Atlantic Provinces

Grebesattempt to winter along the Nova Scotiacoast every year. The latestreports were Atlantic Provinces 2 in Victoria,CBI 6 Jan(DM), singles18 Janat PleasantL. and Blanche,NS, and 3 at Gabarus, CB1 25 Jan (DM). Horned and Red-necked Grebenumbers were unremarkable. Wintering Double-crested Cormorants were above aver- agein theRegion: a"very unusual" number for winter occurredon the AVP startingin late Dec and continuingthrough Janwith a few (about10) stayingthrough the winter (BMt). Ten were found on the new St. Pierre C.B.C. 30 Dec. An imm. Black-crownedNight-Heron throughoutthe period at St.John's survived on trout found in open streams,a first winter record for Newfoundland. Another imm. was present15-24 Feb at DanielsHead, CSI (MN). There is a small residentpopulation of TurkeyVulture in sw.Nova Scotia,where there wasa peakof 10birds 13 Jan at BrierI. (BMy), andup to 5 arounda farmat Chebogue(MN).

WaterfowlThrough Raptors An imm. Mute Swanthat spent1-31 Janat Westport,Brier I. (v. o.) wasdeemed to bca genuinevagrant from the expandingNew Englandpopulation (IAM). It wasfirst noted in late Dec on the nearbyFrench Shore and eventuallyfound dead in early Feb. Eurasian Wigcon numberswcrc normal, with high counts of 8 at St. John's,4 in Halifax, and 3 at GlaccBay. A countof 85 AmericanWigcon at Tufts Cove, Halifax 13 Dec was easily a Regionalwinter record (BMy). Two on the Brian Dalzell numbers of American Robin and Cedar MiquclonC.B.C. 16 Dec wcrcfirsts. There was FundyBird Observatory Waxwingto winter.A few of eacheven sur- a late Dec influx of Wood Duck on the AVP, GrandManan, NB, E5G 3C9 vivedthe period in westernLabrador, surely a with 4 individuals,including one that survived first for that subarcticportion of our area. the winter at St. John's(BMt). AmericanBlack •fase Regionexperienced a return to "old- Finchnumbers were mostlydepressed, with Duckswcrc found in abovc-averagcnumbers, hioned" winter conditions, with well the exceptionof Purple Finch, which was with 5383 found on C.B.C.s, above-averagesnowfall in Newfoundlandand foundin above-averagenumbers in southern 18,040in NovaScotia, and a recordhigh of 571 Labradorand above-averagesnowfall in the New Brunswickand throughoutNova Scotia. on the MiquclonC.B.C. A count of 65 Green- Maritimes.The snowcapital of Canadawas Nova ScotiaC.B.C.s also experiencedrecord wingedTeal on the SaintJohn, NB C.B.C.30 easilySt. John's, NF, which received more than numbersof Song Sparrow,White-throated Dec was a Regionalhigh. TuftedDucks num- 600 cm (240 in) by the end of March,a total Sparrow,and Dark-eyed Junco. bered 8 at St. John's,4 in Nova Scotia,and one exceededonly by thewinter of 1882.Until late at Saint John,NB. GreaterScaup Regional December, it looked like winter would follow Abbreviations: AVP (Avalon Peninsula, headquarterscontinues to bc PictouHarbour, thepattern established in the 1990s--anoften Newfoundland);CSI (CapeSable Island, Nova NS, where 4441 wcrc found on the local C.B.C. messymixture of snowand rain with frequent Scotia); GMI ( Island, New in earlyJan. Harlequin Duck continuesits road andoften prolonged mild spells in Januaryand Brunswick);CBI (Cape BretonIsland, Nova to recovery,with a Regionalhigh of 68 found February.For example, on 18December west- Scotia);SPM (St.Pierre and Miquelon Islands, at WhiteHead, GMI 8 Feb(BED). Chalcur Bay ern Labrador received 10 hours of rain, which France);AV (AnnapolisValley, Nova Scotia); continuesto boastthe Rcgion'shighest con- frozeon contact,only the second time this had PEI (PrinceEdward Island). centrationof winteringBarrows Goldeneye, happenedin Decembersince about 1960. with