FOR THE BIRDS

November 1997

By

Helen O'Shea

All week several Mourning Doves have been sitting on the telephone line in my backyard wishing for a bird feeder. They come every day. Should I feed them, I don’t know. When I do, they sit on my porch and use it as a toilet for the rest of the day. I have been delaying until all our gardening and yard work is completed for the season, but I suppose I’ll start feeding them soon. Last winter I had 36 little Mourning Doves sitting on my back porch before the season was over.

October 13, I walked between the water tower and the pump house in the Park and saw a pair of Golden-Crowned Kinglets and a dozen American Goldfinch. The latter were eating Angelica seeds. Later that day I saw 6 Evening Grosbeaks in the tree at Susann Myer’s house on Upper Warren.

The next weekend on the same back roads there were Blue Jays, Canada Jays, Boreal and Black-Capped Chickadees, and a Ruffed Grouse that flushed up from the brush at the side of the road. However, the highlight was a male Spruce Grouse in all his finery. He first stood at the side of the road and then flew into a tree in a vain attempt to hide from us. We were able to stand within five feet of him for twenty minutes. He walked and slipped in the branches. He would nibble at some cones. He would then fly to another branch and flap madly to prevent a fall from the tree. I am sure that he was positive that he could see us but he was invisible. No wonder it is illegal to hunt these birds.

October 22, there was a Mockingbird sitting on a guy wire in front of Brian Harpell’s.

October 25 ,we were speaking to Gary Peck. He told us that 3 Great Blue Heron had been fishing in the Barachois at the foot of Gerrat’s Brook for several days. There were also a couple of dozen Black Ducks dining in that location. When we left the store we could see one Great Blue Heron. The Ducks were still there November 2. As I walked below the Visitor Centre on Route 22 a flock of approximately 60 American Goldfinch exploded out of the trees and raced across the field by the Royal Battery.

November 6 was sunny and mild. 12 American Crows were eating apples under Ralph Parson’s trees on Lorway Street. A Greater Yellowlegs and seven Black Ducks were at the Havenside Barachois.

Bill and I were in the right place at the right time. While walking up Upper Warren Street before 7:30 a.m. November 7, we were able to watch 8 Bohemian Waxwings eating the mountain ash berries in Agatha Kelly’s yard. All our berries have been devoured by the Crows.

THERE ARE NO CORMORANTS IN LOUISBOURG HARBOUR - At least not that I’ve been able to see. The half dozen stragglers have finally migrated out of the area for another winter. Look for them flying in ragged "V" formation next spring. The half dozen stragglers have finally migrated out of the area for another winter. Look for them flying in ragged "V" formation next spring. The half dozen stragglers have finally migrated out of the area for another winter. Look for them flying in ragged "V" formation next spring. The half dozen stragglers have finally migrated out of the area for another winter. Look for them flying in ragged "V" formation next spring.

MYSTERY BIRD AT HAVENSIDE BARACHOIS ON NOVEMBER 6. MYSTERY BIRD AT HAVENSIDE BARACHOIS ON NOVEMBER 6.

………………….. Was it the return of the LITTLE EGRET?

"Little Egret—European. Several eastern records. Like Snowy Egret but two long head plumes in summer, bill slightly larger, lores duller. Bill and legs black, lores yellow, toes golden yellow." All The Birds of North America, American Bird Conservancy’s Field Guide, (p.44).

"Little Egret—This Old World counterpart to our Snowy Egret was formerly only an accidental visitor to North America, with only one record before 1980. Since 1980 it has been recorded several times along our Atlantic coast during the warmer months. These strays probably make the crossing from West Africa to the Caribbean, and then migrate north on our side of the Atlantic." Lives of North American Birds, Peterson Natural History Companions by Kenn Kaufman (p. 54) by Kenn Kaufman (p. 54)

The highlight of the day was the LITTLE EGRET that was fishing there from around eleven in the morning until at least four in the afternoon. Tom and Sheila Fudge were the first to spot the visitor. Carol Corbin called me to confirm the sighting. Bill was over to see it at noon. I was able to observe it for at least half an hour –with binoculars and also with a spotting scope. Margot Hutt pointed it out to me as I walked over Havenside. It rounded the point below Alice Skinner’s. The Greater Yellowlegs kept it company.

It flew around the Barachois several times so we could observe the colour of the legs and the faded colour of the lores. Only the increasing amount of car traffic began to spook it. Until then the bird was close to the shore and even went up on the bank twice. No one reported seeing it on Friday. The colder weather may have sent in on the move.

WAIT A MOMENT! I went home happy at seeing our little friend again. But something was bothering me. I went back to page 44 of the Conservancy’s Field Guide. The photo at the top of the page shows the greenish yellow legs and feet of the bird observed at the Barachois. It was an illustration of the IMMATURE LITTLE BLUE HERON. I believe that was the bird we observed. That in itself is a great sighting.WAIT A MOMENT! I went home happy at seeing our little friend again. But something was bothering me. I went back to page 44 of the Conservancy’s Field Guide. The photo at the top of the page shows the greenish yellow legs and feet of the bird observed at the Barachois. It was an illustration of the IMMATURE LITTLE BLUE HERON. I believe that was the bird we observed. That in itself is a great sighting.WAIT A MOMENT! I went home happy at seeing our little friend again. But something was bothering me. I went back to page 44 of the Conservancy’s Field Guide. The photo at the top of the page shows the greenish yellow legs and feet of the bird observed at the Barachois. It was an illustration of the IMMATURE LITTLE BLUE HERON. I believe that was the bird we observed. That in itself is a great sighting.WAIT A MOMENT! I went home happy at seeing our little friend again. But something was bothering me. I went back to page 44 of the Conservancy’s Field Guide. The photo at the top of the page shows the greenish yellow legs and feet of the bird observed at the Barachois. It was an illustration of the IMMATURE LITTLE IMMATURE LITTLE . I believe that was the bird we observed. That in itself is a great sighting.

Robie Tufts in his Birds of Nova Scotia writes that the Little Blue Heron is a "Rare visitant. Records have become almost annual since 1960. The earliest record was on 1 April 1972 and the latest on 17 November 1962. White immature birds and dark adults are reported in similar numbers. The white immatures are sometimes mistaken for egrets, but the greenish legs of this bird are an identifier. It is rather shy and retiring and when feeding seems to favor shallow ponds." (p. 62).

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