FOR THE BIRDS ~ MAY 1999

My first Fox Sparrow arrived on April 4. At most I had 3 and the last Fox Sparrow was seen April 11

John Spawn reported of Red-winged Crossbills in the trees behind his house in late April.

Rannie Butts saw a pair of Ring-necked Pheasants by the pond at the bottom of the compound road in mid-April. Cathy and Garf Cann had a male pheasant in their yard a couple of days early in the month. Wendy Bryan reported the male Ring-necked Pheasant crossing Route 22 at the bottom of the second road from the Visitor Centre.

Ella Blagdon reported that the House Sparrows are nesting in her bird house. They were able to fight off the encroaching Starlings and set up their home for this season. She called on April 15 to report 3 male Cowbirds at her feeder. She and Evelyn Phillips had also seen a Snow Bunting in summer plumage near the home of James and Shirley Kennedy. Rovie MacDonald saw 3 Snow Buntings by the Camperdown Elm at the old Stella Maris Cemetery early in the month.

On April 17, I saw an immature or female Yellow-rumped Warbler catching flies on the sides and roof of the home of Jean and Dodie Bagnell. I wonder if this is the same Warbler that Pearl Magee reported throughout the winter?

Ruth Stevens reported a pair of American Robins nesting in her fir tree. She also has 4 American Goldfinch for the first time this year.

April 18, while walking to the Marine Hospital on Upper Kent Street we saw 2 Boreal Chickadees, and a mature Bald Eagle being “bombed” by Crows. There were many Song Sparrows.

A White-throated Sparrow arrived in the yard on April 20 as well as a Pine Siskin. By April 30 I had a pair of Pine Siskins at the feeders. There were at least 3 dozen Grackles of Jane Harris’ trees and more than 50 Starlings on her lawn that same morning. Doug Pearl reported a dozen Cedar Waxwings in his apple tree. There were 2 male and 3 female Green-winged Teal, 2 Robins and a Greater Yellowlegs at the Fortress Barachois and 10 American Black Ducks at the Havenside Barachois.

On April 23 there were 18 Robins on the lawns of Alice and Perry Lahey and Pauline Kelly on Verrier Crescent. I received a call from Willis Lahey in Mainadieu in the morning to report a Laughing Gull at the Government Wharf. Willie Savoury has seen the gull for a month. Our trip there was unsuccessful.

Victor Anderson stopped me on April 25 to say that the almost 2 dozen Evening Grosbeaks that he had at his feeders most of the winter have left. I also saw a pair of Northern Harriers below the Visitor Centre and another pair at the Fortress Barachois. There was an immature Bald Eagle at the Barachois near Black Rock inside the Fortress site. A male Northern Harrier was coursing over the bogs.

April 29, I saw the first Yellow-shafted Flicker of the season eating at the roadside on Verrier Crescent.

Susann Myers reported a pair of Tree Swallows in Minnie MacLeod’s yard on May 2. We drove over to Havenside and saw a Tree Swallow perched on the line behind the home of Marlene Taylor. Devon Fudge reported several Blue Jays that morning. Driving by the Train Station we saw a pair of Cowbirds and at least 25 American Robins and 8 Starlings all over the grassy areas. Keeping them company was a Yellow-Shafted Flicker.

That same day, at the Fortress Barachois, we saw a pair of Belted Kingfisher atop a spruce tree. We also observed 1 male and 2 female Green-winged Teal, a Double-crested Cormorant, 2 male and 3 female Bufflehead, and a male Northern Harrier coursing over the fields.

May 2 Bill and I saw 3 Savannah Sparrows and a Sharp-tailed Sparrow in the weeds along the shoreline near the Fortress Barachois. The pair of Pine Siskins were at the feeder and a Red-breasted Nuthatch arrived for a quick munch.

On May 6 we saw a pair of Great Blue Heron and a pair of Gadwalls on Havenside Road. Minnie MacLeod said the Herons were in the Barachois that morning. She also saw a pair of Canada Geese. Sheila Fudge reported a Belted Kingfisher at the Barachois. As we were walking along Main Street a Sharp-shinned Hawk swooped over from the field above Robert Levy’s house and flew across the field beside Gordon Bussey’s store.

May 8 we saw 2 male Red-winged Blackbirds in the pond beside the highway near Hillside Road.

On Mother’s Day I got a call from Evelyn MacLeod of Sangaree Road who reported an American Woodcock with 4 little ones - probably going to Mother’s Day dinner on someone’s lawn.

On April 15, Pearl saw a male Northern Shoveller at the Fortress Barachois. Later that week she saw a pair of Green-winged Teal, a pair of Common Pintail Ducks. April 25, she saw 2 immature and 2 mature Bald Eagles soaring near the home of Tom and Sheila Fudge. ON April 29, a pair of White-throated Sparrows arrived. She also has a pair of Song Sparrows. The Yellow-rumped Warbler that over-wintered has not been seen for 3 weeks. Her 4 Fox Sparrows stayed for just 3 days where in other years they were there for a week and she would see and hear as many as 30 in the grassy areas amid the trees as well as in her yard. As Winston was driving from Cape Breton to Quebec, he saw flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and 2 types of Geese along the St. Lawrence River between Riviere du Loup and Montreal. One flock seemed endless.

TIPS FOR A CLEAN AND HEALTHY FEEDING STATION

To ensure that seed is feeding properly through feeder openings, give hanging feeders a good shake before refilling. Shake out or pry out with a stick any compacted seed in the bottom.

To clean feeders, remove all the old seed residue. Soak the feeders in a light water/bleach solution (9 parts water to 1 part bleach) and scrub well. A bottle brush helps to clean tube feeders. Rinse and air-dry before refilling.

To avoid contamination, limit ground feeding directly below hanging feeders. Rake up and remove accumulated hulls and droppings. Do this frequently to avoid contamination.

Bill Thompson III, Bird Watching for Dummies, IDG Books, 1997, p. 119.