FOR THE BIRDS

October 1999

By

Helen O'Shea

It has been entertaining to watch the half dozen crows that feast daily on the pile of apples under the tree of Ralph and Millie Parsons. Now that the apples are softer they tear out huge chunks of the fruit and stand on the lawn to devour them. Ralph says they even fly off with whole apples. The pile of apples has been in place since mid September.

Pearl Magee called me on October 5 to report a Lark Sparrow that was in her yard feeding on the ground with the Juncos and Song Sparrows for the second day in a row. Bill and I drove up and spotted this bird almost immediately. "The (Lark Sparrow) has a black tail with much white in the corners. The adult has a single central breast spot and a quail like head pattern with a chestnut ear patch, striped crown. The young are finely streaked." Since this bird had the central spot but lacked the chestnut ear patch it was probably nearing the first winter since the stripes on the breast were faded rather than distinct. ( Eastern Birds—Peterson). On October 5, she also had a Fox Sparrow.

In mid-August Pearl had a flock of 50-60 Blue Jays flying from tree to tree. She wondered if there was a family reunion on her property. Throughout the late summer there were Blue Jays and Chickadees feeding on the sunflowers. At the end of August there were 8 mature and immature Red Crossbills. Her last immature Ruby-throated Hummingbird left the yard August 30. In 1997 and 1998 she had a breeding pair of Hummingbirds but did not see the adults this year. September was a busy viewing time for her with a male Golden Crowned Kinglet, Pine Siskins, American Goldfinch, Purple Finch, a Solitary Vireo, a Black-throated Green Warbler, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a male Mourning Warbler. The Mourning Warbler was observed closely as he was extricated from the jaws of the family cat. In mid-July she had a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Over the last few days she has watched a pair of mature Bald Eagles soar over Havenside.

One of these may be the same Bald Eagle that Joe Burke ( Havenside) told Bill he saw being chased by gulls.

Gwen Lunn speculates that some of the unusual sightings since October 1 have been the result of storms moving up the Eastern Seaboard. The birds may have landed at Lighthouse Point and moved straight across to her area. On October 1 she observed a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Blackburnian Warbler, a Nashville Warbler, Blackpoll and Yellow Warblers. On October 4 she saw a Yellow-breasted Chat and a Black-billed Cuckoo.

While parked at the lookoff at the Havenside Barachois I watched a female Belted Kingfisher, 30 Cormorants on the Ballast Pile behind the house of Florence and Marcel Miron, a Greater Yellowlegs, and 6 American Black Duck. The same day, October 6, Bill and I walked up the path from Upper Warren and saw a Fox Sparrow scuffing in the undergrowth near the home of Eric and Leta Trimm.

Jim Steylen seems to have discovered a method to eliminate large birds eating all the bird seed in his platform feeder. He has wrapped chicken wire around the roof and base of the feeder. We watched sparrows hop inside to eat while larger birds looked on in frustration.

Who says exercise does not offer rewards? While striding along Route 22 October 8, in the company of Bill Bate, a rufous flash caught my attention just before the Royal Battery parking lot. There was another rufous flash and then I saw a posturing handsome bird sitting on a branch. It was quite distinctive with a creamy breast, a curved bill and watchful eye. Back home and rushing to my Peterson I was able to identify the pair of birds as Yellow-billed Cuckoos. I had just mentioned to Gwen that morning that I had never seen a Cuckoo.

After walking in the Bay’s Mother/Daughter Walk for Heart and Stroke my reward was to see a crow with almost all white tail feathers on a back road. This phenomenon is becoming more common. Partial albinism is a lack of pigment in certain feathers. Sometimes it occurs naturally and other times is a result of an injury.

On a trip to North Sydney in early September we saw Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black-bellied Plover, and a Red-winged Blackbird. The next week on a drive along the coast we were lucky to see a male American Kestrel near Baleine, a male Goldfinch, 2 Scoters at Mainadieu, 25 Starlings, and more than 100 Cormorants on a rock off the coast. We saw a Cedar Waxwing on our return trip to Louisbourg, and 2 Greater Yellowlegs, a Great Blue Heron, and 45 Cormorants off Havenside Road.

Wednesday, 22 September Bill spotted 3 Spruce Grouse ( 2 males and 1 female) on the back road leading to the water tower. They were on the side of the road and stood there for more than 5 minutes believing themselves to be invisible no doubt. No wonder it is illegal to hunt these birds. Both Bill and Doug Pearl have seen individual Spruce Grouse along the same stretch of road during September.

Susann Myers has had a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak in her yard as well as male and female immature Orioles. She had a Dicksissel at her feeder from Sept 13 to 18.

Everywhere one looks there are Mourning Doves. They are all over town and on all the side roads. One was eating grit in the driveway of Gordon MacLeod on Lorway. Usually they prefer to sit atop wires and survey the landscape.

I would like to thank Mr. Alex Johnston of Blasdell, New York for giving me his copy of John Gould’s BIRDS, Cartwell Books, Secaucus, NJ, © 1980. It is a welcome reference text and much appreciated.

Thanks also to Rose Anne Poirier for showing me her copy of Oiseaux du Québec et des Maritimes, Guides Nature Quintin, ©1998. I received a copy of this book (thank you Bill) and now have a reliable reference for the French names of the birds. The organization of the information, the range maps, and the section with additional information is exceptional.

The Third Edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (1999) is a good choice for the Birder’s Christmas Wish List. It was handy to have when I wanted to look up the Lewis’s Woodpecker that was reported in Brockville, Ontario earlier this week.

Watch for migrating Cormorants, Geese, Ducks, and anything else that honks. Call me with your sightings so that we have lots of information for November.

Helen O'Shea

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

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