Atlantic Provinces & St. Pierre Et Miquelon
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AtlanticProvinces &St. Pierre etMiquelon ,l•?11inekI. LABRADOR a respectable116 speciesfor the season.I Thebest counts of AmericanWigeon were 75 on the Halifax C.B.C. 19 Dec and about 75 [, .HebronLA!IRP, DOR thank Blake Maybank, lan McLaren,and Bruce Mactavish for their extensive assistance throughoutthe seasonat WentworthPark, in thepreparation of thisreport. Sydney,NS. EightEurasian Wigeons wintered at St.John's (BMt), 4 wereat GlaceBay, NS 27 Abbreviations:C.B.1. (Cape Breton1., NS); Dec (m.ob.), 4 at Grand Barachois,SPM into C.S.I. (Cape Sable I., NS); G.M.I. (Grand Dec (RE), 2 in se. New Brunswickin early Gand• NEWFOUNDLAND MananI., NB);H.R.M. (HalifaxRegional Mu- Dec (SII), and 2 at Sullivan'sPond, H.R.M. in nicipality,NS); NF (the islandof Newfound- Feb (m.ob.). Near-record numbers of Ameri- land, as opposedto the provinceof New- can Black Duck were found at St. Pierre et foundland& Labrador [NL]); SPM (St. Pierre Miquelon,with countsof up to 575at Grand • Bas•es• Saint-Pierre% Race et Miquelon,France). Barachois,which notably did not freezeover significantlythis winter (RE). Ien Blue- WATERFOWLTHROUGH VULTURES wingedIeal includeda pair at St.John, NB ' NOVASCOTIA •: Snow Geesewere notablealong the outer throughout(m.ob.), 2 on the Halifax-Dart- • I-• -• 0• • I B• coast of Nova Scotia and s. Newfoundland in mouth,NS C.B.C.18 Dec, 3 at Lunenburg E D• mid- to late Dec: 13 were at Dean's Corner, Harbour,NS 11 Jan (EM), one at Brier I., NS Lunenburg,NS 16-17 Dec OH), 9 at Harflen's 13 Dec (EM), anda pair at C.S.I.throughout Brian Dalzell Pt., H.R.M., NS ll-18 Dec (IP), 4 at French- (MN). Ihe total of 15+ Northern Shovelers man'sCove, Burin Pen., NF 12 Dec+ (Allan was well above normal; notable were 6 in • • bnormal"is thenew normal Nolan), and 4 at Miquelon23 Dec (Guil- Antigonish,NS 16 Dec+(RL), 3 at St.John's •_• weatherinthe Atlantic Provinces, laume Desmalles). Ihis flightlikely brought (BMt; "a rare event"), 2 at Yarmouth,NS 14 J. .•.it would seem,and the winter of Newfoundland's first Ross's Goose to St. Jan (GS), a femaleat St. Pierre(a Wilmaevac- 2005-2006 was the warmest on record. Ihe John's,an ad. 16 Dec+ (m.ob.). A Barnacle uee;RE), and singles at Montague,PEI 14Jan traditional"January thaw" lasted all month, Gooseat Moncton,NB into earlyDec was of (Charlie Irainor) and Windsor, Dominion, with temperaturesalmost 5 ø C higherthan note (51I). CanadaGeese normally vacate Dartmouth, and Port Williams, NS. normal,but with precipitationdown a third PrinceEdward I. in winter, but this year, Ihree Canvasbackswere found at Cherry (snowfallby 40%).Heavy rains fell overmost thousandsremained, such as 5000+ at Vernon Hill Beach1 Jan (SF) and oneat Sackville,NB of the Regionin mid-January,when tempera- R. throughout.Fair numbersof Brantbegan 25 Jan+(Kathy Popma). Following last fall's turesof 10ø C causedWood Frogs and Spring returningto springstaging areas in mid-Jan, bigflight, many Redheads remained behind to Peepersto commencecalling, Ruffed Grouse to drum, and dandelionsto flower.On Grand Manan Island,New Brunswick,maple syrup productionbegan in mid-February,a full œ month ahead of normal. Northhumberland Strait did not freeze