This post summarizes the Nova Scotia
portion of my Canadian Maritimes birding trip.
The previous posts summarized my first 2 days of birding in New
Brunswick, and the 2 days on Prince Edward Island.
Day 4 – Ferry to Caribou, NS and Ride to
Halifax
As the ferry motored out from the PEI
shoreline into open waters I not only kept an eye out for birds passing by, but
also kept checking my GPS to see when we would cross into NS waters. Birding north of the PEI/NS line was rather
slow, with just the regular gulls and occasional Gannet, so nothing new for my
PEI list. But of course just after the
boat entered NS waters all these regular birds were new for my NS list. And then a Red-throated Loon flew by and
landed near the boat – tantalizingly close to PEI waters but I could only add
it to my NS list. As we neared the
Caribou harbor I added the only Great Cormorant, Razorbill, and Common Tern I
would get for NS, along with a large flock of gulls that was too far away to
check for rarities. I was tempted to do
a little birding nearby, but still needed to make a 90-minute drive to my
Halifax hotel that evening, so just decided to just head to the hotel. Along the way I had the only Red-tailed Hawks
for NS, and a couple Mourning Doves which I missed in the PEI portion of the
trip. I ended the day with just 20
species, but several good ones to start the NS portion of my trip.
Day 5 – Halifax Area
I started my day just before sunrise at
Hartlen Point in Dartmouth which is known as a great migrant spot. The first bird of the morning was a Pheasant,
which was a surprise but I presume countable given that I would see 4 or 5 more
on the peninsula that morning. After a
short walk along some brush-lined paths I neared the trail to Back Cove which
is the spot for migrants. But it
was easy to tell this wasn’t going to be a big migrant day – I had just a
couple Yellow-rumps calling overhead and a few Savannah Sparrows calling from
the brush along the way. I got to the
cove and found next to no passerines at all.
Complicating my trip was that I wasn’t on the right path, and found my
way to the shoreline instead of a bit inland among the brush and trees. Though I did find an immature Goshawk which
was my only one of the trip. I only
spent a couple minutes looking out on the ocean, finding a pair of Surf Scoters
which surprisingly turned out to be my only ones for NS, and a couple
Guillemots. And I’m certainly not
complaining about the view of the rising sun over the ocean.
I backtracked and finally found the correct
trail to the woodlands at the cove. But
it was overgrown with waist-high grasses that were full of morning dew. After just a couple minutes my jeans were
soaking wet, so I abandoned the trail and this part of the peninsula
altogether. I made a quick stop near a
small pond along the northern edge of the golf course, and added my only
Pied-billed Grebe of the trip, my first Greater Yellowlegs, and Mallards. As I left Hartlen Point a Willet flew by,
giving me just 22 new birds so far for NS – a very slow start at what I had hoped
to be one of my best stops in NS. But I
was leaving the area a lot earlier than expected, so that would give me more
time at other hopefully birdier locations.
I next headed east toward the boreal
forests at Mines Road in Chezzetcook. Along
the way I picked up a flyover Sharpie and my only NS Grackle at a small town park. When I arrived at the western end of Mines
Road the habitat was just as advertised - very nice conifer forests with a
scattering of boreal bogs. My strategy
was to drive along very slowly listening for bird activity, then get out when I
would run into pockets of birds.
Although birding was slow in places, I quickly added regulars like
Junco, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and White-throated Sparrow. Mixed in with the groups were occasional
warblers like Palm, Blackpoll, Magnolia, Wilson’s, and Black-throated
Green. Several places I ran into small
groups of Boreal Chickadees, though I couldn’t find any of the other hoped-for
boreal specialties. And my only addition
from the bogs was Ring-necked Duck. I
left Mines Road, still a bit ahead of schedule, and with 14 new NS species which
was a very respectable total.
Next I was heading for Three Fathom Harbor
to try for shorebirds and waterbirds.
Along the way there were numerous tidal wetlands and freshwater lakes
deserving a few stops here and there. I
kept finding Greater Yellowlegs but no other shorebirds – where were the other
species? At one spot I noticed a flock
of about 50 ducks flying overhead and then landing in a small lake next to the
road. I pulled over and with a quick
glance realized that they were Wigeon.
