 meters in front of the car and three meters above the highway as I was crossing the bridge on the way to Louisbourg at mid-afternoon. Talk about close encounters. The day before, Bill counted 8 Red-breasted Mergansers on the ice beside the open water. We parked at Union Presbyterian and Bill walked back with the binoculars for a better look. Last month Tom and Sheila Fudge saw a seal in this area.

Fox Sparrows should arrive by end of month—they are usually in Louisbourg before Easter.

Good luck with the bird watching and call me with your spring arrivals.

Helen O’Shea

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

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