over for the first time in recentmereorB, forcing Gray Seals to pupon- shore,and greatclouds of red dustswirled overthe normallysnow-covered potato fidds of westernPrince Edward Island. As theglob- al climatecontinues to change,we expect more of the same. Ihe only regionsto experiencenormal snow cover were Labrador, western New- foundland, and northwestern New Brunswick;eastern Newfoundland got buried in snowlate in the period.Ihe mild weather allowedmany "Wilraa waifs" from late Octo- berto survivemuch longer than normal, and lingering/winteringspecies were legionthis year: AmericanBittern, Great and Snowy Egrets,Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Ieal, Long-billedDowitcher, ForstePs Iern, Iree andBarn Swallows, and Gray Catbird, among Atfast œhezzettook, Nova $totia, this 6teat [õret stayed at leastinto February 2006, the latest on record for the provinte (here25 lanuatyl. Photograph byitans loom. others. Waterfowl such as Brant, Canada Goose,and Long-tailed Duck took advantage principallyat G.M.I. and C.S.I.,a full month winter,e.g., 7 at Cap Bimet,Westmoreland, of mildconditions to returnearly or to remain ahead of normal. Iwo imm. Mute Swans at NB 1-4 Dec (SIT), 10 at Three Fathom Har- in larger-than-normal numbers. New Pembroke,Yarmouth, NS 11-18Dec may have bour, H.R.M. 19 Jan, and 5 at OysterBed Brunswickhad its highest-everwinter list comefrom the nearest established population Bridge,PEI 18 Feb (DO); and Newfound- (175species), Nova Scotia tied their best total in s. Maine (MN); they furnishedthe 2nd land'sfirst winterrecord was furnished by a (114), and even Prince Edward Island tallied provincialrecord of thespecies. drake throughoutat Spaniard'sBay (BMt). 198 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS ATLANTICPROVINCES &ST. PIERRE ETMIQUELON q. Thelargest wintering flock of Ring-necked pallyat St. Pierreet Miquelon,where 15 Ducksto cometo lightwas 10 at Salmon werefound on the Isthmus of Miquelon24 River,H.R.M. throughout(Joan Czapaly). Dec(RE), and C.S.I., where 11 was a high Winterflocks of GreaterScaup continue to count 14 Jan (MN). Four Semipalmated increasein Newfoundland;100 through and5 White-rumpedSandpipers were care- Febat MiquelonSalt Pond was a notable fullystudied at C.S.I.14Jan (MN), whilea numberthere (RE). KingEider is seldom LeastSandpiper near Cape Race, NF 3 Dec reportedfrom the Bayof Fundyshore of wasvery late (BMt). A Baird'sSandpiper re- NovaScotia, where 2 drakeswere present portedat RiverBennett, C'.B.I. 16 Decwas at Port George25 Jan+ (m.ob.). Long- mostunusual (SM, John McKay). tailedDuck wintered in greaternumbers PurpleSandpiper winters regularly at than normal around Prince Edward 1. due St. Pierreet Miquelon,but 217 on the St. to the lackof seaice in protectedbays-- Pierre C.B.C. 19 Dec set a record. A flock much to the consternation of mussel farm- of 45 Dunlinsat EvangelineBeach, Kings, ers,whose sites are normallyfrozen in. A Aspecies now annual in December inNewfoundland, thisDickcissel was NS 17 Dec wasaway from usualwinter good count of Barrow'sGoldeneye for photographed7 December 2006 at Lower Cove. Photograph byS. LeShane. haunts along the s. shore (PK, Barry NovaScotia was 12 at North Sydney15 Jan of oneat Mader'sCove, Lunenburg, NS 19 Dec Youll), where 