As I started to pan thought them I told myself that it would be nice to
find a Eurasian mixed in. And just then I
picked out a male Eurasian Wigeon.
I arrived at Three Fathom Harbor at a
rising mid-tide, and eventually found a small group of shorebirds on a sandbar
including Semi and Least Sandpipers, along with a few Black-bellied
Plovers. But that was it for
shorebirds. A couple stops looking out
on the open water were also slow. I was
now starting to worry about finding seaducks on the NS part of the trip. Still my only Scoters were a pair of Surfs at
my early morning stop.
The final stop of the day was Salt Marsh
Trail in Cole Harbour, which is a converted railroad line running more than 2
miles one-way through tidal marshes. The
NS birdfinding guide described this spot as being one of the very best
shorebirds spots in NS, which certainly got my attention. But a long walk this late in the day might
take its toll. I arrived a couple hours
before full high tide, and the first shorebirds I found were more Greater
Yellowlegs. There had to be more species
somewhere… A bit later I noticed some
shorebirds flying to a very distant sandbar.
Even at 50 power I was struggling to identify the birds, though the
Black-bellied Plovers were easy to pick out.
Then I saw another larger shorebird that I tried to turn into a
Knot. Just when I was about to say it
was too far away to be sure, a flock of 40 others flew in. This time I could see their uniform grayish
coloration above, confirming the ID. Not
sure I’ve ever seen so many Knots in one spot.
As the tide continued to rise the
shorebirds kept flying into this one sandbar.
So I decided to keep scanning this one spot in hopes that other species
might fly in. Eventually I was able to
pick out a few Dunlin, a couple Short-billed Dowitchers, and a Willet. Then a calling pair of Golden Plovers flew
overhead and landed with the others.
When the entire flock was flushed by a Merlin that made a couple passes
through the area I decided to move on to check out other parts of the marsh.
Now the tide was nearly full high, and
there were many Yellowlegs flying around looking for high tide roosting sites. Finally I found a few Lessers in a large
flock of Greaters. With no other
mudflats exposed, I decided to call it quits and head back. On the trip back I realized that the salt
marsh along the trail looked like great Nelson’s Sparrow habitat. I’ve never tried to get one to respond to
tape, but on a whim I thought I’d give it a try. On my second stop playing Nelson’s call notes
I heard some chip notes coming from the grasses nearby – there were 2 Nelson’s
just a few feet away from me. (On the NB
part of my trip I was in similar saltmarsh habitat but didn’t play Nelson’s
tape – sure wish I had now.) As I was
putting away my speakers a small group of calling Pectoral Sandpipers flew
overhead – my 11th shorebird species for this stop. A great way to end the day.
Or at least I thought they were the last
birds of the day. As I drove to my hotel
in Shelburne I passed through a wooded area near dusk where a Woodcock
fluttered over the roadway. That gave me
69 species for the day, and 75 new species for the NS part of the trip – the
low end of my target range for the province.
The birds weren’t coming easily, but I was slowly checking them off. And with another full day of birding plus a
ferry ride in NS, I was optimistic that I would reach if not exceed the upper
end of my target range of 100.
Day 6 – Cape Sable Island and Yarmouth
My plan for Day 6 was to spend much of the
day on Cape Sable Island, one of the very best birding spots in NS for both
migrant passerines and shorebirds. But
if birding was slow as it had been for many of my NS stops so far, I picked out
a nearby inland woodland spot, the Clyde River Loop, to bird late in the day.
I arrived a bit before dawn at a spot
called “The Hole”, detailed in the birdfinding guide as one of the best migrant
spots on the island. But migrant
passerines were few and far between – here I added only Waxwings and
Robins. Though a Peregrine and several
Merlins were nice. And the best birds
were 3 calling Whimbrels that flew over at dawn. And of course I can’t forget this sunrise.
I then took a little walk around the area
and added Black-and-white and Yellow Warblers and a pair of Catbirds, but
landbirding remained slow. I then
decided to head to a different part of the island and came upon a marsh that
featured a mixed flock of Yellowlegs.
Then I noticed 3 larger shorebirds which turned out to be Hudsonian
Godwits – a nice surprise. Another stop
yielded a Harrier, a late Barn Swallow (my only swallow of any species for the
trip), and a pair of Cowbirds in a Starling flock. Then I headed to the coast where I finally
got Sanderlings on a rising tide. Plus I
ran into this first year Lesser Black-backed Gull.
