Americaat Miquelon,SPM where four broods werepresent in Jul (RE et al.). lVlanxShearwa- terswere heard at nighton Colombier I., SPM, ,Atlantic Provinces wherenesting has been suspected for more thana decadebut as yet is unproven (BL et al.). Besidesthe usual Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, andLittle Blue Herons in theRegion, mostly in St.Pierre et MiquelonNova Scotia, a Tricolored Heron photographed 22 Jun at SaintRests Marsh, Saint 1ohn, NB (MC) anda freshjuvenal-plumaged Yellow- crownedNight-Heron 19Jul on a ship240 km -.t•KillinekI. se.of CapeSpear, NF (fideBM0 were the most i .•f•rngatMtns.N.P. LABRADOR noteworthyof the "southern" herons reported. Therewas a reportof a LittleEgret with a ? ' •,•-t•.Hobron [•.•.••,• SEA SnowyEgret 8Jul at CS.L, but no detailshave .i CapeHarrison beenseen. An ad. White Ibis frequented back- •:•.Nam.Hopedale ,•Car•right yardlawns at Westport,Brier 1., NS 26-28 Jul •' '• • • .L GannetIsland (C. Haycock).A Black Vulture was observed in • . • mEcological Reserve [lightat Miscou 1. in ne.New Brunswick 17Jul •h•e•iile (•) /, Meal• (MD).A TurkeyVulture nest was discovered in ß. • Sm•11woo•.Mtns. • •&mi• o•BelleIsle thesame cave near Hammond River, NB where : .•ChurchillFall••se Bay •a •-aux-Mea•s thefirst Regional breeding record was recently 'Eskere- 'R•.• mN.R • •. '•St.•tho• confirmed0W). S.nder'T;;;: WoodDucks just e. of thebreeding range weremales 12Jun at LochLornend, NF (AH et al.) and11 Jul at St.Pierre, SPM (fide RE). A pairof Gadwalls was present atMiquelon, SPM •., h_ _ • •n•s• L St •rne• N.R '• Aval• on theintriguing dates of 4 & 6 Jun(RE). Sin- .? • •wrence• Brook • •,.,•.•ntnsu• gle drakeEurasian Wigeons were present •c• •" B•ques'•' - • x Ra• Campbellton,NB 29 Jun (GillesRioux) and ' • • •- Cha•t• Ca• Saint-Pierre •";• '• • t w ootStrait et Miquelon Gape, GrandCodroy R. estuary, NF 12Jun(AH et al.). • •' • • • • løl•ast•peBretonHighlandsN. RSt'Marys The annualJun sightings of maleEurasian -Bathest['• *',[ Pt ] .'. dn Wigeonsuggest post-breeding birds, but as yet •, •' • • • - CapeBret• I. thereis no confirmedbreeding record, and ., :,' . Moncton"•' A •Can• - ' •int •B C • • • LeVeredNova EurasianWigeon x AmericanWigeon hybrids Fmderi•onßJo•n • '• •0 •• •otiaSites: arealmost unrecorded in the Region. A Ruddy Grand% •' .•alifax-Dadmouth APi•ou • & B Amherst Duckwas at Cap BrOle, NB sewage ponds 25Jul Ma•nL•. • • •.•'• . •unenberg., ' •ble I. c- •ruro- Oean-SebastienGuenette). . "Brierl•Ya• um D•fville A Red-shoulderedHawk near Fredericton, ' S;a•l•Cape•blel. EDig• NB27 Jun was the only sighting of thisvery scarcebreeder (Diane Allain, Hal Dakell). A fewpairs of Rough-legged Hawks summered in theSt. Shorts area on thes. tipof theAvalon tailed Godwits were in Newfoundland. In re- BruceMactavish Peninsula,NF, where they are sporadic nesters centyears, a patternof trulyextraordinary (fideBMt). Typical in recentyears were mid- birdoccurrences in midsummer has emerged, summersightings of SandhillCranes: one in 37Waterford Bridge Road a patternof speciesoccurring outside estab- Sackville,NB 12 Jun; one in Rogersvilles,NB lishedpatterns of vagrancy.Two species found St.John's, Newfoundland ^IE 1C$ 20-24 Jun (fideBD); onein RoundHill, An- tn earlyJuly fit thebill thissummer: a Lewis's napolis,NS 3Jun (JoeNeeera); and one in As- Woodpeckerin NovaScotia and a RockWren pen,Guysborough, NS11 Jun (fide RL). ([email protected]) in Newfoundland, both extraordinary western vagrantsdetected in the middleof the breed- SHOREBIRDSTHROUGH TERNS ingseason. These unrelated species are part of Twopairs of AmericanOystercatchers pro- anemerging pattern of westernspecies found ducedyoung at the Regionõ only breeding site Brunswickand Nova Scotia.Newfoundland in theRegion at theheight of summer,when onThe Hawk, C.S.1. (MN et al.). Once again, 'tßexperienced was awet theandclouds cloudy but summernot enough inNewrain birders have not expected western vagrants. a singlead. American