FOR THE BIRDS ~ SEPTEMBER 2006

Partners Website Design and Content © by Eric Krause, Krause House Info-Research Solutions (© 1996)
All Images © Parks Canada Unless Otherwise Designated

Researching the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada

FOR THE BIRDS

SEPTEMBER 2006

Helen O'Shea

Rare Visitors

A Western Reef Heron was in Glace Bay during the month of July. Despite an exhaustive search on 3 separate occasions the closest we came to spotting this foreign visitor was early Saturday morning when we missed it by 10 minutes. The gentleman we met from Buffalo, N.Y. had stayed for 4 days in the area and was rewarded the morning of his return flight by sighting this feathery tourist. This bird has a dark blue body, white throat and yellow feet. It is located mainly on the tropical coasts of West Africa, the Red Sea, and east of India. It nests in colonies, often with other wading birds. In Glace Bay it was with Great Blue Herons. Cathy and Allan Murrant say this is only the third record of the bird in North America. People flew in from Florida, Texas, and New York States, New Jersey and California. We met people from New Brunswick who had driven in for a couple of days.

A White Pelican was seen in August in both Bateston (Debbie Sharpe told me about it a couple of weeks after the sighting) and at Catalone Gut (Mary MacMullin mentioned visitors at the Louisbourg Motorhome Park saw it the day before Bill and I drove along the coast in an attempt to observe it. No such luck but that’s birding!!

A Common Moorhen was seen at the second pond on the right on the way to Rochefort Point on the Fortress site by Rebecca Duggan (archaeologist at the Fortress) and Susann Myers, former Louisbourg Resident. Rebecca had seen the bird near the end of June. This bird rarely gets this far north—Connecticut is the nearest it gets to Louisbourg. It is a marsh/pond bird that looks a lot like an American Coot, but smaller. It is blackish with a bright red bill, white under the tail and a line of white along its side. It pumps its neck back and forth when it swims. The day after hearing about this sighting Bill and I went looking—again in vain. (August 3, 2006) However, we did see 14 Whimbrels flying over the pond near Black Rock.

Sightings

I identified an Osprey hovering at the end of the Fortress Barachois the last week of August. It was the first one that I have seen in that location. The first week of September a male Belted Kingfisher went flashing over the water on the harbourside of the path leading from the Dauphin Gate to the bus drop off area. A Common Loon in summer plumage and a Black Guillemot were also in that area.
Lily Campbell pointed out a mature Bald Eagle on Black Rock as we travelled to the Fortress site the last Monday of August.
Ian Harte took an interesting photo of an immature Great Horned Owl on July 18. He was on the back road by the water tower. This owlet was in the trees with its parents. You can still see the down—the bird not fully fledged—but it was large. (Immature Great Horned Owls and immature Bald Eagles tend to both be quite large—similar in size to their parents.)
Jacqueline Sylliboy, Park staff member, noticed 2 mature Bald Eagles circling while she was at the bus loop in late August.
Pearl Magee reported the female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were at her feeders near the end of the last week of August. The male must have moved on. She also noted a large number of warblers in the trees at the foot of her driveway.

Along the coast

Bill and I made our annual pilgrimage along the coast on the Saturday we heard the news from Mary MacMullin of the White Pelican at Catalone Gut. Before reaching Mira Gut we saw 4 Great Blue Herons in the trees. We also saw a female Red-breasted Merganser closely followed by 8 young. There were numerous Cormorants and a pair of Loons with their young. At Mira Gut there was a dead Black-backed Gull. At Homeville there were 6 Yellowlegs, and 3 Green-winged Teal including 2 adults and their young. There was also a Great Blue Heron fishing. We watched a pair of American Goldfinch fly across the road and a male Belted Kingfisher. Looking off from Black Brook Cemetery we watched 8 Great Blue Herons, a male Belted Kingfisher, American Black Ducks, 4 Herring Gulls and an American Crow.

Summer is over

By the first week of September only a few Barn Swallows were hawking at the Fortress. All the Cliff Swallows had begun their migration as well as the bulk of the Barn Swallows.
Most of the shorebirds, with the exception of Greater Yellowlegs, have moved on and the last sighting of a Great Blue Heron was August 31.

Time to move on

Bill and I have enjoyed our 32 ½ years in Louisbourg. We have belonged to many organizations, made many friends, got to know members of the community—past and present, raised our children and watched them move away. We shall always carry Louisbourg memories in our hearts—the storms, salt air, Lighthouse, fresh lobsters and crab, good meals, great experiences and the people. Who can forget the fire at the Town Hall, the improvements on Main Street for the 1995 celebrations, the Grand Encampment, the tall ships, the winter walks along bare sidewalks, and being in a community where everyone talks to you on the streets. Next month we shall move to Cornwall, Ontario to be close to family—especially our grandchildren.

I hope that you continue to watch the birds and share your sightings with each other when you meet. Every time I see a new bird I shall think of the beginning of this hobby in a special corner of Cape Breton Island.

Helen O’Shea

Return to the Previous page

Retour à la page précédente