The Winter Season December 1, 1976-February 28, 1977 NORTHEASTERN MARITIME REGION againpreviously open ground. All in all a harshwinter for birds /Peter D. Vickery and birders. Despite the severe weather an impressivenumber of birds This Winter Season report marks a milestone for the highlightthe Winter Seasonreport. Especiallynoteworthy Northeastern Maritime Region. After some nine years Davis birds includea Ross'Gull and many Ivory Gulls in Newfound- Finch has retired as editor. His careful thought has graced land, an Ivory Gull in Massachusetts,an unprecedented thesepages with concisionand insight.Few peoplehave been alcid flightin southernNew England,a minimumof four Great Gray Owls in the region, no less than eight Gyrfalcons, a Hooded Warbler on a Nova Scotia CBC and a McCown's Longspur in Massachusetts. Unfortunatelythis report is preparedwith only partial refer- C ence to Christmas Bird Count material, essential for the Winter Seasonreport. Deadline pressures(to which I shall strive to adhere) and the changein editors compoundedthis problem. Especiallyin relationto hawks,gulls, alcids and sparrowsbe sureto consultthe 1976Christmas Bird Counts.Despite these varioushandicaps coverage of the regionwas excellentwith all statesand provinces except Prince Edward Island reporting observations. so familiar with the entire region.From Newburyportto the Tantramarre Marshes to L'Anse-aux-Meadows at the northern tip of Newfoundland,Davis hastraveled, studyingthe ecology and avifauna of each area. It will be some time before anyone else mastersin suchdetail but with suchbroad understanding the region'sbirds, their habits and their movements. It was with some misgivingsthat I acceptedDavis's sug- Peter D. Vickery, new NortheasternMaritime Regional Editor. gestionto edit the NortheasternMaritime Region. To follow Photo/Barbara Vickery. his efforts seemed at best a foolish undertaking. But I did accept and now we--you as contributors and I as editor-- mustwork to establisha new connection.With time I expect LOONS, GREBES, TUBENOSES--Common Loon num- to improvemy knowledgeof the region'sgeography and hope bers appeared considerablylower than usual this winter, to meet manyof you in person.I hope you will be patientwith Perhaps associated with this phenomenon, Red-throated (and alert me to) my mistakes and that you will contribute Loons were scarce along the Maine coast and were thought information and suggestionsso that these blunders and omis- to be in smaller-than-averagenumbers elsewhere in the region. sionsbecome fewer as each seasonpasses. I stronglysolicit The season'sonly Eared Grebe was discoveredoff Cape your observationsand thoughts. Bear with me; Davis is a Sable I., N.S., Jan. 7 (BS,LS, fide PRD). Perhapswithout difficult editor to follow. precedent in the region, was the enormous assemblageof A cold winter followeda colderthan averagefall. Exceptfor 500+ Horned Grebes off Barnstable, Mass., Dec. 12 (RP,fide the phenomenalsparrow and Hermit Thrush numbers,it was B.O.E.M.). Peakingin February, Red-neckedGrebes concen- not surprisingto note fewer semi-hardy birds lingeringin the tratedalong the New Englandcoast in extraordinarynumbers. region. December and January temperaturesremained below The actual total no doubt being several times greater, a freezing for extendedperiods; high winds and frequent snow- minimum of 762 was counted from 11 large flocks off the storms exacerbated the situation. In northern Maine some Massachusetts coast, the largest flocks including l l0 at areas registeredsnow depths of six feet or more. How then Cohasset Feb. 27 (RRV) and 80+ off Provincetown Feb. 20 could such extraordinary numbers of sparrows survive? (RRV et al.). At least134 birds of thisspecies, totaled from just February easedtO normal temperatures, with sunnydays and six flocks, were foundin New Hampshire.In Maine a single little precipitation.March producedseveral heavy snowstorms flock of 185Red-necked Grebes seenoff Reid S. P., Sagadahoc along the Massachusettsand Maine coastlinescovering once Co., eclipsed all known concenl•ationsand was almost cer- 304 AmericanBirds, May 1977 tatnly a regionalhigh (PKD). Countsof 100+ birdsoccurred in Canvasbacks from Warren, N.H., Feb. 22, and a single bird the Eastport-Campobelloarea (fide WCT). Rare in winter in in Laconia Feb. 24 were likely early migrants(SG). The species n Newfoundland, a single Red-necked Grebe was shot off being rare in the Marltimes, of note were seven Canvasbacks L'Anse-aux-Meadowsin late December (Job Anderson, bones seen in Cole Harbor, N.S., Dec. 5, a single bird wintenng in confirmed A.M.N.H., fide DWF). the area (EC, fide PRD). The region'sonly reportedBarrow's A Pted-billed Grebe found in Orono, Me., Jan. 14 was Goldeneye concentration included 30+ birds at Dalhousie, apparentlythe latest, northernmostbird in the region (fide N.B., in late November (DSC). Fifteen Barrow's in Nova WCT, PDV). Scotia were more than usual. In the same province small Two N. Fulmars were seen from Nantucket Shoals Dec. 15 numbersare now regularthrough the winter at Pugwash(SIT) & 22 (JML, fide B.O.E.M.). At First Encounter Beach, The regionaltotal of 91 Harlequin Ducks includedthe regular Eastham, Mass., a flight of some 300+ fulmars occurred concentration,peaking at 11, at Magnolia, Mass. (fde RPE) Jan 8 (CAG, BN). Fulmars in the North East Channel num- In Nova Scotia 17 Harlequins occurred on the Port Hebert bered 1200Jan. 24 and off George's Bank some3000 birds were CBC, with eight on the Broad Cove CBC, and eight found at counted Jan. 26 (K. Powers, fide B.O.E.M.). Five fulmars Cherry Hill Feb. 27 (PRH, ELM, fide PRD). Poor weather off EasthamFeb. 