Oystercatcher frequent- to maintainadequate water levels in salmon In 2003, there was a mid-summer Golden- ed isolatedislets off the e. side of G.M.I. dur- Iiversand city reservoirs. The cool weather de- crownedSparrow and a WesternTanager. In ing muchof thesummer (BD et al.). A Black- layedharvest of farmcrops, but it wasun- recentyears, Sage Thrasher and Cassin's King- neckedStilt was present at CherryHill Beach, knownwhat, if any,effect there was on repro- birdhave fallen into this category. What will NS6-8 Jun (SF et al.); sightings ofthis species duction in birds. be next? areon theincrease in AtlanticCanada, but it is Summeris clearlythe timefor someof the stillconsidered a major rarity. A SolitarySand- mostremarkable rarities of theyear in theRe- Abbreviations:C.S.I. (CapeSable I., NS); piperin peatlandnear Minto, NB 21 Junwas gion.This summer, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher G.M.I. (GrandManan 1., NB). probablya localbreeder (Dwayne Sabine). A anda PaintedBunting visited New Brunswick; Black-tailedGodwit was photographed near WhiteIbis, Black-necked Stilt, White-winged LOONSTH ROUGH CRAN ES Bareneed,Conception Bay, NF 8 Jun,repre- Dove,and ShinyCowbird were recorded in Red-throatedLoon continuesto maintain its sentingthe 11thfor the province(Andrew Nova Scotia; and both Black-tailed and Bar- southernmostbreeding location in North Badcock,fideBM0. A HudsonianGodwit pho-
488 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS tographedat PortugalCove South, NF 14-15 BMt). Mourmng Doves colonized New in theRegion (MC). A Blue-grayGnatcatcher 2 Junfurnished only the 2nd Jun record for the Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the 1970s and Jun wasa late springmigrant on Kent I., NB provinceand one of the very few mid-Jun 1980sand are nowpushing into the eastern- (CoreyFreeman). A GrayCatbird strayed n. to sightingsin theRegion (KK, BMt). Newlound- mostareas of theRegion as breeders. PlumPt., Great Northern Pen., NF 20Jun(Ivy land's 2nd Bar-tailed Godwit was an ad. fe- A Lewis'sWoodpecker at a feederon Elgin Gibbons).As expected in recentyears, Bohemi- malefound at StephenvilleCrossing 22 Jul by Rd., Pictou,NS 1-3 Jul was a shocker(KM et an Waxwingswere seen throughout the sum- Kim Eckertleading a VENT tour.It remained al.). It wasphotographed and observedby a mer around Wabush in w. Labrador (Gordon longenough to beviewed by local birders over handfulof fortunatebirders before vanishing. Parsons). the next few days.A MarbledGodwit was Theonly previous record for the Region was at mostunusual at GlaceBay, C.B.I., NS 14 Jul CowHead, NF 14Aug-11 Sep 1986. A rarebird WARBLERSTHROUGH FINCHES (JuniorMetcalf). in Jun,an ad. Red-headedWoodpecker was at A Chestnut-sidedWarbler singing 20 Jun in A few Great and South Polar Skuas were re- L. George,Yarmouth, NS 11 Jun (Grant Milroy). cen. Newfoundland near Grand Falls was in- portedfrom ferries and whale-watching cruises A femaleRed-bellied Woodpecker lingered un- triguing,as the specieshas yet to be proven fromvarious locations in theRegion. Typically, til 4 Junat Buctouche,NB (Jean-PaulLaBlane). breedingin theprovince (Mike Parmenter). A sightingswere not accompanied bydetails, and Lessthan annualin Newfoundland,an Eastern springSummer Tanager fingered at a Canso,NS eventhe few that wereare difficultto judge. Phoebeat CapeRace 23 Jun was unexpected in feederuntil 5 Jun(TK). A ScarletTanager was The statusof thetwo speciesof skua quite out rangeand habitatat St. knownto occurin theRegion remains Brides,NL 24 Jun (DM). Likewise,a as muddledas it was 20 yearsago. maleEastern Towhee visiting a feeder WhileLaughing Gull is a regularsum- at Ferryland,NL for the first two merrarity in e. pansof the Region, weeks of Jun was outside the late e.g.,in Newfoundland,there appears •, i- '•'"" • • ' i fall/earlywinter window of usualoc- to be a genuineincrease in records currence(fide BMt). A Clay-colored fromthe s. portion,especially