FOR THE BIRDS

MAY  2003

By

Helen O'Shea

	Cathy and Donald MacLeod of Catalone had a Downy Woodpecker, an Evening Grosbeak and a Chipping Sparrow in their yard on April 17.
	Wayne Dowling showed us a flying squirrel that he caught in his garage. It was the beast that had been eating the stored bird seed there.
	Winston Magee watched a "V" of Cormorants in flight on April 18.
	Eugene Magee watched a Great Blue Heron off Carters’ wharf on April 18.
	Pearl Magee watched a "V" of Cormorants on April 21. She had 3 Fox Sparrows, an American Tree Sparrow, a White-throated Sparrow, 6 Blue Jays, a dozen Pine Siskins, a dozen American Goldfinch, and a dozen Song Sparrows in her yard. Her last Fox Sparrow left on April 26. A Northern Flicker was in her yard on April 28.
	Anne Kennedy of Catalone reported 2 Robins in her yard and 2 Common Loons near Catalone Gut on April 29.
	Walter Marsden reported 2 Canada Geese on the grass at the intersection of the Administration Compound road and Route 22 on May 1.
	Bonnie Dalziel watched 3 Red-winged Blackbirds in with a flock of European Starlings the last week of April.
	Cyneth and Gordon Hutt saw a pair of Canada Geese in the Fortress Barachois on April 28. April 29 they saw a female Belted Kingfisher on the line by their house. They have had Fox, House, and Song Sparrows as well as Juncos, Goldfinch and Blue Jays at their feeders.
	Victor Anderson reported the arrival of 2 pair of Tree Swallows on May 1 at 8 a.m. This is the earliest they have ever arrived. They have been nesting in his boxes for 30 years and usually arrive around the 6th of May. After a Blue Jay killed young Swallows he removed the perches from his nest boxes. He is now awaiting the arrival of an Indigo Bunting.
	Gary Peck watched an American Woodcock near his cottage in Catalone on May 2.
	Red MacKeigan called the morning of May 2 to report a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
	Marmon Smith saw 2 Cowbirds the last week of April with a flock of Common Grackles.
	Pearl Magee called the morning of May 5 to report a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in a spruce tree in her yard. She had a Sharp-shinned Hawk scatter all the birds in her yard the day before. April 29 she had a Savannah Sparrow and a Ruffed Grouse is a regular visitor. She is watching a male Northern Flicker—one of the pair she has had for 5 years. She has 2 White-throated Sparrows—one of the white and one of the brown variety.
	Tom and Marlene Bates had a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak in their yard the first weekend of May.
	Lloyd King watched a pair of Canada Geese by the fisherman’s house at the Fortress site on May 2. They walked around and then swam off in the harbour.
	Jean Bagnell reported several Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Song Sparrow, several Robins on in her yard the first week of May.
	Susann Myers watched a male Indigo Bunting at her feeder the morning of May 7.
	Ella Blagdon reported a young Robin that was marching along the window sill outside her living room pecking at the window from dawn to dusk for 2 days. Closing her sheer drapes stopped it fluttering up and down the window.
	Mona MacLeod called on May 8 to report a male Summer Tanager at her home. I drove out to see it, by which time it had moved to Cathy and Donald MacLeod’s home. It moved back and forth between the two homes. This bright scarlet bird was looking for insects in the dirt.
	Leta Trimm has had an Indigo Bunting at her feeder since May 5. Olive Spawn called to talk about this attractive bird.
	Linda Fudge called to report an Iceland Gull in the Havenside barachois. Gerry Lalonde assisted in the identification. Florence Miron saw a similar bird several days ago.
	Victor Anderson had a Hummingbird at his feeder on May 8 and again on May 9.