a record 313 tallied on the Dalhousie,NB However,winter then took hold throughout LoonsThrough Vultures C.B.C.Two femaleHooded Mcrganscrs at St. the Region.Temperatures were not as coldas Red-throatedLoons were sparse as usual, with John'sthroughout the periodprovided a first duringrecent winters, but theyremained con- a highcount of 28 at CSI 16Dec. Singles on the overwinteringrecord for the AVE sistentlybelow average. Birdwise, the highlight Miquelon C.B.C. 16 Dec and MiscouIsland, Therewere two latcreports of Osprey,one of the seasonwas easilythe bumpercrop of NB 30 Dec (RobertDoiron) werenotably late on the Halifax-Dartmouth C.B.C. 17 Dec and Mountain Ash, which encouragedrecord for those locations. A handful of Pied-billed the otherat Margarec,CBI on the remarkably

VOLUME 55 (2001), NUMBER 2 141 late dateof 28 Dec.The annualCyril Coldwell 3 Jan,and 19 on the MiquelonC.B.C. 16 Dec. "not a very good year" in Newfoundland Eagleand Raptor Count in Kings,NS turned ThreeSemipalmated/Western Sandpipers were (BMt). Peaknumbers were four at CSI 16 Dec up 387Bald Eagles 10 Feb. Reports of Cooper's presentat CSI 16Dec (BMy). Lingering White- and a like number throughouton the Hawk numbered two in Nova Scotia and three rumpedSandpipers were 3 at SchoonerPond, TantramarMarshes (v. o.) along the New in New Brunswick. A Red-shouldered Hawk CBI to 4 Dec, one at Grand Barachois,SPM 5 Brunswick-Nova Scotia border. Northern nearMactaquac, NB 1-3 Jan(DG) wasa good Dec, and 3 at CSI 16 Dec. Several American Hawk Owl stageda minor invasionas well but find A respectable94 Red-tailedHawks was Woodcockapparently attempted to winter in nothinglike that experienced farther west New tallied on the Cyril Coldwellraptor count. sw.Nova Scotia, perhaps with somesuccess, as Brunswickhad abouteight sightings, Prince Therewere "hardly any" Gyrfalcons found in the latestreport of thesesurprisingly hardy Edward Island one, and Nova ScoUa four, Newfoundland (BMt) but at least 4 in Nova birdswas of one at CSI 1 Feb (MN). wherethey are very rare.One wasas far s as Scotia and a like number in New Brunswick. CheboguePoint, Yarmouth 16 Jan. Deep winter Only a few PeregrineFalcons were seenthis JaegersThrough Alcids snowswere apparently the causeof consider- winter,with two reportsfrom New Brunswick, Jaegersseldom grace this seasonal report, but a ablemortality of NorthernSaw-whet Owls in four from Nova Scotia,two on the AVP, and late Pomafine was noted off CSI 16 Dec and a the Mar/times.Reports of tameand/or emaci- two at SPM. Peakcount of about10 Rough- Parasiticat BrierIsland 19 Dec (bothBMy). An ated (upon examinationafter death) Saw- legged Hawks came from the Tantramar imm. Laughing Gull on the Port Hebert whetsaround bird feedersbegan to surfacein Marsh, NB on various dates. C.B.C.17 Dec was a goodfind (DY,SF). Three early Jan,especially in Nova Scotia.A dead LittleGulls at CampobelloI. 26 Dec (Maurry Boreal Owl found at Sackville,NB 23 Janwas PtarmiganThrough Shorebirds Mills) was a high countfor New Brunswick the farthests. in the Region(fide Nev Gernty). After last winter's tremendous invasion of andalso notably late. Black-headed Gulls went A deadLong-eared Owl foundin Lunenburg, Willow Ptarmiganin w. Labrador,numbers unremarkedupon at theirRegional headquar- NS in mid-Janindicated they may alsohave crashed back down to normal levels in ters in St. John's,but 275 were reportedon experiencedsome difficulties with deepsnow 2000-2001,but numbersappeared to be up in Nova ScotiaC.B.C.s, induding 150 at Halifax There were fewerreports than usualof Red- Newfoundland,indicating the peak may occur 17Dec. A Bonaparte'sGull 25 Jan+in St.Pierre