Atlantic Provincesthese Numbers Pale Next to Thoseat S.P.M., Wherethe High Counts Were 565 for Michelon and 138For St

Home , Avalon Peninsula

April;all haddeparted by 20 Apr.The annual earlyspring concentration at The Drook, NF, peakedat 48 on 26 Mar (T. Boland). atlantic provincesThese numbers pale next to thoseat S.P.M., wherethe high counts were 565 for Michelon and 138for St. Pierre(RE) on 7 Mar. The last birdswere in St.Pierre 21 Apr. An excellent count of Northern Fulmars occurredfrom the CabotStrait ferry 21 May when ILK tallied 980 birds in Nova Scotia waters.Ray d'Entremontnoted his second- ever earliestSooty Shearwater on George's Bank, NS, 31 Mar, just two daysoff the record.Ian McLaren et al., while en route to S.I. 28 May,had a remarkablecount of 150 Sooties,unprecedented for the time and o•,•s••,•,.• /k• •.• vSTETMIQUELO• PIERRE placeand perhaps lured inshore by a heavy squidrun. This springfurnished the finestheron flighton record,led by GreatEgrets, but with other southernherons well-represented (Table1). As might be expected, most were in NovaScotia and New Brunswick; RK reported from the former: "This was a fantastic springfor GreatEgrets. The first was seen 27 Mar at Chezzetcook,and this presagedan unprecedentedinvasion. Two more turned up in March,at C.S.I. and B.I., but April recordscame from the whole of theprovince, includingCape Breton. One on S.I. stayed4 Apr-4 May. Totalspeaked in mid-April;at BlakeHaybank other provincesin this Regiondo not par- least45 individualsreported on 20 Apr.The 144 BayviewDrive ticipate.I am unawareof how,or if, thedata speciescontinued to be seenuntil the end of White'sLake, Nova Scotia B3T lzl we collectare used by the overallcoordina- May, albeitin lessernumbers. How many ([email protected] tor, but the data have become an invaluable birds were involved will never be known." [email protected]) tool to the various editors who collate the Smaller (but still considerable) numbers provincialsightings for theNova Scotia Bird weretallied in NewBrunswick, with eightof Societyand so, in turn,to mefor writing the the 23 bird from inland locations. The heron patterns,nthese daysfueled, of Iunpredictable believe,by human-climatic springregional summary. flight peteredout in P.E.I.,Newfoundland, causedglobal warming, a detailedmention Abbreviations:G.M. (Grand Manan archipel- andS.P.M. (with nonereaching the last loca- of "unexpected"weather seems a wasteof ago, NB);S.RM. (Saint Pierre et Miquelon, tion), but a coupleof goodbirds slipped ink. Therefore, March and April were France);B.RI. (Bon Portage Island, NS); B.I. (Brier through,particularly EE.I.'s first (and the warmerthan expectedand May cooler,at least on the mainland. Newfoundland did Island,NS); C.S.I. (Cape Sable Island, NS); Regions4th) White Ibis at BeachPt. 13-22 May (and rediscoveredin WoodsHarbour in not receive its blessedNor'easterlies (the NAMC(North American Migration Count-- NovaScotia only, 13 May);RE.I. (Prince Edward June).A Yellow-crownedNight-Heron in Eurasianexpress), but rarebirds popped up Island);PLBO (Point Lepreau Bird Observatory, Ferryland,NF, 7-18 Apr provideda rare acrossthe Regionanyway, most from the NB);Sable (Sable Island, NS); S.I. (SealIsland, provincialspring record (BMt et al.) south.Coverage was excellentfrom Nova Yarmouth,NS). Scotiaand quite good from New Brunswick. WATERFOWL THROUGH GULLS I am indebted to Brian Dalzell of the Grand LOONS THROUGH HERONS EightSnow Geese at P.E.I.Mar-Apr andbut MananBird Observatory,who summarized Fewer than a dozen Red-throated Loons were onein No•a Scotiapaled against the estimat- the copioussightings from NatureNBfor reportedin Nova Scotia,but an excellent ed 1000at theAtholville Marsh, NB, 29 Apr. my benefit--unfortunately,observer names movementof 125birds per hour was were omitted from the summaries. The noted at PLBO 25 Apr. The largest Table 1. Summaryof southernherons Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland was flock of Horned Grebes in Nova in Atlantic Canada,spring 2000. well-covered,but there was limited infor- Scotiawas 50 in mid-Aprilat Petite NS NB I NF F.E.I. mation from the restof the island,as well as GreatEgret 100+? 