68 were found at C.S.I. 14 Jan (Andrew MacDonald). was less certain OH). A Red-shouldered (MN). Notablylate, thanks to Wilma,was a Up to 6 Pied-billedGrebes wintered suc- Hawkat Pembroke,Yarmouth, NS in Janpro- StiltSandpiper through 3 Decat ThreeFath- cessfullyalong the coastof NovaScotia, w. of videdone of veryfew winterrecords for the om Harbour, NS (SM); the hurricanealso be- Halifax;one nearMiquelon Village, SPM 13 provinceON). An imm. GoldenEagle at the queathedsignificant numbers of Long-billed Decwas most unusual (RE). A SootyShear- St.John's landfill 26 Dec+was very rare for Dowitchers,many of which remainedwell water off C.S.I. 10 Feb was probablyat- Newfoundland•BMt). Six imm. BaldEagles into winter,such as 13 in Antigonish,NS 18 temptingto winter(GS); there are fewer than togetheron the Isthmusof Miquelon4 Jan Dec (RL), 19 at Rainbow Haven, H.R.M. 31 10 recordsof the speciesin the w. North At- wasa highcount locally (Christine Hebert). Dec (TP), 19 at Melbourne, Yarmouth, NS hntic in midwinter. One American Bittern Reportsof winteringPeregrine Falcon contin- through31Jan (PG), 5 at C.S.I.20 Feb(MN), perwinter is normal,so 4 in NovaScotia rep- ue to increase: C.B.C. birds included 2 at and singlesat Cymbria,PEI 4 Dec (D&ES) resentssomewhat of an invasion:singles on Miquelon3 Jan, 3 at Memramcook,NB 26 and G.M.I. 21 Dec (BED). An American theHalifax C.B.C. 19 Dec,at Lockeport19 & Dec,3 at Halifax-Dartmouth,NS 18Dec, plus Woodcock at C.S.I. 19 Feb (MN) was in a 30 Dec (DC), at SmeltCove, Lunenburg 7-9 singlesin at leastsix otherNova Scotia and s. knownwintering area, but one at Wolfville Jan OH), and verylate nearDingwall, Victo- New Brunswicklocales. A dark-morphGyr- Ridge,Kings, NS 20 Jan (BernardForsythe) ria at the n. tip of CapeBreton 18 Feb (Fritz falconfound at Brier I., NS 14 Dec was the definitelywas not. It was flushedfrom a McEvoy). Great Egretsset winter survival onlyreport of thespecies (EM). stream with moss-covered banks in woods records,with birdslasting until 23 Decat St. A moribundVirginia Rail found in a Christ- with manytangled, fallen trees. Five Wilson's Johns,NF, 1Jan at TrinityBay, NF (fideBMt), mas tree lot at Canso,NS 21-22 Dec (SB) was Snipetogether at St.Pierre 19 Dec was quite a 28 Jan at East Chezzetcook,H.R.M. (Tim later taken into rehabilitation.A Purple sightbut upstagedby onethat landedon the Wershler),and 20 Janat SealRiver, PEI (Wal- Gallinulepicked up ona streetin St.John's, NF streetin frontof Etcheberryin Miquelon18 ter Conohan).A CattleEgret remained until 30 Dec followingstrong southerly winds was Feb!A few RedPhalaropes are sometimes re- 1 Dec near Grand Tracadie,PEI (Roy Mc- laterreleased in a city marsh(BMt). A few portedin theouter Bay of Fundyin earlywin- Nab).Single Snowy Egrets pushing the enve- American Coots wintered in Nova Scotia as ter,but oneinland at the headof the Bayon lopewere at St.Pierre Harbour, SPM 1-6 Dec usual, but one at St. Pierre 5-29 Dec was no- 13 Dec in a sewagelagoon at Windsor,NS (m.ob.) and at St.John's late Oct-23 Jan, the tablyfar east(m. ob.). Furtherevidence of a wascertainly unexpected (PK). latter founddead 25 Jan (fideBMt). Tardy warm winter, 19 speciesof shorebirdwere Black-crownedNight-Herons were foundat found in Nova Scotia this season.