But that gave me only 13 new birds for the
day and 88 new species for NS – I was getting worried about reaching my upper end
target of 100.
At one of my next stops a car pulled up
alongside. The driver turned out to be
another birder, and a Cape Sable Island resident to boot. He offered to help me fill some gaps in my
list, with the first stop being the spot for Oystercatcher on the
island. Right on cue, there was an
Oystercatcher on the flats next to the road.
This species turns out to be a key target for the Cape Sable area since
there is a small isolated breeding population there, the northernmost nesting
location anywhere. He took me to a
couple other spots but with no luck on several targets. As we parted ways he suggested another
landbird spot on the island where I was able to add Ruby-crowned Kinglet. He also agreed that the Clyde River Loop
would be a good spot for some woodlands birding. Plus he told me about a spot in Yarmouth
where good migrants had been seen lately.
Since birding was slow on the island I had
some extra time on my hands, so I headed to the Clyde River Loop in Shelburne
County for some more woodlands birding.
Birding was quite good here, and I added the only Pileated Woodpecker of
the trip, and finally got Red-breasted Nuthatch. But now it was starting to get late and I realized
I wouldn’t have time to bird both the rest of the Loop and go to Yarmouth. It was a bit of a toss-up, but with the
potential for additional migrants I headed to Yarmouth.
Unfortunately the Yarmouth spot was a bust
– good habitat but no birds. But my late
evening route to my hotel passed by some good coastal habitat where I added a
lone White-winged Scoter, but another distant Scoter flock was too far away to
ID. That gave me 68 species for the day
and 93 new birds for NS.
Day 7 – Yarmouth and Ferry to Portland, ME
The only remaining birding I planned for
the trip was the ferry ride from Yarmouth, NS to Portland, ME. And although I was expecting to get a few new
birds from the ferry, I worried that I wouldn’t get the 7 new species I needed to
get my NS tally to 100. So I wondered if
I could squeeze in a little birding time in Yarmouth before getting on the
ferry. But then again, would I even have
a realistic chance of finding anything new in that urban location that I hadn’t
already seen in 2 days of birding in excellent habitat? Until now my strategy was to focus on birding
at the best hotspots. But now perhaps I
could target specific species I still needed for my list. For instance the Cape Sable birder mentioned
that House Finches were regular in Yarmouth.
And maybe House Sparrows might be a reasonable target in downtown
Yarmouth as well. Hard to believe I had
missed both of these on the trip so far, yet they are so common in New
England. So I went onto eBird and looked
for recent sightings of both species.
Most of the recent House Finch reports seemed to be concentrated in 2
locations, although House Sparrow sightings were more scattered. With maybe one hour to bird before having to
get in line for the ferry, I picked out 2 possible spots to try for House Finch
and 1 for House Sparrow.
I arrived at the first House Finch spot at
first light – it was a classic suburban site where you would expect House
Finches calling from the small back yards.
A few minutes later I started to hear White-throated Sparrows calling
from nearby, and then the sharp chip notes of a Cardinal (#94 for NS) – I had
forgotten I still needed that one. But
there were no Finches. So I quickly
headed to the other Finch location just a short distance away. I only spent a couple minutes there because
there were no birds at all. Mindful of
my very limited time I went back to the first spot, and noticed some migrant
passerines in one backyard. The first
bird I found was a Parula (#95) - nice
surprise though still no Finches. I went
to my iPhone to get directions to the House Sparrow spot, and had some trouble
pulling up the right location. While
struggling with the app I heard a Downy Woodpecker call (#96), and then a House
Finch finally sang (#97). Might be the
first time I was happy with “operator error” on my smart phone.
With just a few more minutes available, I
arrived at the possible House Sparrow spot, which was a small park in an
industrial area. As I arrived I heard a
number of Yellow-rumps, and several small trees seemed to be alive with
birds. I quickly picked out 2 Rusty
Blackbirds (#98) at the top of one tree, and then got a quick view of a rare
Gnatcatcher (#99). As I was just about
to leave a small group of Red-winged Blackbirds landed in the tree (#100),
along with a pair of House Finches.