23 3 1 Riviere (EM). One 7 May at Little Blue Heron 9 2 - - Labrador. P.E.I. continues to offer little data Trespassey(D. Brown,T. Smith)was SnowyEgret 11 12 - - and no documentation. notable,as the speciesis lessthan Nova Scotian birders have enthusiasti- annual in e. Newfoundland. Susann Cattle_E•ret 4 - - - callyparticipated in the North American Meyershas been carefully monitoring TricoloredGreenHeron Heron .... 153 "' I [ MigrationCount since its inception; thanks the Red-necked Grebe numbers in GlqssyIbis to JudyTufts for her tirelessannual organi- KenningtonCove, Cape Breton, with Yel-crownedNight-Heron5 - 1 t - * breedsreguJady in s.New Brunswick in smallnumbers zation of this event. So far as I know, the a maximum count of 35 in mid-

VOLUNE54 (•,ooo}, NUNBER3 Twelveon 5 Mayat LabradorCity was a good (S.&B.Grogono). It lingeredwell into June, Despitethis hopeful sign, no birds were number for Labrador(BD). Peak regional to the delightof manyobservers. Winds did locatedin surveysin n. Cape Breton,but counts of Brant were 5,000 at C.S.I. 19 Mar not favouran arrival of birds from Iceland,so Bruno Letournel had a bird on S.P.M. 16 and 400 at G.M. 3 Apr.Gadwalls wandered Newfoundland birders had to be content May. The earliest-everChimney Swift in offshorein May in NovaScotia, with singles with 2 EuropeanGolden-Plovers at Cape Nova Scotia (and the Region?)was at on Sableand S.I.A pairof Canvasbackswere Race4-7 May,joined by a third on 7 May SchoonerPond, Cape Breton, 8 Apr (CAM). seen at Conrad's Beach, NS, 23 Mar (l. (PL,ph.). On theheels of lastyear's first-ever Twoshowed up quitefar n. on S.EM. 14& 27 Waldron et al), but were not noted subse- successfulCanadian nesting of American May. Consideringthe numberof spring quenfiy(and were not documented,in any Oystercatcher,on C.S.I.,a pair returned7 sightingsof Red-befliedWoodpeckers in case).A pairof Redheadsat St.Pierre 28-30 Apr,with a secondpair noted by month's end New Brunswick,can nesting be far off?.Five May (P. Assdin,ph.) was the first for the anda third pair in lateMay. Two pairs even- over-winteringbirds (including 3 on G.M.) FrenchIslands. Given the strongflight of tuallyfledged young (see the upcoming sum- werejoined by 4 otherson the mainland. CommonEiders up thew. shore of theBay of mer report).Three Upland Sandpipers were There were 3 in Nova Scotia, an overwinter- Fundy,it shouldnot be surprisingthat New foundin NovaScotia, a typicalspring num- ingbird, and 2 migrants,induding a female Brunswickbirders are locatingincreasing ber,but 2 of the3 wereat CapeBreton. The on B.I. 10-20 May. numbersof KingEiders among the migrat- thirdlingered on C.S.I.to theend of theperi- Whilemany observers felt Eastern Wood- ing flocks.Nevertheless, the 31 birdsnoted od. On the NAMC, a record 392 Greater Peweeswere late arriving, one in Mactaquac, lateMar--early May wasan impressivetotal. Yellowlegswere counted. A LesserYellowlegs NB, 16 Apr wasfour weeksearly, as was an The PLBO made some excellent counts of at Goulds,NF, 8-13 Apr furnisheda rare EasternKingbird in the AvalonPeninsula, migratingscoters. Surf and Blackpeaked 25 springrecord and the first in April. Stilt NF, 30 Apr (D. Brown).Nova Scotia was fea- Apr at 4630 birds/hr and 1284 birds/hr, Sandpipersare rare in spring,as they are tured in all the vireo news. It had its best respectively.The White-wingedScoter peak thoughtto migratenw. long before they springever for White-eyedVireos, with 4 was9 Apr,when 105birds/hr passed. The reachour shores,so one in alternate/breeding reported:Broad Cove 5 May, C.S.I. 8 May NAMC totalsof Surf, White-winged,and plumageat C.S.I. 7 May wasa noteworthy (GRM), NAMC 13May, and one banded on Black Scoterswere 2175, 436, and 1750, some find (MN). The onlyRuff this spring was in B.EI. 14 May. Two Yellow-throatedVireos of thoselate migrants and others non-breed- New Brunswick, a Reeve at Dune de werereported, one banded 30 Apr on B.EI. ing over-summeringbirds. Occurrences of Buctouche8 May. and an undocumentedsinging bird near Five Common Gulls were on the Avalon Europeanducks are summarized in Table2. Chester.RK and DM reportedthe only Peninsula,NF, one (a PhiladelphiaVireo, at SchoonerPond, Cape first summer) in Atlantic Canada,spring 2000. Breton,19 May. It is pleasantto haveBlue -- Table2.Summary