FOR THE BIRDS ~ OCTOBER 1995

The Little Egret was still seen on Havenside Road by Dr. John Lunn and Simon Lunn the weekend of the Grand Encampment (July 28 - 30). Bird watchers came from various locations in Atlantic Canada and the United States to view this rare visitor.

Cedar Waxwings have been eating berries in the area for the past month. Cliff Peck called Bill over to watch a large flock strip the berries from a Mountain Ash tree in Cliff Peck's yard. We also watched them on Upper Warren Street. At the same time warblers were eating seeds from the Angelica.

There have been several sightings of White-Winged Crossbills. Susann Myers has seen flocks of 14 or more.

My Ruby-Throated Hummingbird disappeared after the high winds of Tropical Storm Barry (the Scottish Festival Weekend). There are so many feeders in town that these little birds can be very selective. The last reported sighting was September 9.

The Cliff Swallows arrived in mid-May at the Fortress and built their mud jug nests under the eaves of the period buildings. Almost en masse they migrated from that area. The last day they were seen this year was August third. Many of the Barn Swallows at the Fortress disappeared at the same time although a few families were still seen swooping around until early September.

Ian Harte reported that the Black-Bellied Plover was back at the Havenside Barachois in August. We also spotted 12 Ruddy Turnstones and 7 Killdeer. A Great Blue Heron was seen there the first week in October and a couple of Belted Kingfishers. Two Greater Yellowlegs were there October 14.

October 1, we went to the Fortress where we saw 7 Killdeer and a Solitary Sandpiper in the ditch outside the Dauphin Demi-Bastion. We also saw 20 Cormorants and dozens of Herring Gulls and Great Black-Backed Gulls near Black Rock.

As we have been doing yardwork the past couple of weeks we have been observing a male Hairy Woodpecker. He is not shy, and continues chasing bugs while we approach within fifteen to twenty feet of his activities.

Mona MacLeod was proud of her sighting of a male Blackburnian Warbler this summer. She had three birders from Pennsylvania stay at the Bed and Breakfast this summer. They were pleased with their sightings while here. Upon their return home, they sent her a list of 139 new sightings they had in the Maritime Provinces.

This warbler is sparrow-sized (5") and is found in freshwater marshes, brushy open country, and thickets. Adult males have yellow throat and breast, olive-green upperparts, and bold black mask bordered above with white; belly white. Adult females are drab and nondescript with yellow throat and undertail, very narrow, pale eye-ring, and diffuse pale eyebrow. Immature males have much reduced and less well-defined dark mask and fairly prominent white eye-ring. p.462 An Audubon Handbook: Eastern Birds

Birds use up so much energy that they need to eat all the time! Sometimes they will eat up to 4/5 of their own weight in one day!

Next year be prepared to begin observing the fall migration of shorebirds, seabirds, and passerines the first week of AUGUST.

London--Birdwatchers who had travelled from all over Britain to glimpse a rare migrating bird watched in horror as a giant fish gobbled it down. The Sun quoted the "twitchers", as birdwatchers are known, as saying the 1.2 metre pike gulped the red-necked phalarope in one bite. "It was like a scene from Jaws," one said. "One second the bird was swimming (and) the next there was a snap and a splash and it vanished." Only a few feathers remained.

Huge cone crops are evident on white spruce and balsam fir, and a good crop on black spruce. Many green-needled trees looked brown with cones. Massed cones bent over treetops, snapping off some with their weight. This will be a lively birding winter. There will be lots of food for (bird-eating) sharp-shinned hawks, and for (ground-feeding) juncos when the seeds start to fall in the snow. Globe and Mail, Sept. 23/95

NORTH AMERICAN MIGRATORY BIRD COUNT May 1995

There were 331 observers across North America who travelled 4766 miles, by foot, car, boat and bicycle, logging 932 party-hours. An additional 380 hours were spent watching feeders. Seventeen of the 18 counties in Nova Scotia participated in the count. Total species seen on May 13 - 181; Individual birds numbered 62,894. Cape Breton County had 34 observers, and spotted 91 species. The most abundant species was the Tree Swallow with 3418 sighted.

The Little Egret spotted in Louisbourg was a rarity from Africa and Eurasia. It is possibly breeding in the Western Hemisphere. A single bird of this species has been visiting Bon Partage Island during the spring/summer 1989-94.

Judy Tufts, N.S. Provincial Coordinator asked me to thank all the volunteers who participated in the count. The second Saturday in May 1996 will be the next North American Migratory Bird Count.

On August 11 a Yellow Warbler was seen feeding a newly-fledged Cowbird. And on October 7 Susann observed 2 Red-Throated Loons and 3 Northern Gannets at Kennington Cove.