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> This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --Boundary_(ID_aZPLYH5Xt1/3Kzk3NBGJXQ) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Counts quiet, but with a few rarities -- Daily News, Sunday, January 7, 2007 COLUMNS Daily News, Sunday, January 7, 2007 Counts quiet, but with a few rarities By Clarence Stevens The Daily News As the Christmas Bird Count period draws to a close, a clearer picture of winter bird populations around the province emerges. The Bedford Sackville count, like most of our Nova Scotia Christmas Bird Counts this year, was a quiet count, with lower than normal bird species, but still, some interesting observations were made. The rarest bird of the count was a Brown Thrasher discovered at feeders in the Lewis Lake area. The Bedford Basin Yacht Club was the location of the discovery of a Lesser Black Back Gull. Bedford feeders provided a Baltimore Oriole for the count, and at least one Northern Cardinal. In Sackville, an American Coot was observed in First Lake. An out-of season Hermit Thrush was found in Rockingham, and one of the very few Northern Shrikes to be reported in the province this winter was observed in Tantallon. As in most of the province's counts, Purple Finches and Common Redpolls were either missing or present in very low numbers. During the Hants West count, most of the highlights were either raptors or members of the waterfowl family, though one exception was a Black Backed Woodpecker. Raptor highlights included two Barred Owls, one on the Old Dump site along the Walton Road and one at Smiley's Provincial Park. The only other owl species found inside the count circle was a Short Eared Owl at the St.Croix Cemetery. As count participants birded the Hants West area, they also accidentally located one Great Horned Owl and one Long Eared Owl just outside the circle. The rarest waterfowl of the Hants West count was a Northern Shoveler at the Windsor Sewage Lagoons. Other notables at the lagoons included Green Winged Teal, American Wigeon and Ring Necked Ducks. A mystery hawk seen during the count has not yet been positively identified, but is likely either a Red Shouldered Hawk or a Broad Winged Hawk. Both species closely resemble each other in appearance, but inside Nova Scotia, sightings of Red Shouldered Hawk in winter are extremely rare. Outside of Nova Scotia only Red Shouldered Hawks have been recorded on cold weather counts, so many American birders have a hard time believing that Broad Winged Hawks could be sighted here on our counts. That's in spite of numerous detailed sightings, including at least one with collaborating photographs that positively identify the hawk as a Broad Winged. This particular hawk will remain a mystery unless it can be rediscovered. The Lunenburg count can be touted as the jewel of this year's Christmas Bird Count season. Although the number of birds were low, as in all counts, each team seemed to provide a few unique species, resulting in a count that produced a good variety of species. Not all the data are in, but the most recent tally indicated that at least 79 species were observed on count day. Highlights from the Lunenburg CBC included three Northern Cardinals, two Gadwalls, two Purple Sandpipers, three Orange Crowned Warblers, five Barrows Goldeneyes, one Black Backed Woodpecker, one Lesser Black Back Gull, and one Great Horned Owl. Clarence Stevens operates Natural Wonders, a nature interpretation company, and is the author of Birding Metro Halifax. To pass along your bird reports contact Clarence at dnbirder@yahoo.ca. --Boundary_(ID_aZPLYH5Xt1/3Kzk3NBGJXQ) Content-type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Counts quiet, but with a few rarities -- Daily News, Sunday, January 7, 2007</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <BR> <B>Subject: </B>Counts quiet, but with a few rarities -- Daily News, Sunday, January 7, 2007<BR> <BR> <FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Arial"><B>COLUMNS</B> Daily News, Sunday, January 7, 2007<BR> <BR> <B>Counts quiet, but with a few rarities</B> <BR> </FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE="4"> <BR> </FONT><H5>By Clarence Stevens<BR> The Daily News<BR> </H5><FONT SIZE="4"><BR> </FONT><FONT SIZE="2">As the Christmas Bird Count period draws to a close, a clearer picture of winter bird populations around the province emerges.<BR> <BR> The Bedford Sackville count, like most of our Nova Scotia Christmas Bird Counts this year, was a quiet count, with lower than normal bird species, but still, some interesting observations were made.<BR> <BR> The rarest bird of the count was a Brown Thrasher discovered at feeders in the Lewis Lake area. The Bedford Basin Yacht Club was the location of the discovery of a Lesser Black Back Gull. Bedford feeders provided a Baltimore Oriole for the count, and at least one Northern Cardinal. In Sackville, an American Coot was observed in First Lake. An out-of season Hermit Thrush was found in Rockingham, and one of the very few Northern Shrikes to be reported in the province this winter was observed in Tantallon. As in most of the province's counts, Purple Finches and Common Redpolls were either missing or present in very low numbers.<BR> <BR> During the Hants West count, most of the highlights were either raptors or members of the waterfowl family, though one exception was a Black Backed Woodpecker. Raptor highlights included two Barred Owls, one on the Old Dump site along the Walton Road and one at Smiley's Provincial Park. The only other owl species found inside the count circle was a Short Eared Owl at the St.Croix Cemetery. As count participants birded the Hants West area, they also accidentally located one Great Horned Owl and one Long Eared Owl just outside the circle.<BR> <BR> The rarest waterfowl of the Hants West count was a Northern Shoveler at the Windsor Sewage Lagoons. Other notables at the lagoons included Green Winged Teal, American Wigeon and Ring Necked Ducks. A mystery hawk seen during the count has not yet been positively identified, but is likely either a Red Shouldered Hawk or a Broad Winged Hawk. Both species closely resemble each other in appearance, but inside Nova Scotia, sightings of Red Shouldered Hawk in winter are extremely rare.<BR> <BR> Outside of Nova Scotia only Red Shouldered Hawks have been recorded on cold weather counts, so many American birders have a hard time believing that Broad Winged Hawks could be sighted here on our counts. That's in spite of numerous detailed sightings, including at least one with collaborating photographs that positively identify the hawk as a Broad Winged. This particular hawk will remain a mystery unless it can be rediscovered. <BR> <BR> The Lunenburg count can be touted as the jewel of this year's Christmas Bird Count season. Although the number of birds were low, as in all counts, each team seemed to provide a few unique species, resulting in a count that produced a good variety of species. Not all the data are in, but the most recent tally indicated that at least 79 species were observed on count day. Highlights from the Lunenburg CBC included three Northern Cardinals, two Gadwalls, two Purple Sandpipers, three Orange Crowned Warblers, five Barrows Goldeneyes, one Black Backed Woodpecker, one Lesser Black Back Gull, and one Great Horned Owl.<BR> <BR> <I>Clarence Stevens operates Natural Wonders, a nature interpretation company, and is the author of Birding Metro Halifax. To pass along your bird reports contact Clarence at dnbirder@yahoo.ca.</I> <BR> </FONT></FONT><BR> </BODY> </HTML> --Boundary_(ID_aZPLYH5Xt1/3Kzk3NBGJXQ)--
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