belliedWoodpecker, with aboutfive eachin therea yearlater. Interestingly, the precipitous wasconsidered fairly rare for winter (RE).At New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and one in dechnein Gray Partridgenumbers in the least4 CommonGulls frequented St. John's Prince Edward Island. An imm. Yellow-bellied AnnapolisValley over the past 50 yearsis Harbor,while singles were found at Eskasoni, Sapsuckerat Jollimore,Halifax, NS through- hypothesizedto be almostentirely attributable CBI 26 Dec, Pictou Harbour through Jan out the periodwas almostunprecedented in to ingestionof lethal amountsof road salt (KJM),and Pocologan, NB 10Feb (JGW). Last the province (ED). Reports of wintering takenin with grit (PaulMacDonald). A Sofaat winter'sThayer's Gull returnedto its Halifax NorthernFlickers continue to increase,espe- St John's11-14 Dec (JS) was the only Regional Harbourhaunts for a commandperformance cially in Nova Scotia,but also in s. New report.Two American Coots at SaintJohn, NB (v. o.). An ad.Yellow-legged Gull at St.John's Brunswick and e. Prince Edward Island A 25 Jan(KMI) wereperhaps the samebirds that severaltimes through the season(BMt, Paul Three-toedWoodpecker at BuctoucheDune, winteredthere last year. SandhillCrane is Linegar,Jon King et al.) was deemed"pretty NB throughoutthe periodwas enjoyedby becomingalmost pass• in the Region,even in well an annualwinter bird" by Mactavish. many.One at Mirande Lake,SPM 29 Decwas a early winter, albeit still rare. One near LesserBlack-backed Gull wastolerably com- first for thoseFrench islands (RE). It wasan Hampton,NB that persevereduntil earlyJan mononly in St.John's Harbor, where at least10 exceptionalwinter for NorthernShrike, with (PachardBlacquiere) provided a first winter different birds overwintered (BMt et al.). 105 on New Brunswick C.B.C.s, and 45 in recordfor the province, while another survived Black-leggedKittiwake was commonin the NovaScotia. It waseven a "fairlygood" season until mid-Jan at Shubenacadie,NS. lowerBay of Fundyduring early winter, as evi- for the speciesin Newfoundland(BMt) The season'snow seemingly annual dencedby 10,000+tallied off Brier I. 4 Dec Almost annual now in winter, at least 2 Newfoundland/SPMNorthern Lapwing was (ELM, IAM) and 9500 on the C.B.C.there 19 Carolina Wrens were found in New Brunswick, presentat Ferrylandfrom 30 Dec-5 Janand Dec. Awayfrom Newfoundland,single imm. one at ,and one near Hampton enjoyedby many(John Wells et al.). A single Ivory Gullswere found at L'Ardoise,CBI 27 The only MarshWren for the periodwas at Black-bellied Plover persisted at Grand Dec (DM, SM) and Hunts Point, Queens,NS Wolfville,NS to 17 Dec. At least 3 Ruby- Barachois,SPM until at least2 Feb.Thirty-one 25 Jan(Sandy Hiltz). The onlytern of the sea- crownedKinglets persisted into Janat Ahna, were found on the CSI C.B.C. 16 Dec, with 21 son was a Forster's Tern found near NB by makinguse of suet-peanutbutter mix- still present! Feb.Four Semipalmated Plovers Yarmouth,NS 1-4 Dec (MN). A flight of turesat localfeeders (Rob Walker). A Blue-gray on the Glace Bay, NS C.B.C. 30 Dec were 15,0OO+Dovekie passing White Head I, GMI Gnatcatcherat St. John'suntil 7 Dec (Anne unique in the Region and record-late.A in fourhours 5 Febwas unprecedented for the Hugheset al.) wasunique in the Region Marbled Godwit at Souris, PEI 25 Dec was Bayof Fundy(BED). They were also common apparently a first Regional winter record alongthe Atlantic coast of NovaScotia during WheatearThrough Waxwings (KJM). The motherlodeof RuddyTurnstone, Dec.Special aerial surveys documented up to An undocumented Northern Wheatear was as usual, was at CSI, where 48 