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--=====================_446843250==.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable 20 April 2009 Martine and I spent this past weekend enjoying a=20 long-overdue exploration of Cumberland County=92s=20 Fundy shoreline. Waterfowl were the stars of the=20 show, with raptors in a fine supporting role. We began in Amherst (with my first Osprey of the=20 year), where many local lakes and ponds were=20 still partially ice-covered, though Ring-necked=20 Ducks seemed to be in any open water. Our first=20 stop was Eddy Marsh, viewed from the=20 Trans-Canada. The cells of this marsh are mostly=20 choked with vegetation and really need opening=20 up, but in the cell with the most open water=20 there were Pied-billed Grebes, Gadwall, Northern=20 Pintail, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, and Northern Shoveler. The trails at Amherst Marsh were snow-covered so=20 we contented ourselves with scoping from the road=20 at the southern end of the Marsh. We had the=20 same mix of species as at the Eddy Marsh, with=20 the addition of the Bald Eagle incubating at the=20 well-known nest on the electrical tower. The marsh at Maccan, a much smaller affair, held=20 fewer ducks, but there were more wigeon there. We had intended to drive around the Lower Maccan=20 peninsula but the road was closed due to a=20 wash-out, so we continued on to River=20 Hebert. Just across the river we turned north on=20 Barronsfield Road in the direction of Minudie and=20 the Minudie marshes, and I was pleased to=20 discover the new (to me) extensive impoundments=20 surrounding the River Hebert West Waste Water=20 Management facility. For an aerial view of these wetlands go here: http://tinyurl.com/cf5b8a The cells were filled with waterfowl, most=20 impressively large numbers of Northern=20 Shoveler. As indicated by the recent reports of=20 shovelers in the Annapolis Valley it seems the=20 species is making a strong push into freshwater=20 wetlands in the province. They are most=20 welcome, as are the increasing number of Gadwall,=20 Northern Pintail, and American=20 Wigeon. (Mallards, by contrast, were few in=20 number, which doesn=92t distress me). It is nice=20 to have a greater diversity of puddle ducks in our freshwater marshes. The River Hebert wetlands also had Bufflehead,=20 Blue-winged Teal, many American Wigeon, plenty=20 more Ring-necked Ducks, Canada Geese,=20 Green-winged Teal (no Eurasians), and lots of Black Ducks. At the hamlet of Minudie I was pleased to find a=20 kestrel, but we couldn=92t proceed into Minudie=20 Marsh, as the only ungated access road was very=20 soft, and drifted in with snow. So, on to Joggins. We hoped to explore the Interpretive Centre, but=20 the planned opening date was April 22, Earth=20 Day. And the Joggins Fossil Cliffs were mostly=20 inaccessible as winter storms had removed the=20 lower portion of the two sets of stairs leading=20 to the beach, though you could climb down the=20 northern set of stairs with care. There was a=20 nice male harrier seemingly on territory coursing the fields above the= cliffs. We continued south to Apple River, where we=20 stopped to chat with Kathleen and Blaine Spicer,=20 and watch their active feeders. Cindy was=20 visiting from Sackville. We talked birds and=20 gardens -- Blaine and Kathleen work an impressive acreage of vegetables. American Tree Sparrows were still attending the=20 feeders, and there were loads of=20 woodpeckers. Kathleen had seen her first Tree=20 Swallows the previous day, but we failed to find=20 any swallows the entire weekend. After saying=20 our goodbyes we checked out the Apple River=20 marsh, but a Bald Eagle disturbed the local=20 waterfowl and we couldn=92t get an accurate count=20 of the number and variety of species, though a=20 Common Merganser was new for the weekend=92s list. And finally, off to West Advocate, where we=20 stayed the night at Reid=92s Century Farm Tourist=20 Home. In the late afternoon thermals there were=20 a number of Turkey Vultures soaring above the=20 Cobequid Hills, and from talking with Charles=20 Reid he indicated that vultures have present in=20 the Advocate Harbour area for several summers=20 now. They must be breeding, but how to find the nests? At dusk we were pleased to hear a Wilson=92s Snipe winnowing above the farm. That evening I tried some owling, but there was=20 so much water running