ofEuropean ducks I throughlate May. It Jaysmake the news,with this report from was an good spring S.EM.by RE:"The Blue Jay is still an uncom- NS NB NF P.E.I.for Lesser Black- EurasianWigeon [ 6 [ 5 I10 I I I monand irregularbird hereand people are Common Teal backed Gulls, with still excited about them! The first one was (north to south) 15 Tufted Duck reported15 Mar on St.Pierre, and wasseen in Newfoundland, regularly--themaximum was 4 birdson 16 one at S.P.M., 4 in New Brunswick, and 6 in Raptorselicited little excitement,with May.Three were in Miquelonvillage 20 & 23 Nova Scotia,of which one, an adult at Petite NewBrunswick offering the most interesting May." tidbits, including a Golden Eagle at Riviere,showed characters attributed to L.f. A Cliff Swallow9 May in Labrador(BD) CampobelloI. 23 Mar, a Red-shouldered intermedius(EM), the first reportedin the wasrare that far north.Only three Blue-gray Hawk at Woodside5 Mar, anda Gyrfalconat province(there are precedentrecords from Gnatcatcherswere reported, all in May,with Woodwards Cove 18 Mar. Two Sandhill Newfoundland).The newly "discovered" 2 in New Brunswick and the other at P.E.I. Craneswere at Havelock,NB, 6-13 May; hotspotof Ogden'sPond, Antigonish,NS, The Townsend's Solitaire at Riverside- continuesto show its mettle, this time as a whereasbreeding seems extremely unlikely Albert,NB, was last reported 16 Mar. A Veery in the Maritime Provinces,one can always favoredstaging area for Black-headedGulls on S.P.M.4 May (L. Jackman)was but the3rd hope.Sandhill Cranes are less-than-annual in en route to breedingcolonies north and recorded on the islands. The same islands Newfoundland, so a bird at Goulds, 22-23 east--RL counted a maximum of 110 on 25 had only 2 Gray-cheekedThrushes--the May (BMt et al.) waswelcome. The springs Mar.The regionalspring Laughing Gull total specieswas oncea fairly commonbreeder wasbut 7--an Aprilbird in New Brunswick stellarrarity was a Black Rall on S.I. (C. there. Sightingsof Gray-cheekedson the Kenneyet al.). The observerswatched the and 6 birdsin May: 2 in e. Newfoundland mainlandare rarely adequately documented. birdon andoff for abouta weekfrom 20 Apr and4 in NovaScotia, including 2 togetherat This spring,5 were reportedfrom Nova as it kept mostlyto a sedge-rimmedpond, Port Morien, CapeBreton. Scotia--2on Sable27-28 Apr and one band- flushingoccasionally into nearbytrees. At OWLS THROUGH WAXWINGS ed on B.P.I.28 Apr werewell-described, but other times the bird came into full view at A migrantNorthern Hawk Owl wasat G.M. theothers are suspect, given the difficultyof closerange. The descriptionwas convincing 1 Apr.Here is a BorealOwl stor)•as passed distinguishingfrom Bicknell'sThrush. A (,fideIM) and providesthe 3rd provincial alongby IM: "A migrantappeared on Sable Wood Thrushat IsleLameque, NB, 17 Apr sight record, the previous two having 29 Apr-2 May, the third recordthere. ZL wasfour weeks early. A "heavy"wave of hun- occurredon Sable,both single-observer foundit on the first morningperched in a dreds of American Robins was noted in s. events.A Purple Ga!linule in Halifax was propaneshed and graspinga deadLeach's New Brunswick 26-27 Mar. Varied not nearlyas rare, but wasmuch more acces- Storm-Petrelwhich had begun to nestthere. Thrushescontinue to delightobservers. One s•le, as it was discovered30 May on the After dark, both it and its prey were gone. was in Douglas,NB, 14 Mar, while one groundsof theSt. Mary's University campus Thiswas repeated for the nextthree days." appearedjust slightly later in NovaScotia, in

256 NORTH AHERICAN BIROS East Uniacke, 24-25 Mar (R Bower). into Nova Scotia,with more than 30 birds Buntingbriefly visited a feeder21 May in Newfoundland's2nd, at firstjust a February reportedin spring,many on territory,and Kings,NS (M.&L. Norden). EE.I.'s first rumor, becamereality following a March doubtlessmany more not reported.Rose- PaintedBunting, a male,was a Marshfield snowfall when an adult male was discovered breastedGrosbeaks made early arrivals May 24-30(V.C. MacDonald, et al.). Three at a PouchCove feeder 19-29 Mar (D. Klaroft acrossthe region.Nova Scotia's first was 10 Dickcissels overwintered in Nova Scotia. et al.). A BrownThrasher spent most of Aprat Hemeon'sHead (average 1May), and Bobolinkswere last seenon S.P.M. in 1991, March on G.M., while Nova Scotiahosted 3 9 more were found later in April. New sothis spring's appearance of 4 malesand 2 in April and May. Giventhe heavywinter Brunswickalso had an earlybird 23 Apr,on females21 May was most welcome.The flightof BohemianWaxwings, it is not a sur- G.M. This early arrival was mirrored in spring'soriole flight was disappointing, with prisethat somewere still being noted into Newfoundland, where a pronounced but a singleOrchard in NovaScotia and 3 on mid-May,in both New Brunswickand Nova southerlyair flow24-25 Apr propelled many G.M. And regardingwandering "winter" Scotia. early migrantsto the AvalonPeninsula, finches:all quieton thewestern front. WARBLERS THROUGH FINCHES including9 Rose-breastedGrosbeaks, a Red- Contributors(subregional editors in bold- A Blue-wingedWarbler was on G.M. 13 eyedVireo, 2 ScarletTanagers, and 4 Indigo face):Brian Dalzell, Fred Dobson, Raymond May.Cape May Warblersare rare on S.P.M., Buntings,as well as the EasternKingbird d'Entrernont,Roger Etcheberry, Sylvia mentioned earlier. New Brunswick and but 1-2 maleswere seen22 & 27 May; an Fullerton,Andy Horne,Richard Knapton, equallyrare Blackburnian was there 21 May. Nova Scotia each had 4 Blue Grosbeaks,an RandyLauff, Zoe Lucas, Bruce Mactavish (Bmt), S.P.M.enjoyed its first spring Yellow-throat- averagenumber, and eachhad a goodMay BlakeMaybank (BMy), Dave McCorquodale, edWarbler,when one patronized RE's buggy flightof IndigoBuntings, with more than 30 lanMcLaren, Eric Mills, Cathy & Allan Murrant gardencompost from 24 Apr-3 May (ph). in both provinces.Just one Indigo was Two of Nova Scotia'soverwintering Pine reported from P.E.I. A male Painted (CAM),MurrayNewell. • Warblerspersisted until 27 Mar in Halifax and 22 Apr in Dartmouth;2 on S.I. 30 May were migrants(IM et al.). Three in New Brunswicklingered until 4 Mar in Sackville, 21 Apr in Fredrictonand 26 Apr in Fundy NP. Nova Scotia hosted a minor invasion of qu6bec HoodedWarblers. The earliestpatrolled the beachat C.S.I.29 Mar (m.ob.),eating spiders andtolerating close photography. Two more (undocumented)appeared on the NAMC, BayEastman QUEBEC ' •-sa•I and a 4th was at SchoonerPond 25 May (CAM). SummerTanagers made their now-antic- ipatedannual spring visit, with 4 in Nova Scotiaand 2 in New Brunswick(5 of them, as expected,on s. islands).A ScarletTanager delightedresidents of the townof St.-Pierre on S.P.M.29 Apr-17 May and was pho- tographedby many,including non-birders. At least one EasternTowhee successfully overwinteredin Nova Scotia,and there were 6 springarrivals, including 4 on C.S.I.and one far n. in Louisbourg.A Chipping aNTIC Sparrowoverwintered in Hantsport,NS, and, 'O•.,EAN moreremarkably, so did onein Gander,NF. Therewere 7 FieldSparrows in NovaScotia, Normand David which led to numerous record-early includingone far afieldin SchoonerPond; 11931Lavigne, Montr6al, Qu6bec H4J 1X9 arrivals.By the end of March, 57 migrant there was but one in New Brunswick, on specieshad been recorded in the Montreal G.M. NovaScotia's 4th springLark Bunting ([email protected]) area, six of them record-early for the was on Sable27 May (ZL); there are <20 Samuel Denault recordsoverall. Closer scrutiny of migrant 75 Beauchernin Region and 32 the earliestfor the last SavannahSparrows turned up at least4 $aint-Basile-le-Grand,Qu6bec J3N 1J6 decade.A noticeablechange in the weather Ipswichrace birds in New Brunswick,3 ([email protected]) patterntook place in April and May when cool and wet conditions prevailed. between20-25 Mar. Significantsparrow Pierre Bannon "waves" occurred 26-27 Mar in New Althoughan importantstorm on 9 April 1517Leprohon Brunswick(mostly Song) and 4-5 May in dumped up to two feet of snow on s. Montr6al,Quebec H4E 1P1 NovaScotia, especially on C.S.I.,with a fall- Quebec,there was no evidenceof a major out of hundreds of White-throateds and ([email protected]). bird mortality, although there was dozens of White-crowneds. ollowingthe spring-like weather oflate undoubtedlysome mortality among the Northern Cardinals continue their move February,March continuedvery mild, early insectivorousmigrants. Although

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