FOR THE BIRDS

NOVEMBER  2002

By

Helen O'Shea

SIGHTINGS

• Sheila and Tom Fudge saw a Belted Kingfisher at the Havenside Barachois in mid-October. Sheila called to report the juvenile Snowy Egret the morning of October 30 in the Havenside Barachois. She also watched small flocks of Starlings joining to form a large flock that landed on the lawn of the Cranberry Cove Inn. Sheila told me the story of the Herring Gull that always sat on the chimney of Josh Marsden’s house - until one day it disappeared. Soon after, Josh began having trouble with his chimney drawing and eventually got professional chimney sweeps out from Sydney. Very quickly they discovered the remains of a large bird stuck part way down the flue. The absence of the gull was explained.
• Joe Burke of Havenside reported an Egret in Mainadieu on October 26. He spoke with us on November 2 and said he had watched this egret from his truck for 15 minutes that morning near the home of Tommy Campbell. It had red on the head. Several years ago he had seen one and Peter Mullins had identified it as a Cattle Egret.
• Susann Myers reported the juvenile Snowy Egret in the pond behind the Fire Hall at the Fortress. The last time we saw this Egret fishing was November 3 at Havenside.
• Karen Skinner reported the juvenile Snowy Egret in Havenside Barachois on October 29.
• Carol Corbin saw a Spruce Grouse on Terra Nova Road October 15.
• Janette Beaver of Brickyard Road sent up a perfect specimen of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo on November 1. It flew into her garage door on October 30 and broke its neck. I got some good digital photos and examined the bird closely.
• Joseph and Colleen Rosta, summer residents of the Motorhome Park, reported that their friend in Port Morien had a Yellow-billed Cuckoo fly into her front window October 22 and break its neck.
• Pearl Magee called after 6 p.m. on November 4 to report a bird eating seed in her yard. Winston spotted it when he went outdoors and it remained in the yard when they turned on all the exterior lights. It was still there when I arrived. We watched it with binoculars for 15 minutes and determined that it was a Snow Bunting. It was still there when we left at 7:15 p.m. Birds have to land somewhere when they are moving through the area and the outdoor lights made it easier to forage for food.
• Ian Harte reported a juvenile Harlequin Duck at Gooseberry Cove on November 5.
• Michael MacKeigan of Havenside looked out the front window late afternoon of November 2 and made eye contact with a Northern Harrier sitting on the porch railing.
• Bill O’Shea has watched a male Ring-necked Pheasant at the Park Administration road the first week of November. It crossed in front of his car a couple of times fearlessly.
• Marmon Smith had a female Northern Harrier sit on his porch railing for ½ hour on November 5. It then flew to a nearby fence and continued to perch and watch for food.
• Louise Johnston reported 2 Canada Jays outside the Fortress Visitor Centre October 24.
• Beryl and Wilson Eavis have had their feeders full all summer and attracted many Blue Jays. With any luck they will keep most of these beautiful but greedy birds.

AROUND THE HARBOUR

2 Cormorants were on the ballast pile behind the home of Florence and Marcel Miron the morning of October 30. That same day we watched 5 Northern Gannets fishing off the Lighthouse and a Black Guillemot off the Government Wharf. Several Common House Sparrows were in the crab traps behind the Coast Guard Station.

AROUND THE TOWN

November 3 we watched a large flock of Mourning Doves on the lawn of David and Karen Skinner. This must be part of the flock of 30 that Linda Fudge reported seeing the first week of November when her son Daniel was heading for the school bus.

ACROSS THE COUNTRY

When we were travelling to Ontario we stopped in Montmagny, Quebec. It is the Snow Goose capital and they have a huge festival in October. The evening we arrived we saw several hundred, including the white morph adult, immature Snow Goose and the dark morph or "Blue Goose". Travelling back home on October 20 we stopped off at Montmagny again and saw literally thousands of Snow Geese on the river, hundreds of Dunlin, birders of all kinds, numerous hunters with their Snow Goose decoys and a CBC film crew. Snow Geese are rare in Louisbourg, but not strangers. Carlo Lunn spotted 27 of the "Blue" variety flying over the harbour on 27 January 1997. And the Fortress’ "tourists of the summer" for the year 2000 were a pair of Snow Geese that came in early September and returned for the last 2 weeks of October.

On a drive along the Long Sault Parkway in Ontario, my mother-in-law spotted an American Bittern. Bill had seen 2 on the road near the Marconi picnic at the Fortress in May 2001 but it was a lifer for me. We saw hundreds of Canada Geese, a dozen Great Blue Heron, Hooded Mergansers and Common Mergansers. We also went on an abortive Tundra Swan chase in torrential rains to Brockville, Ontario.

There were hundreds of Canada Geese along the St. Lawrence River in Ontario and Quebec and many were flying in northern New Brunswick as we headed home to Cape Breton. In the Sackville Waterfowl Park we saw a Bufflehead/Hooded Merganser cross (see Sibley p. 101); Ring-necked Ducks, Common Snipe, Northern Shovellers, Greater Yellowlegs, Dunlin, dozens of Red-winged Blackbirds, Mallards galore, a male Downy Woodpecker that flew almost within arm’s reach and perched on the railing, a pair of Green-winged Teal and 3 pair of Gadwall. It was a great opportunity to birdwatch.

DOWN THE COAST

November 3 we watched 9 Bonaparte Gulls swimming on the ocean side of Catalone Gut. That day there were 3 female Bufflehead Duck at Little Lorraine and 2 Northern Gannets at the mouth of the harbour. In Mainadieu we saw a couple of hundred Starlings on the utility line, 3 Black Guillemots in the harbour and one Ring-billed Gull. There was no sign of the Egret, but those birds can be stealthy. With the skim of ice on the shallow water it may have decided to migrate to a warmer place. 2 Canada Jays flew across the highway at Big Lorraine.

AT MY FEEDERS

The afternoon of November 7, I watched a Blue Jay eating from my sunflower seed feeder that had been hanging in the tree for 3 days. It might have been one of the 3 Blue Jays that frequent the trees beside the home of Millie Parsons.

Remember, the birds depend upon you once you begin filling the feeders. We have our suet cakes in the freezer as well as mountain ash berries that we clipped from a tree that needed trimming --a bird treat in mid-winter. Birds like raisins, pieces of apple, pear, etc. Usually a backyard feeder book gives all sorts of useful hints.

Helen O’Shea

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

Return to the Previous page

Retour à la  page précédente