11 (CAG, BN) and a singlebird off Cox's conditionsprevented the censusof the region's highestcon- Ledge, R.I., Feb. 19 were the only other birds reportedfrom centrationof Harlequins aroundIsle au Haut, Me. A low figure the New England coast. Late lingeringCory's Shearwaters of only 22 King Eiderswas reportedfrom New Englandduring off Cape Cod included six at BarnstableDec. 5 (WRP, fide the winter season.A singleRuddy Duck in Louisbourg, N S , B O E M.) and a single bird from the same location Dec. 16 Dec. 11 was noteworthyfor the Marltimes (DP, fide PRD) (R Pease,fide B.O.E.M.). A singleGreater Shearwaterwas HAWKS, EAGLES--CBC information being only ran- seenoff George'sBank Feb. 8 (M.B.O. staff,fide B.O.E.M.). domly available, no accurate, comparativefigures of winter GANNETS, CORMORANTS, HERONS--Of special note hawk populationscan be tabulated.Goshawks, Rough-legged wasa stnglemisdirected Gannet, some 2 mi. inlandnear Boston Hawks and Merlins were widely reported and appeared Dec 28 (D. Horn,fide B.O.E.M.). Thought to be a first record presentin at leastaverage numbers. Troubling to this observer for the Connecticut River Valley, a Great Cormorant was is the persistentlyhigh number of wintering Cooper's Hawks observed at Sunderland, Mass., Jan. 9 (AR, fide SK). Late reported, a minimum of eight or nine from Massachusetts,at Double-crestedCormorants, possibly wintering birds, oc- least five from New Hampshire, "many at feeders" in s curred as far n. as New Hampshire, one found at Webster Maine, and three from Rhode Island. Aside from an lmm Jan 20 and two in ConcordJan. 22 (DJH,fide HWP). Clearly a Coopefts at Eastham and an ad. male at Louisbourg, N S , result of the cold weather, fewer herons remained in the region. none of the birds were aged or describedand most should be Espectally unusual was the Green Heron at East Orleans, viewed with somedegree of suspicion.Full detailsaccompany- Mass , Dec. 19 (CAG, DJH, WWH). ing winter Cooper's sightingswould be gratefully appreciated WATERFOWL--The cold fall and winter did not appear to There is no doubt the deep snowsand generally harsh winter have a dramatic effect on the CBC totals available for study. conditions brought greater Accipiter numbers to feeding But the unremittingsubfreezing weather in Januaryclosed any stations--but whether so many of these birds are Cooper's freshwaterareas that remainedopen and coveredmany salt- remainsopen to question. water tnletsand bays. Not surprisinglythe waterfowlpopula- Twenty-two Red-tailedHawks on the Wolfville CBC was a tton decreasedsignificantly. remarkableconcentration for the area (RDL). The only Golden Twenty WhistlingSwans in Plymouth,N.H., Feb. 9-10 Eagle in the region was a bird shot on Cape Breton, N S wereunusually early migrants farther n. thanusual (v.o.,fide (fide RDL). In Maine a Bald Eagle survey conductedby the SG) Especiallynoteworthy was a "Richardson's"Canada University of Maine tallied some 150 eagleswintering in the Goose dtscoveredin Orleans, Mass., Jan. 26 through February state with at least 29 (24 adults, 5 immatures)on the Penob- (M Holland,WRPetal.).DistributedwidelyfromNovaScotia scot R. Bob Lamberton estimated82 (53 adult, 28 immature, 1 and New Brunswick to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, unspecified)wintering in Nova Scotia. Elsewherein the region Brant wintered in larger-than-averagenumbers along the up to seven birds, including three immatures, wintered in coast Largeconcentrations included an impressive7487 (not Essex, Conn. (fide PJD) and a maximum of only five eaglesat necessarilyall winteringbirds) on the Cape Cod CBC, 320 at Quabbin,Mass. wasfewer than in previouswinters. Wintering Squantum,Mass., Jan. I and 700 there Feb. 26-27 (fide Ospreyreports quite rightly draw suspiciousattention. A bird B O E M.), 1000 in Boune, Mass., Feb. 12 (fide B.O.E.M.) identified as an Osprey at St. John, N.B., Jan. 25, seen in a and 82 tn Narragansett,R.I., Jan. 24 (fide CW). Farther n. rainstorm, appears questionable. A legitimate, early Osprey 150+ Brant were seenoff Portland, Me., in late December(fide appearedat Old Saybrook, Conn., mid-February (v.o , fide WG0, while David Christiereported "small numbers"from PJD). New Brunswickand, in Nova Scotia, 13 Brant were found on Perhaps the severe winter had an impact on Gyrfalcons the Wolfville CBC. Two Snow Geese in Saco, Me., Feb. 12- becauseno less than eight birds were reported. A white-phase 13 were apparentlyrecord early arrivals for that state (Les bird appeared at Salisbury Beach Dec.