the Bay Sparrowsinging on Kent I., NB in of Fundy,Brian Dalzell estimated up mid-Junhad little hope of findinga to 25 Laughing Gulls "floating mate at that isolatedlocation (Nat around"the Bay of Fundy,Return of Wheelwright).A Field Sparrow was at LaughingGulls as a breedingspecies Oromocto, NB 25 Jul (Beverley in the Regionmay be closeat hand. Schneider).A latespring Blue Gros- CommonTerns fared poorly in New beakwas at St.Pierre SPM 7 & 12Jun Brunswick. A census of the massive (FA). A male PaintedBunting was coloniesat KouchibouguacN.P re- presentat a feedernear Baie Ste Anne, vealed4335 pairs in 2004,down from Northhumberland,NB 5-10 Jul (Bill Thismale Shiny Cowbird spent •o daysat a feede•in Canso, Nova Sco•a 13 June Rushworthy),about the 15th occur- 7971 pairsin 2003 (ML); no reason 2•4 (here)•rough the ne• day.As was •e of•e Reg•n'sothe• record, for the decreasewas suggested. The NewBru•wi• in1993, •is bkdwas reposed first as a BrewersBlackbi•. AsHe renee for New Brunswick,most of mixed Common Tern and Arctic Tern froms•gle rec•ds ß Ma•eand Vkginia, there are no othe• records ofthe species whichhave been in Mayand Jun. colonyof 3200pairs on MacbiasSeal nodhof North Carolina. Photograph byTom A maleShiny Cowbird was pho- I. had almost total nest failure due tographedat thealready famous feed- largelyto a lackof smallherring (Jide BD). A summer(DM). A Scissor-tailedFlycatcher in er of TomKavanaugh in Canso,NS 13-14Jun pairof BlackTerns nested in a largecolony of ne. New Brunswickat MiscouI. 21 & 22 Jun (TK et al.). This extraordinaryoccurrence CommonTerns at KouchibouguacN.P, NB af- fallswithin the patternof occurrenceestab- wouldseem part of thenorthward expansion of ter fiveyears of prospectingthere (ML). Two lishedby the 30+ previousrecords for the thisspecies, but thatexpansion had slowed in pairsof BhckTerns nested for the2nd year at province(fide DC). A White-eyedVireo banded thepast eight years or so,with only occasional MacbiasSeal I., NB, but both nestswere unsuc- 8Junon KentI., NBwas the first Jun record for singlesn. to theCarolinas. There is oneprevi- cessful(fide BD). On a positivenote, breeding theprovince and possibly the Region (fide BD). ous recordfrom the Region:a male pho- Common Murre numbers doubled on Macbias A breedingpair of NorthernRough-winged tographedat Lameque,NB 5 Aug1993. In both SealI., at least200 nestswere found (Amey Swallows,rare in theRegion, returned to Riv- cases,the feederoperators first identifiedthe Black),with an additional115 pairs present on iereVerte, Gloucester, NB aftera 2003nesting birdsas a Brewex'sBlackbird. Any reportsof nearbyYellow Murre Ledge (John Drury). (RogerGuitard). Brewer's Blackbirds at feeders in summer A contender for the award for the most ab- shouldbe checked.White-winged Crossbills DOVESTHROUGH WAXWINGS surdavian occurrences in the Regionwas the respondedto anexceptionally heavy cone crop A White-wingedDove at Liscombe,Guysbor- RockWren singingat Port-auxBasques, NL. in Newfoundlandby arrivingen massein Jun ough,NS wasseen by two bird tour groups Foundon 3 Jul by visiting New Brunswick bird- andJul, with much singing by theend of the 6-11Jul(Chris Benesh et al.). Incredibly,this is er Michel Chaisson,it remainedfor more than period.A maleEurasian Siskin photographed at about the 29th individual observed in Nova a week,during which time it sangfeverously feederin Lorneville,Saint John, NB 1-3 Junwas Scotiaand the 4th in 2004(fide IM). Raresum- fromthe rock foundation of a bridgefor all to mostlikely an escapee from somewhere on this mer Yellow-billedCuckoos were singlesa! seeand to photograph.There is oneprevious sideof theAriantic Ocean (JW et al.). DanielsHead, C.S.L 13 Jun (MN) andBarring- recordfor the Region 4-8 Oct1980. Most of the ton,NS 20Jun (MN). The firstBarred Owl for few East Coast records are from mid-autumn Contributors(subregional editors in boldface): Newfoundhnd & Labrador was a fresh road kill andwinter. Singing