Around the town

April 14 a dozen and a half Common Grackles were on the fence and in the trees by the house of Jean Harte, Bill and Denise Burke. April 19 there were Common Grackles in the trees at the home of Sandy Anthony and Peter Chiasson as well as in Gladys Fiander’s yard. Mid-afternoon we watched a mature Bald Eagle fly over the homes on Holland and Verrier Streets. 6 Robins were on the lawn of Beryl and Wilson Eavis on April 21. A Robin was on the lawn of Reverend Clayton and Betty Austin the next day. April 24 there were 3 Snow Buntings on Harbourview Crescent. They flew on to the lawn of Karen and Stanley Pink. April 28 there were 2 dozen House Sparrows in Burns MacMillan’s yard. April 29 there was a mature Bald Eagle flying behind the home of Allan and Diane MacKay. There were at least 75 Grackles and 75 Starlings in the trees and on the lawn of Calvin and Corinne Barter. May 2 there were 8 Robins on the lawn of Elaine and Gary Carter. May 6 we watched a male Yellow-rumped Warbler flit about in the trees beside the home of Olive and John Spawn. There was another Yellow-rumped Warbler in a tree in the yard of Gordon MacLeod.

Around the harbour

Leo Carter found a dead male Ring-necked Pheasant along Route 22 on the morning of April 14. This was the same bird that was seen regularly by the old Stella Maris Cemetery. April 19 there were a dozen Herring Gulls and a dozen Great Black-backed Gulls at the Fortress Barachois. That afternoon there were 2 pair of Common Goldeneye off the Royal Battery. We also watched Crow acrobatics in the air behind the home of Jessie and Harold Wilson. The ice was at the Havenside harbour but gulls were dropping mussels on the road. There were 2 Black Ducks in the barachois and a pair of American Robins on the lawn of Louis Ferguson. April 21 we watched a pair of Canada Geese off Havenside. April 28 I watched Northern Gannets flying parallel to the coast from White Point to the Lighthouse. April 29 there were numerous Robins along Route 22 and a mature Bald Eagle was near Black Rock on the Fortress site.

May 3 there was a Ring-billed Gull with several Herring Gulls at the sewer outlet on Commercial Street. We also watched a female Northern Harrier on the Compound road. Bill had seen this female Northern Harrier over the Fortress bog the last week of April. There were 2 female Bufflehead, 5 American Black Ducks and a Cormorant at Havenside road. May 4 there was a flock of 75 Gulls in the Havenside Barachois trying to catch as many small fish as possible. May 2, at low tide late in the afternoon, there were 11 Greater Yellowlegs in the shallows below the home of Bobby Burke.

At my feeders

A Robin appeared April 10, to keep the pair of Blue Jays, 3 Song Sparrows, 6 Purple Finch, Mourning Doves and Goldfinch company. April 12 we watched a hawk perch on a utility wire behind the home of Betty and Clayton Austin. This hawk watched our yard intently as the birds at the feeders, on the ground and under the bushes carried on without disturbance. It was overcast and raining and the hawk looked bedraggled. After 10 minutes it made a futile swoop narrowly avoiding our kitchen window just about our eye level. We saw the yellow talons as it flew off. The Mourning Doves were still on the ground and feeder eating as though nothing had happened. Good Friday we had 40 Grackles at the feeders, 6 Fox Sparrows, a dozen Mourning Doves along with the usual assortment of birds. The last 2 Fox Sparrows were in the yard on April 25. April 30 we watched 3 Robins eating rosehips in the yard. May 2 we noticed 5 White-throated Sparrows had arrived—some of the brown and some of the bright white variety. May 3 the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was feeding on the ground at noon. He reappeared several times over the next couple of days. 2 Savannah Sparrows arrived early morning on May 4. 7 White-throated Sparrows were nearby.

May 1 trip to Halifax Airport

We saw a Raven at Albert Bridge. On Route #4, at Big Pond there was an immature Bald Eagle and a dead Ruffed Grouse at Big Pond Centre. There were Tree Swallows at McNab’s Cove. A Canada Jay was beside the road at St. Peter’s and there was a flock of 75 Grackles. At Chapel Island (Potletek) there was a Great Blue Heron in flight and a mature Bald Eagle. There was a Turkey Vulture at Antigonish and a Great Blue Heron at the Regional High School near Pictou.

Call me with your sightings of the new arrivals. Good birding. 

Helen O’Shea

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

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