Though I never found House Sparrow I added
an amazing 7 new birds to my NS list in less than an hour in some pretty
limited habitat. And they were 7 species
I had missed in 2 full days of birding at some of the best birding spots in NS!
Next up was the 10-hour ride on the ferry
from Yarmouth to Portland, ME. As I
waited for the ship to leave the dock I spent quite a bit of time trying to
figure out the best location to bird from.
The bow was out of the question since there were no vantage points
there. Though one level has a large
viewing area looking out on the bow through glass panes, it would only offer a
brief view of any bird that might be right in front of the ship. I then went to the stern, and found several
levels with open views directly behind the boat, and to both sides. I choose the 9th level because it has wide
sweeping views of the water – at least 180 degrees – with no obstructions. And just before we left the dock I set up my
MapQuest app so I would know when I crossed the NS/ME line.
As we left the harbor there were a few
Guillemots and a number of large gulls, but no hoped for seaducks. Then we got to open water where there were
quite a number of Gannets in the air, then I saw the first of 3 Great
Shearwaters fly by the ferry (#101), quickly followed by the only 2 Kittiwakes
of the ferry ride (#102). Birding was a
bit slow for the next couple hours until I noticed several big splashes just
off the stern. It was a Great Shearwater
diving into the water trying to elude a larger dark bird with white flashes in
the primaries. It was a Skua, but which
one? I got several views of the
undersides of the bird as it continued to chase the Shearwater and it had paler
feathering below, making it a Great Skua.
A lifebird – number 747 for me in the ABA area. With a recent pelagic trip out of Bar Harbor,
ME reporting 9 Great Skuas, I was hoping that I could see one from the
ferry. And I was especially happy to get
such good looks at the bird given that I was watching from a boat traveling at
about 20 knots. A little later a couple nearby
Cory’s Shearwaters (#104) were anticlimactic by comparison, as were a pair of
Phalaropes flushed from alongside the boat that had to remain as “Phalarope,
sp.” (#105).
Soon thereafter we crossed into ME waters
where the wind dropped to near calm, and viewing conditions continued to be excellent. Except for a 15-minute lunch break during a
slower time, I stayed on the stern counting birds by the hour for the entire
10-hour ride. I picked up many more
Shearwaters in ME of all 4 of the regular species. For the entire ride I counted 823 Shearwaters
- 480 Greats, 14 Cory’s, 7 Sooty, 2 Manx, and 320 unidentified sitting on the
water (likely mostly Greats). Other
notables were 19 Fulmars, 459 Gannets, 1 Red and 3 unidentified Phalaropes, and
1 adult Pomarine and 4 unidentified Jaegers.
Plus I had 2 Harriers and 2 Peregrines migrating past the boat seemingly
taking the same route as we were. But
alas no Great Skua, or any other new bird, for my ME list.
And the cetaceans put on a nice show as
well, all in NS waters. I’m no expert on
whales, but at one point I saw blows of at least 4 whales together which were likely
Right Whales based on the blow angles. Plus
there were at least 2 larger whales, one of which appeared to be very large and
had an all pale body. I don’t think I’ve
ever seen a pale-bodied whale on any of the whalewatch or pelagic trips I’ve
taken. Could it have been a rare Blue
Whale?
Trip Summary
For the entire Maritimes trip I ended with
290 ticks – 100 in NB, 85 in PEI, and 105 in NS, along with 140 total species. All in all a most successful trip compared to
my target range of 200-275 ticks, especially given the slow birding at times,
though certainly aided by the nice weather I had for the entire trip. And of course adding a lifebird in the Great
Skua was just icing on the cake. Not to
mention finding several rarities. That brings
my totals to 766 total ticks and 271 species in Canada. Still pretty low numbers, but since I started
the year with just 415 total ticks and 237 species, that’s a nice improvement. And I now have 13,633 total ticks throughout
North America.
What’s next for birding in the Maritimes? My totals for NB, PEI, and NS are still less
than half of the old ABA reporting threshold, so there are lots of pretty easy
birds yet in all 3 provinces. For
instance a breeding season trip with a couple days in each province could perhaps
net 50 per province. Plus I have never
birded in Newfoundland and St. Pierre et Miguelon. Still lots of potential for new birds in the
Maritimes.
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