were found on 25,000 Razorbillsat Old ProprietorShoals, reportedfrom PortMorien, CB131 Dec (Jim& 18 Feb (JN, MN). A maximumof 25 RedKnot GMI duringthe winter.Forty miles across the Della Murrant). Only New Brunswick's2nd, a waspresent at GrandBarachois, SPM in Dec Bay,8600 were counted on the BrierI. C.B.C. female Mountain Bluebird was present25 and up to 2 Jan(RE). Sanderlingwere present Nov-! Dec at Pennfield Ridge, Charlotte in goodnumbers, such as 200 at Yarmouth17 OwlsThrough Gnatcatcher (KMI). The Region'sonly Townsend's Sohtalre Dec, 76 at The Cape,CSI 1 Feb,41 at Broad Therewas a minor invasionof SnowyOwls pleasedmany observers19 Jan-14 Feb at Cove,NS 29 Dec,34 at LongPond Beach, GMI throughoutthe Region, although it wastermed MelmerbyBeach, Pictou, NS (GaryMurray et

142 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Atlantic Provinces

al.). Two Fieldfaresgraced the Region.One werepresent in two areasof Fredericton,NB Bullock'sOriole first found in earlyDec in brieflyat Ferryland,NF 12 Jan (JS) did not 12-31 Jan (v.o.). Numbers of Bohemian Halifaxsurvived until at leastearly Apr (v.o.). linger. The 2nd, a long-staying bird at Waxwingwere low comparedto the highlevels It isworth noting this was one of veryfew fully Fredericton,NB, was present18 Jan-IS Mar found in winter 1999-2000. In St. John's,flocks documentedand satisfactoryrecords ever for for the provinces3rd record(DG et al). Local of severalhundred were present until mid-Jan, the Region. birdersDon Gibsonand Peter Pearceper- afterwhich "all the berrieswere eaten and they Purple Finch was common in the formedyeoman's service by keepingtabs on had to leave"(BMt). On the other hand, Cedar Maritimes,especially in Nova Scotiaand s. the bird and showingit to birdersfrom asfar Waxwingsoutnumbered Bohemians in Nova New Brunswick. Two were even found on the afieldas California.It associatedloosely with Scotia,while the oppositewas true in New Wabush-LabCity C.B.C.16 Dec,at the very flocks of American Robins and fed on Brunswick. Nova Scotia recorded 1262 Cedars edgeof their summerrange. A tally of 406 MountainAsh berriesthroughout the dty. A on its C.B.C.s, while New Brunswick tallied a House Finch on the C•B.C, 16 Dec Redwingat MarysPoint, Albert; NB waswell respectable1061. They were even found in w. wasa provindalhigh. It wasa"very poor • year documentedI Jan (DSC) for the provinces Labradorat the very edgeof their summer for all speciesof finch in Newfoundland first report.Despite intensive efforts by local range,with about2S on the Wabush-LabCity (BMt), exceptfor AmericanGoldfinch, which birders over the next two months, it could not C.B.C. 16 Dec. was fairly commonin urban areas(formerly be relocated. One well describedat Truro, NS rare). Elsewherein the Region, there were WarblersThrough Finches moderatenumbers of White-wingedCrossbill ß There were 397 warblers on the various Nova in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Interior S A Whocould overlook American Scotia C.B.C.S, 372 of which were Yellow- Queens,NS was the only area were Red / ,Robins?Numbers were exception- rumped. Not surprisingly,Pine (9) and Crossbill was common, with "hundreds" al and likely unprecedented,even as far Orange-crowned(7) madeup the bulk of the north as w. Labrador. The reason was a reportedin lateJan at KejimkujikN.P. (Becky remainingwarblers. One of thelatter was pres- Whittam). It was an off winter for Common bumpercrop of MountainAsh (except on ent at St. Pierre until at least21 Jan.A Nashville and HoaryRedpolls, except in Labrador,where theisland of Newfoundland),perhaps try- wason the CSI C.B.C. 16 Dec. SingleYellow- both were fairly