House Wrens were at Fred- Frederic Allen-Mahe, David Christie, Merv nearNorth WestR., Labradoron 16 Jul (John ericton,NB 20Jul(BMy); Hammond River, NB Cormier,Brian Dalzell, Marcel David, Roger Thomas).This specimen adds credence to a re- 11Jun-I 0 Jul (AllenGorham, JW); Scoudouc, Etcheberry,Sylvia Fullerton, Anne Hughes, portof a callingBarred Owl in thesame area of NB throughJun (Norm& GiseleBelliveau); TomKavanaugh, Ken Knowles,Randy Lauff, rich deciduousforest in Aug 2001 (Isabel TusketFalls, Yarmouth, NS 3-8 Jun (MN et al.); Fulton Lavender,Mike LeBlanc,Bruno Letour- Schmelzer).Breeding Mourning Doves were andCole Harbour, NS 3 Jul(FL et al.).Twenty- nel, BruceMactavish (BMt), BlakeMaybank againconfirmed at St.Pierre, SPM (fide RE) and fiveMarsh Wrens singing at the Germantown, (BMy), Ken McKenna,Ian McLaren,David at nearbySt. Lawrence,Burin Pen., NL (fide NBmarsh is probably the highest concentration Milson,Murray Newell, Jim Wilson. •
VOLUME 58 (2004) NUMBER 4 489 imposed,whereas by contrast a $125,000 fine by a NovaScotia court in February 2002 was unprecedented. Stateof the Region Seabirdhunting continues tobe of concern. Newfoundland entered Canada belatedly (in lanMcLaren ßBiology Department ßDalhousie University ßHalifax, Nova Scotia B3H4J1 1949),and its traditional murre (mostly Thick-billed) hunt remained intact, with some ([email protected]) 200,000killed annually. Wide publicity andlocal sympathy forclosure ofHarlequin Duck hunt- ingseems to haveworked; rated by COSEWIC asendangered in1990, it wasdownlisted to Despitethe Region's low human density (2.4 million people, 52% urban, in540,000 kin2), "specialconcern" in2001. The Canadian Wildlife Service isaddressing concern about other therehave been great impacts onterrestrial and marine environments inCanada's Atlantic species,such as scoters and Common Eiders, which may be subjectto unsustainable harvests. Provinces.Some 60% of the land is forested and substantially owned or leased by forestry TheHova Scotian populations ofthe (COSEWlC, endangered) Roseate Tom, atthe margin of companies.Agriculture islargely localized along river valleys and coastal areas. Accordingly, its range, have been studied extensively. Thetwo major colonies (76pairs on the Brothers Island forestryhas had wide impacts, but agriculture hasespecially affected rich forests and wet- and40 pairs on Country Island in2004) have been sustained inrecent years bywardening and lands.The sea, with some 40,000 km of coastline, hasdominated pattoms ofhuman settle- predatorcontrol. mentand resource exploitation. Damming ofrivers flowing into the Bay of Fundy has led to Finally,seabird populations maybe affected by poorly understood oceanographic varia- hugelosses ofsalt marshes, and many elsewhere have been diked and drained. The estab- tion.A recentconference highlighted disappearance ofmasses ofRed-necked Phalaropes lishmentofCanada's 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone in 1977 has not been accompanied from southwestern Bayof Fundy during the 1990s. This was mooted asa spillover effect ofa byadequate stewardship. Species ofparticular concern are listed by the Committee onthe wider,tenfold decrease inAtlantic Canada oftheir chief prey, the copepod Calanus finmarchi~ Statusof Endangered Wildlife inCanada (COSEWlC) andby various provincial agencies. The cos.Although probably a natural, long-term fluctuation, suchevents can make species more SpeciesAt RiskAct (SARA), passed inJune 2003, now gives formal protection to many vulnerabletohuman impact• specieslisted by COSEWlC(see
