[NatureNS] King's County bird notes: mockingbird, eagles and nests, feeder birds,

Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:25:18 -0400
From: Jim Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Cc: Richard Hennigar <hennigar@xcountry.tv>
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Jan. 5, 2008 - Today I discovered that we have two different RED SQUIRRELS
at our feeders, and they hog individual feeders for long periods of time
(longer than the blue jays).  Also, d.... it, there is still a NORWAY RAT
attending the underside of my pheasant feeder.

Brenda and Bill Thexton found a N. MOCKINGBIRD somewhere east of Van
Nostrandıs Pond on Starrıs Point.

Jan. 6, 2008 - Pat and I did an ³eagles drive² this morning between 9 and
10:00, driving through Port Williams to Church Street, then west to
Chipmanıs Corner, then north on Middle Dyke Road through the Canard Valley
to Sheffield Mills, then to Canning.  Along the way we counted 105 BALD
EAGLES and perhaps 10 RED-TAILED HAWKS.  Concentrations of eagles were seen
at the corner of Church St. & Highway 358 (10), north of Canard River along
Middle Dyke Rd. (8), and at Bill Swetnamıs feeding spot at the north end of
Middle Dyke Rd. (20+); at the latter site, the feeding appeared to be over
and the eagles were all perched in the trees.

After breakfast in the Fireside Cafe in Canning, we drove to the red Fuller
barn on the road to Pereau -- east of the barn at the feeding location there
were 21 BALD EAGLES.  Then we saw about 6-8 more at Kingsport, after driving
through the Medford area.

Back in Canning, the RAVEN NEST above Main St. east of downtown was occupied
by an adult RAVEN -- hopefully they will nest there again in February.

We watched the feeders of Glenys Gibson and Ian Paterson for a while: song
sparrows, white-throated sparrows, house sparrows, a hairy woodpecker,
mourning doves -- no cardinals seen, but Merritt Gibson tells me they are
still being seen on the two Gibson properties.

On the dykelands south of Port Williams, 1 dark=phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK plus
1 red-tailed hawk.

At our home in Wolfville, we had an afternoon visit from 3 local
winter-bird-listers, Bernard Forsythe, Angus MacLean, and Richard Stern, who
had been birding all day, somewhat successfully (yellow-throated warbler and
orange-crowned warbler in Dartmouth)(etc.), and wanted to add some sparrows.
This was Richardıs fourth try for our CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW, which they all
did see plus CHIPPING SPARROW, but the imm. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW did not
appear for them -- however, it is still visiting daily.

Jan. 8, 2008 - At our feeders today, 1 CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW, 2 CHIPPING
SPARROWS (I may have 3 now, 2 adults & 1 imm.), the imm. WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROW, male and female CARDINALS, male FLICKER, a HAIRY WOODPECKER, etc.
And just for confusion among the sparrows, 2 AM. TREE SPARROWS have been
here for three days.

At the Thextonsı suggestion, I checked a couple of EAGLE NEST locations.
First, the Canard Road nest: southeast of the former nest-tree and much
farther from the road, unfortunately, presumably the same pair of eagles
have begun a NEW BALD EAGLE NEST, which probably will get bigger between now
and March.

At the Starrıs Point Town Look Road location, the former nest seems to have
disappeared (quite a while ago apparently), and no new visible nest has
appeared yet, although I could see at least two adult bald eagles perched
separately, one very close to the old site and the other a bit upstream
toward Port Williams.

Just north of Starrıs Point along the Wellington Dyke Road, a N. FLICKER was
feeding on the bare roadside ground.

Port Williams sewage ponds: about 60 MALLARDS, 2 AM. BLACK DUCKS, no other
ducks, 2 red-tailed hawks, 3+ SONG SPARROWS.

Cheers :-) from Jim in Wolfville, 542-9204
---------------------
Jim (James W.) Wolford
91 Wickwire Avenue 
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
B4P 1W3
phone (902)542-9204 (home)
fax (902)585-1059 (Acadia Univ. Biology Dept.)
e-mail <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>
----------------------
³...... the Earth .....belongs as much to those who come after us as to us;
and we have no right, by anything that we do, or neglect to do, to involve
them in unnecessary penalties, or to deprive them of benefits which are
theirs by right.²  - John Ruskin
----------------------

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