[NatureNS] Brier Island count, Dec. 15

From: "Eric L. Mills" <e.mills@dal.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:56:04 -0400
Cc: Ns-rba@yahoogroups.com, brierisland@gmail.co
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BRIER ISLAND CHRISTMAS COUNT, 15 DECEMBER 2009

Weather overcast, 4-8C; wind E 10kph, then SSE 10 kph

0730-1700 AST

Participants: Anne Mills, Eric Mills (compiler), Jim Wolford

52 species; about 2207 individuals

Canada Goose - 9; Black Duck - 103; Mallard - 5; Green-winged Teal - 1; Common Eider - 
61; Surf Scoter - 3; White-winged Scoter - 10; Black Scoter - 2; Long-tailed Duck - 106; 
Bufflehead - 3; Common Goldeneye - 35; Red-breasted Merganser - 29; Ring-necked 
Pheasant - 5; Ruffed Grouse - 1; Common Loon - 45; Red-necked Grebe - 6; Northern 
Gannet - 71; Double-crested Cormorant - 2; Great Cormorant - 127; Turkey Vulture - 12; 
Bald Eagle - 1; Northern Harrier - 1; Red-tailed Hawk - 1; Peregrine Falcon - 1; Pomarine 
Jaeger - 1; Ring-billed Gull - 8; Herring Gull - 812; Iceland Gull - 13; Glaucous Gull - 1; Great 
Black-backed Gull - 287; Black-legged Kittiwake - 58; Razorbill - 1; Black Guillemot - 24; alcid 
sp. - 40; Rock Pigeon - 4; Mourning Dove - 33; Hairy Woodpecker - 1; Blue Jay - 13; 
American Crow - 93; Common Raven - 11; Black-capped Chickadee - 32; Boreal Chickadee 
- 1; Golden-crowned Kinglet - 22; Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1; European Starling - 52; 
American Pipit - 11; American Tree Sparrow - 11; Song Sparrow - 2; White-throated Sparrow 
- 1; Red-winged Blackbird - 1; Common Grackle - 25; Brown-headed Cowbird - 3; American 
Goldfinch - 5. 

Birds in the count week but not on count day: Red-throated Loon, Horned Lark, Bohemian 
Waxwing. 

Comments: There can't have been many Brier Island counts without a single Junco. There 
was also a real dearth of Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and not a single Cardinal 
remaining from another successful breeding season. But despite the scarcity of land birds, 
bringing the count of the individuals below average, the total number of species was about 
average, and birding conditions were good, which is rare during these counts. Calm winds 
and very good visibility on the sea helped a lot, although it was not a year of sea bird 
spectaculars. Nonetheless, several hours of sea-watching added significantly to the species 
count and to numbers. The highlight on the sea was a distant but very well seen adult 
Pomarine Jaeger hurrying to the southwest out of the Bay of Fundy. The big pond in Pond 
Cove, which had been totally frozen up to 24 hours before count day opened up when the 
temperature rose and an east wind came up, and the ducks responded, to the advantage of 
the count. Great sights: the jaeger, of course, but also a stunning adult Peregrine surveying 
Pea Jack Cove from atop a rocky pinnacle. It was good to have a Ruby-crowned Kinglet for 
the count - definitely an off again - on again species in December on Brier Island.  
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Eric L. Mills
286 Kingsburg Road
RR#1, Rose Bay, Nova Scotia B0J 2X0, Canada
e.mills@dal.ca
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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BRIER ISLAND CHRISTMAS COUNT, 15 DECEMBER 2009</span></font>
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Weather overcast, 4-8C; wind E 10kph, then SSE 10 kph</span></font>
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0730-1700 AST</span></font>
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<br />
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Participants: Anne Mills, Eric Mills (compiler), Jim Wolford</span></font>
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<br />
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52 species; about 2207 individuals</span></font>
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Canada Goose - 9; Black Duck - 103; Mallard - 5; Green-winged Teal - 1; Common Eider - 
61; Surf Scoter - 3; White-winged Scoter - 10; Black Scoter - 2; Long-tailed Duck - 106; 
Bufflehead - 3; Common Goldeneye - 35; Red-breasted Merganser - 29; Ring-necked 
Pheasant - 5; Ruffed Grouse - 1; Common Loon - 45; Red-necked Grebe - 6; Northern 
Gannet - 71; Double-crested Cormorant - 2; Great Cormorant - 127; Turkey Vulture - 12; 
Bald Eagle - 1; Northern Harrier - 1; Red-tailed Hawk - 1; Peregrine Falcon - 1; <b>Pomarine 
Jaeger - 1</b>; Ring-billed Gull - 8; Herring Gull - 812; Iceland Gull - 13; Glaucous Gull - 1; Great 
Black-backed Gull - 287; Black-legged Kittiwake - 58; Razorbill - 1; Black Guillemot - 24; alcid 
sp. - 40; Rock Pigeon - 4; Mourning Dove - 33; Hairy Woodpecker - 1; Blue Jay - 13; 
American Crow - 93; Common Raven - 11; Black-capped Chickadee - 32; Boreal Chickadee 
- 1; Golden-crowned Kinglet - 22; <b>Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1</b>; European Starling - 52; 
American Pipit - 11; American Tree Sparrow - 11; Song Sparrow - 2; White-throated Sparrow 
- 1; Red-winged Blackbird - 1; Common Grackle - 25; Brown-headed Cowbird - 3; American 
Goldfinch - 5. </span></font>
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Birds in the count week but not on count day: Red-throated Loon, Horned Lark, Bohemian 
Waxwing. </span></font>
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Comments: There can't have been many Brier Island counts without a single Junco. There 
was also a real dearth of Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and not a single Cardinal 
remaining from another successful breeding season. But despite the scarcity of land birds, 
bringing the count of the individuals below average, the total number of species was about 
average, and birding conditions were good, which is rare during these counts. Calm winds 
and very good visibility on the sea helped a lot, although it was not a year of sea bird 
spectaculars. Nonetheless, several hours of sea-watching added significantly to the species 
count and to numbers. The highlight on the sea was a distant but very well seen adult 
Pomarine Jaeger hurrying to the southwest out of the Bay of Fundy. The big pond in Pond 
Cove, which had been totally frozen up to 24 hours before count day opened up when the 
temperature rose and an east wind came up, and the ducks responded, to the advantage of 
the count. Great sights: the jaeger, of course, but also a stunning adult Peregrine surveying 
Pea Jack Cove from atop a rocky pinnacle. It was good to have a Ruby-crowned Kinglet for 
the count - definitely an off again - on again species in December on Brier Island.&#160; </span></font>
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ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ</span></font>
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<span style=" font-size:10pt">
Eric L. Mills</span></font>
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<span style=" font-size:10pt">
286 Kingsburg Road</span></font>
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RR#1, Rose Bay, Nova Scotia B0J 2X0, Canada</span></font>
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e.mills@dal.ca</span></font>
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ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ</span></font>
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