off the Cobequid Hills that=20 it was difficult to hear from the roadways, and I=20 managed only a single Great Horned Owl, near New Salem. On Sunday, the second fair day in a row, we drove=20 the rough road to the tip of Cape d=92Or (eiders,=20 and a Northern Harrier), and then proceeded east=20 along the Fundy shore. Off the beach at=20 Spenser=92s Island there were Surf and Black=20 Scoters, Oldsquaw, and Common Eiders, all new=20 additions to the weekend waterfowl list. We had=20 several sightings of Bald Eagles, as well as a=20 pair of kestrels near Parrsboro (where the=20 Glooscap Restaurant still serves a mean burger). We stopped in at =93That Dutchman=92s Farm=94 to=20 purchase some superb cheese, and in conversation=20 with Willem van den Hoek regarding the local farm=20 birds he lamented the decline of swallows around=20 his farm and in the local area. Barn Swallows=20 were gone, a large nearby Bank Swallow colony was=20 abandoned, and there were only a few Tree=20 Swallows left (and they had yet to return). Depressing. The marsh at Glenholme was very active, and I saw=20 Northern Shoveler there as well, the first local=20 sighting for me. There was also a pair of Gadwall and a pair of wigeon. Our final destination was the Masstown Market,=20 where we observed a further sign of spring =96 the=20 long line-up at the ice-cream counter. Our re-exploration of Cumberland County=92s Fundy=20 shoreline was long overdue, but we were glad to=20 encounter 17 species of waterfowl and five of=20 raptors (including Turkey Vultures). The=20 waterfowl count included 10 Gadwall, 30 American=20 Wigeon, 31 Northern Shoveler, 10 Northern Pintail, and 145 Ring-necked= Ducks. All the best, Blake ----------------------------------------------------------------------------= - Blake Maybank maybank@ns.sympatico.ca 902-852-2077 Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds" author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia" http://maybank.tripod.com/BSNS.htm White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada=20 --=====================_446843250==.ALT Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html> <body> <font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times">20 April 2009<br><br> Martine and I spent this past weekend enjoying a long-overdue exploration of Cumberland County=92s Fundy shoreline. Waterfowl were the stars of the show, with raptors in a fine supporting role.<br><br> We began in Amherst (with my first Osprey of the year), where many local lakes and ponds were still partially ice-covered, though Ring-necked Ducks seemed to be in any open water. Our first stop was Eddy Marsh, viewed from the Trans-Canada. The cells of this marsh are mostly choked with vegetation and really need opening up, but in the cell with the most open water there were Pied-billed Grebes, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, and Northern Shoveler. <br><br> The trails at Amherst Marsh were snow-covered so we contented ourselves with scoping from the road at the southern end of the Marsh. We had the same mix of species as at the Eddy Marsh, with the addition of the Bald Eagle incubating at the well-known nest on the electrical tower.<br><br> The marsh at Maccan, a much smaller affair, held fewer ducks, but there were more wigeon there. <br><br> We had intended to drive around the Lower Maccan peninsula but the road was closed due to a wash-out, so we continued on to River Hebert. Just across the river we turned north on Barronsfield Road in the direction of Minudie and the Minudie marshes, and I was pleased to discover the new (to me) extensive impoundments surrounding the River Hebert West Waste Water Management facility. For an aerial view of these wetlands go here:<br><br> </font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times" color=3D"#0000FF"><b><u> <a href=3D"http://tinyurl.com/cf5b8a" eudora=3D"autourl"> http://tinyurl.com/cf5b8a<br><br> </a></u></b></font><font face=3D"Times New Roman, Times">The cells were filled with waterfowl, most impressively large numbers of Northern Shoveler. As indicated by the recent reports of shovelers in the Annapolis Valley it seems the species is making a strong push into freshwater wetlands in the province. They are most welcome, as are the increasing number of Gadwall, Northern Pintail, and American Wigeon. (Mallards, by contrast, were few in number, which doesn=92t distress me). It is nice to have a greater diversity of puddle ducks in our freshwater marshes.<br><br> The River Hebert wetlands also had Bufflehead, Blue-winged Teal, many American Wigeon, plenty more Ring-necked Ducks, Canada Geese, Green-winged Teal (no Eurasians), and lots of Black Ducks.<br><br> At the hamlet of Minudie I was pleased to find a kestrel, but we couldn=92t proceed into Minudie Marsh, as the only ungated access road was very soft, and drifted in with snow. So, on to Joggins.<br><br> We hoped to explore the Interpretive Centre, but the planned opening date was April 22, Earth Day. And the Joggins Fossil Cliffs were mostly inaccessible as winter storms had removed the lower portion of the two sets of stairs leading to the beach, though you could climb down the northern set of stairs with care. There was a nice male harrier seemingly on territory coursing the fields above the cliffs.<br><br> We continued south to Apple River, where we stopped to chat with Kathleen and Blaine Spicer, and watch their active feeders. Cindy was visiting from Sackville. We talked birds and gardens -- Blaine and Kathleen work an impressive acreage of vegetables. <br><br> American Tree Sparrows were still attending the feeders, and there were loads of woodpeckers. Kathleen had seen her first Tree Swallows the previous day, but we failed to find any swallows the entire weekend. After saying our goodbyes we checked out the Apple River marsh, but a Bald Eagle disturbed the local waterfowl and we couldn=92t get an accurate count of the number and variety of species, though a Common Merganser was new for the weekend=92s list.<br><br> And finally, off to West Advocate, where we stayed the night at Reid=92s Century Farm Tourist Home. In the late afternoon thermals there were a number of Turkey Vultures soaring above the Cobequid Hills, and from talking with Charles Reid he indicated that vultures have present in the Advocate Harbour area for several summers now. They must be breeding, but how to find the nests?<br><br> At dusk we were pleased to hear a Wilson=92s Snipe winnowing above the farm.<br><br> That evening I tried some owling, but there was so much water running off the Cobequid Hills that it was difficult to hear from the roadways, and I managed only a single Great Horned Owl, near New Salem.<br><br> On Sunday, the second fair day in a row, we drove the rough road to the tip of Cape d=92Or (eiders, and a Northern Harrier), and then proceeded east along the Fundy shore. Off the beach at Spenser=92s Island there were Surf and Black Scoters, Oldsquaw, and Common Eiders, all new additions to the weekend waterfowl list. We had several sightings of Bald Eagles, as well as a pair of kestrels near Parrsboro (where the Glooscap Restaurant still serves a mean burger). <br><br> We stopped in at =93That Dutchman=92s Farm=94 to purchase some superb cheese= , and in conversation with Willem van den Hoek regarding the local farm birds he lamented the decline of swallows around his farm and in the local area. Barn Swallows were gone, a large nearby Bank Swallow colony was abandoned, and there were only a few Tree Swallows left (and they had yet to return). Depressing.<br><br> The marsh at Glenholme was very active, and I saw Northern Shoveler there as well, the first local sighting for me. There was also a pair of Gadwall and a pair of wigeon. <br><br> Our final destination was the Masstown Market, where we observed a further sign of spring =96 the long line-up at the ice-cream counter.<br><br> Our re-exploration of Cumberland County=92s Fundy shoreline was long overdue, but we were glad to encounter 17 species of waterfowl and five of raptors (including Turkey Vultures). The waterfowl count included 10 Gadwall, 30 American Wigeon, 31 Northern Shoveler, 10 Northern Pintail, and 145 Ring-necked Ducks.<br><br> All the best,<br><br> Blake<br> <br> <x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------= -<br> Blake Maybank<br> maybank@ns.sympatico.ca<br> 902-852-2077<br><br> Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds"<br><br> author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia"<br> <a href=3D"http://maybank.tripod.com/BSNS.htm" eudora=3D"autourl"> http://maybank.tripod.com/BSNS.htm<br><br> </a>White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada</font></body> </html> --=====================_446843250==.ALT--
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