FOR THE BIRDS

OCTOBER 2001

By

Helen O'Shea

Around the Town

Victor Anderson saw his last Ruby-throated Hummingbird on September 9. He had several in his yard throughout the summer.

Donald John and Margie Cameron saw an injured young American Crow the week of September 11. They put it in the fenced area Ryan Kennedy’s yard to keep it safe. Don brought the bird in to the Department of Lands and Forests and spoke with the naturalist. The naturalist examined the bird and, by feeling along the breastbone, could detect that the bird was underfed. The naturalist said that with time and food it should be strong enough to fly since the damage was not too great.

October 1 was a busy day around town. I watched a female Hairy Woodpecker fly from tree to tree and knock on them diligently. She tried every tree from in front of the home of Mabel and Danny Hanham to the tree in front of the home of Peter Chiasson and Sandy Anthony. Driving home, near the house of Calvin and Caroline Pitcher, I watched a female Ruffed Grouse wander along the side of the road. Alice and Perry Lahey’s car passing by did not disturb her as she continued along the roadside. A Black and White Warbler flew into the shrubbery across from the Louisbourg Motel. The American Goldfinch are in their winter dull colours now. You can recognize them by their erratic flight pattern. Throughout town large numbers of Blue Jays flit from tree to tree. American Crows are everywhere munching insects on lawns and roadsides.

RING-NECKED PHEASANTS GALORE

Doris and Lloyd King reported a male Ring-necked Pheasant in their yard October 1.

Red and Shirley MacKeigan called early September 21 to report a large bird strolling through their yard. We watched it fly onto their fence and then up into a tree. It was an immature Ring-necked Pheasant.

Helen Devison and Bernadette Wadden looked out the back door September 9 to see 10 Ring-necked Pheasants in the backyard. By September 12 Helen only had 2.

Leo Carter Sr. reported 2 pair of Ring-necked Pheasants. These birds had also been seen in the yard of Gordon and Cyneth Hutt.

Sylvia Trimm saw 2 male and one female Ring-necked Pheasant near the yard of Harold and Jessie Wilson the last week of September.

Linda Bartlett reported the same 3 Pheasants near the Cemetary on Route 22 earlier that day.

Minnie MacLeod sees Pheasants regularly on Wallace Street.

Bill O’Shea saw a male Ring-necked pheasant flush from the side of the road just before the Stella Maris cemetery on October 1.. It seems used to cars passing but the Pheasant wasn’t expecting Gerry Lalonde on his bicycle.

IT SEEMS WE HAVE THREE DISTINCT GROUPS OF BIRDS—WITHIN THE PARK, IN THE TOWN, AND ON HAVENSIDE ROAD.

PHEASANTS and PARTRIDGES

Pheasants are slender-bodied members of this chickenlike group—easily recognized by their long tails and small heads. The Ring-necked Pheasant, introduced from China, is the only widely distributed pheasant in North America. Partridges are plump, short-tailed ground birds native to Eurasia. Two introduced partridges are the Gray Partridge and the Chukar. Males are showy; females have camouflaged plumage.

National Audubon Society Birder’s Handbook,

Stephen W. Kress, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., 2000

Around the Harbour

Susann Myers reported a Black-backed Woodpecker drilling around a tree very close to the roadside between the Park Entrance and the road to Kennington Cove the last week of September. She also saw numerous Blackpoll, Magnolia, Palm, Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Blue-headed Vireo on the Simon Point Trail and the Old French Road. She has also been observing a Red-necked Grebe in Louisbourg Harbour near the Fauxbourg and another at Kennington Cove.

At my Feeders

A Brown Creeper visited the maple tree on September 30 and attracted us with its vocalizing. An American Goldfinch worked to get the niger seed from the bottom of the feeder on October 2.

TIME TO CLEAR OUT YOUR WINTER FEEDERS AND BEGIN TO STOCK UP ON YOUR SEED. ONCE THE BIRDS ARE USED TO YOUR FEEDER THEY WILL VISIT DAILY AND PROVIDE MUCH ENJOYMENT THROUGH THE FALL AND WINTER MONTHS.

Judy Burke called to report a young bobcat on her property at Catalone Gut. It watched hungrily as Manning picked up their cat to discourage the bobcat. It then crossed the road and wandered along the beach side of the road. Birding leads to other sightings.