common.Pine Siskinwas ing to makeup for its almostcomplete throatedWarblers were attending feeders in St. foundin above-averagenumbers on Maritime failure in 1999. A total of 3370 were found John's3-10 Dec and Riverview,NB 11-22 Dec. C.B.C.s, while American Goldfinch was at or on New Brunswick C.B.C.s, while Nova A Yellow-rumpedWarbler on LaHave I., nearrecord highs, with 11,000+on both New Scotiareported 3651. Peak C.B.C. counts Lunenburg,NS 29 Dec was identifiedas an Brunswickand Nova Scotiacounts. Evening were 571 at Shubenacadie,NS and 528 at Audubon's Warbler, a first for Nova Scotia Grosbeaknumbers continue to be depressed, Fredericton,NB. From all reports,this C.B.C.s(BMy). A ratherlate, quite yellowish termed "below average"in New Brunswick authorestimates at least25,000 were pres- Northern Waterthrush was found in Halifax (DSC) and"average"in NovaScotia (DM). ent in New Brunswick,mostly in the s. 3-4 Dec (David Currie). Single Black-and- along the . They were white Warblers were in Halifax to 3 Dec and Observers (sub-regional editors in bold- uncommonin Newfoundland,although a 6-7 Dec in St. John's. Nova Scotia's first face):David S. Christie, ShirleyCohrs, Brian handfulpersisted throughout the period MacG'llllvray'sWarbler lingered from the fall E. Dalzell, Fred Dobson, Elizabeth Doull, in w. Labrador,surely a firstfor thissub- at Halifaxuntil at least4 Dec(BMy, ED et al.). Roger Etcheberry, Sylvia Fullerton, Don arcticportion of our Region.As an exam- A Yellow-breasted Chat lasted until 26 Dec at Gibson, Matt Holder, Richard Knapton, ple of their resourcefulness,DSC et al. St.John's (Doug Pbelan). RandyEauif, David McCorquodale,Kenneth reportedthem feedingon intertidalmud Perhaps surprisingly, more Eastern J. McKenna (KJM), lan A. McLaren, Kenneth fiatsof the upper Bay of Fundyin New Towheeswere reported in theRegion this win- Macintosh (KMI), Bruce Macravish (BMt), Brunswick.Closer investigation revealed ter thanduring the previous fall. There were at BlakeMaybank (BMy), Eric L. Mills, Susann theywere likely feeding on marineinver- least 6 at Nova Scotia feeders, 5 in New Myers,Johnny Nickerson, Murray Newell, Don tebrates,such as mud shrimp(Corophiurn Brunswick,and 3 in Newfoundland.The only Gibson,Jytte Selno, David Young. volutator)and marineworms (Nerds sp.), Clay-colored Sparrow reported was at a fare usually reserved for shorebirds. Shediac.,NB feeder 5 Dec-1 Jan (Stuart Observation of similar behavior came T'mgley).Single Grasshopper Sparrows were from the Minas Basin of Nova Scotia. reportedat BrierI., NS 3 Dec (IAM et al.) and Flocksbegan to breakup in mid-Feb,and MacArrasBrook, Antigonish, NS 4 Dec (KJM). by the end of the period,some reports of Newfoundland's5th Sharp-tailedSparrow, deador starvingbirds surfaced in s. New believed to be a Nelson's,was at Point Lance Brtmswic.lc However, the majority of these 16-20 Dec (BMt et al.). Record numbers of sturdythrushes likely made it through. winteringSong Sparrows were found in Nova Scotia, as well as near-record numbers of by a singleobserver Feb 8 mayhave been the White-throatedSparrows. Only the winter of sought-afterbird (LynFerns). 1976-1977 recorded more White-throateds in Finally,to cap a truly interestingthrush that province.More than 10,000Dark-eyed winter,came three reports of VariedThrush. A Juncoswere tallied, close to twicethe previous maleat Mill xrfilage,Queens, NS 22-24 Jan(SF, high. Singlemale Yellow-headedBlackbirds SC) did not stay,but anotherin New Glascow werefound at AppleRiver, Cumberland, NS 16 waspresent 6 Feb+{fide KJM). One, perhaps 2, Jan and Moncton, NB 12 Feb. The imm. male

VOLUME 55 (2001), NUMBER 2 143