Landbirds Breedingranges ofsome CDSEWlC-listed landbird (and wetland) species extend intoAtlantic Canada (e.g. Least Bittern, Rusty Blackbird), buttheir welfares lie largelyelsewhere. TheRegion does have substantial fractions ofothers, includ- ingthe charismatic Bicknelrs Thrush (special concern), and contains the entire breedingranges oftwo listed subspecies. TheSavanna (Ipswich) Sparrow (sub- speciesprinceps, rated of special concern), nesting on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, alongwith other conservation concerns, could be impacted byfederal plans-- Bicknell'sThn•sh isa little-knownspecies that nests in dense, stunted spruce/fir forests inthe Atlantic currentlybeing strenuously opposed--to dispense with year-round wardening NorthernForest BCR, including large areas of New Brunswick andpart of Nova Scotia. As few as 25,000 ofthe island. The (endangered) Newfoundland subspecies (orspecies?)percna of pairsmay exist. Only recently (1995) split from Gray-cheeknd Thrush, which winters inSouth America, RedCrossbill hasdeclined sharply inthe last 50 years. Bicknell'swintering grounds are thought to lie only in the Greater Antilles. Deforestation andfragmenta- Thefate of many species islinked to forestry. Although knowledge andlegis- tionare threats in both breeding and wintering ranges. Pbotoõrapl• byFire Laman/VlltfO. lationhave somewhat mitigated the excesses offorestry, current pulpwood extractionexceeds sustainable, medium-term rates, and there is littleold~ Murre,on Funk Island, and the largest North American concentrations ofAtlantic Puffin, in growthleft to either protect ormanage wisely. The largely forested Hational Parks (two in WitlessBay. Catastrophic declines ofcommercial groundfishes offAtlantic Canada have not eachprovince except Prince Edward Island, inwhich the park is essentially seashore) help, as directlyaffected seabirds but may have severely reduced the abundance offorage fishes. dosome areas protected byLand Trusts orin provincially designated wildernessareas, butpri- Reducedgillnetting has lessened by-catches ofbirds in recent years. Off Newfoundland, col- vateland is extensive: inPrince Edward Island, over 90% of the land is privately owned; in lapseof cod and the increase ofHarp Seals have been accompanied byreduced availability of NovaScotia, 70% of the land is pr'•ately owned; and in New Brunswick, 50%of the land is pri- Capelinfor many sun'ace-feeding gulls,and increased abundance ofArctic Cod as fond for vatelyowned, and most forested public land is leased toforestry. Although more remaining otherseabirds. Therole of oceanographic changes inthis switch isuncertain. Recent analyses patches ofolder or unusual forest need to be set aside, and the importance ofremnant snags implicateover-fishing ina shift to a pelagicfood web on the Scotlan Shelf ecosystem, but andcavity trees is increasingly accepted, many ecologists believe that landscape-scale man- effectson seabirds, which use mostly pelagic prey, are unclear. Fishery collapse and better agementisthe only remaining strategy forsustaining forest bird diversity. This includes lim- managementofgarbage has locally reduced productivity in Herring Gulls but may have itingthe areas ofintensively managed conifer plantations. Finetuning ofthe scale and timing increasedpredation bylarge gulls on other seabirds intheir colonies. ofcutting and pre-commercial thinning also holds some hope; for example, preliminary Thegreatest hazard tomarine birdlife tocontinues tobe the illegal flushing ofoily bilge researchindicates that Bicknelrs Thrush in NewBrunswick ismost common in naturally waterat sea,which is estimated to kill some 300,000 birds annually, 80% tourres and regeneratingsoftwood stands 5-12 years afterclear-cutting, whichcorresponds tothe period Dovekies.Canada's record on preventing thispractice isdeplorable. Aerial pollution surveil- whenpre-commercial thinning most often occurs inthe industrial forest. lancehas been some 400 hours per year, compared with about 2000 hours off California. In I thankBill Freedman (forest ecology), Mar•y Leonard (COSEWIQ, JohnChardine (Canadian theUnited States and Europe, bilge-dumping finesof a milliondollars ormore have been WildlifeService), andBecky Whittam (Bird Studies Canada) forassistance withthis summary.
490 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS