[NatureNS] Halifax Public Gardens - Warblers and Indigo Buntings

Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 17:47:19 -0300
To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
From: "P.L. Chalmers" <plchalmers@ns.sympatico.ca>
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <naturens-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
Original-Recipient: rfc822;"| (cd /csuite/info/Environment/FNSN/MList; /csuite/lib/arch2html)"

next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects


         After seeing a report about a Cerulean Warbler on the 
NS-RBA, I visited the Halifax Public Gardens on Friday evening after 
work, from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m.   I intended to walk through the 
whole gardens, but went first to the area around the goose enclosure 
where I had seen the Indigo Buntings on 8 May.  I found so much 
activity there that I was reluctant to leave to search more 
widely.  I found four Indigo Buntings  (two male, two female), at 
least four Yellow-rumped Warblers (including the first female I have 
seen this year), a Black-and-White Warbler, a Magnolia Warbler, a 
Black-throated Green Warbler, and a Blackpoll Warbler.  The last bird 
I saw was an empid flycatcher lower down near the water.  Most of 
these birds were up high in the rapidly-leafing out trees, where they 
were still touched by the late sunshine.

         After I had been there awhile I realized Liz Doull was 
viewing the same area from the far side of the stream. So we compared 
notes, and watched together for some time.  Liz had already visited 
the place where Dennis had seen the Cerulean Warbler earlier, and 
found nothing.  There are more conifers in the southwest corner of 
the Gardens, and it would have been pretty dark there in the evening.

         The Indigo Buntings have been seen in the same place in the 
Gardens for more than ten days now.  Since there was a single record 
of breeding by this species in the recent Atlas, I was wondering if 
these might stay to breed.  The two males were singing, but were not 
behaving territorially and in fact were usually together in the same 
tree. They were not interacting in any way with the females.

Directions:
         The "goose enclosure" is in the northeast quadrant of the 
Public Gardens, closest to the entrance gate at the corner of 
Sackville and South Park streets (across from the CBC Radio 
building).  Freshwater Brook flows out from Griffin's Pond, 
resurfacing and flowing down towards the main entrance gate at Spring 
Garden and South Park streets.  A portion of the banks on either side 
of the stream is fenced off to form an enclosure, originally for 
swans and now for a goose.

         Patricia L. Chalmers
         Halifax


At 02:15 PM 18/05/2012, David Currie wrote:
>
>Dennis Garratt just notified me and asked I post this. About 1:30 pm 
>he had a female Cerulean Warbler, a Tennessee Warbler, magnolia, 
>indigo buntings and some empid flycatchers at the Halifax Public 
>Gardens. He offered his phone number should anyone want more 
>specific directions.
>
>Dennis at:
>423-5263
>
>Dave

next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects