Canada Maritimes Trip – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, May-June 2017

Each year I go on a big birding trip to work on my US state or Canadian province lists, and 2017 was no exception.  This year’s trip was an 11-day, 10-night trip in May and June to the Canadian Maritimes to work on my New Brunswick (NB), Prince Edward Island (PEI), and Nova Scotia (NS) province lists.  I had only been in each of those provinces once before as part of a 7-day trip in late September 2015, where I tallied 100 birds in NB, 85 in PEI, and 107 in NS.  Needless to say there were lots of potential new province birds ahead of me in 2017.

As I do before all of my trips, I spent many hours researching possibilities and planning potential itineraries and possible stops.  This included developing long lists of potential targets in each province.  Generally my success rate is a bit over 50% on these target lists.  But since most of my targets were regular breeders, and my trip was timed to be near the peak of the breeding season and summer song, I was optimistic that I would be more successful on this trip.

My 2017 trip had a similar itinerary as my previous foray into the Maritimes –

• Drive up through Maine entering NB at Saint Stephen
• Several days birding in NB heading generally north and east
• Followed by birding in PEI entering the province from NB and leaving via the ferry to NS
• Birding NS mostly heading south and west
• Leaving NS via the ferry from Yarmouth to Portland, ME.

But with more time in the field than in 2015, I added numerous stops, some for just 1 or 2 local specialties.  Of note, that included searches for several species associated with urban areas, or otherwise associated with human activities, that are common in the states but difficult to find in the Maritimes.  For instance my target lists included Killdeer (all 3 provinces), Nighthawk (all 3), Chimney Swift (NB, NS), Cowbird (NB, PEI), House Finch (NB), and House Sparrow (all 3).

New Brunswick

My goal for NB was to add 50 new birds, which would bring my province list to 150.  With such a large goal and 107 possible targets, I developed an itinerary that would take me through many different habitats throughout southern, central, and eastern NB.  My research included quite a bit of time on eBird, supplemented by excellent local advice provided by NB birder Gilles Belliveau.

Highlights of my 3 full days and 2 partial days of birding in NB included –

• Evening/nocturnal birding at Saint Stephen featuring a Woodcock and local specialty Whip-poor-will, not to mention rare House Finches
• St. George Marsh with excellent wetlands birding including 2 American Bitterns, a Virginia Rail, and 4 Soras, plus finding a calling Common Gallinule as a rarity
• Locating stakeout rarity Upland Sandpiper at the Utopia Blueberry Barrens (though not until my second try)
• The only Brown Thrasher of the trip at Pennfield Airport, based on a 2-year-old eBird report
• Finding a rare 1st/2nd cycle Iceland Gull roosting in the marsh at the Irving Nature Park, though unsuccessfully searching for Nelson’s Sparrow
• Excellent boreal birding just outside the Fundy Trail including good numbers of both Crossbills, Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided Flycatchers, and Ruffed Grouse.  Interestingly the Trail itself is only open 9-5, eliminating the best birding hours – a big disappointment.  Luckily the area just outside the Trail was great!
• Birding along the St. John River valley in more “southern” deciduous woodland habitats,  finding a number of local specialties including Black-billed Cuckoo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole, Phoebe, and one of the few (only?) active Purple Martin houses in the province.  Plus local nesters Black Terns, Greater Scaup and Common Goldeneye, along with an out-of-season Great Cormorant.  And I can’t forget this very photogenic American Bittern.          

• Several stops near Jemseg featuring Warbling Vireos and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Not to mention this juvenile Great Horned Owl.

• Checking off local Fredericton specialties Indigo Bunting and Willow Flycatcher.  And then finding a rare Least Bittern spontaneously calling at the Flycatcher spot.  And I can’t forget a pair of Cowbirds.
• More boreal birding along Taylor Road northwest of Moncton with multiple Palm and Wilson’s Warblers among 15 warbler species (despite a midday stop), two singing Philadelphia Vireos, and my lone Sapsucker for the province
• Memramcook Sewage Pond stop with Pintail among other dabblers and Pheasants (in the neighboring fields not the pond mind you)
• Ruddy Ducks among a diverse set of breeding waterfowl at the Fort Beausejour impoundments, though missed target Coots
• A quick stop at the Sackville waterfowl park was pretty slow, but I did take this great shot along one of the boardwalks

• House Sparrows at their local stronghold in Jolicure - a spot where only House Sparrows would be at home.

• Red-breasted Mergansers at my last stop in the province at Cape Jourimain.  Unfortunately I couldn’t access the area with Nelson’s Sparrows and Willets due to recent bear sightings

I ended the NB portion of the trip with 140 species including 104 species during one birding day.  I added 73 species to my NB province list, giving me 173 on my province list.

Prince Edward Island

I started the PEI portion of my trip with a province list of 85, and with 80 targets I hoped to add 40 to get me to a modest 125.  There I teamed up with local birder Dan McAskill who knows the birds of PEI like the back of his hand.  By far the highlight was a marathon 19-hour birding day where we had 108 species including several rarities such as Little Gull in adult basic plumage (though not new to my PEI list), a Glaucous Gull (one of 9 gull species on the day), and a Wilson’s Phalarope.  I was able to get this passable phonescoped photo of the Phalarope. 

I really love doing seawatches, so I was especially looking forward to our extended seawatch at East Point - rapidly becoming one of my favorite birding spots.  Here we added more rarities – several Red-throated Loons, 2 Kittiwakes, a flock of 5 Razorbills with a Thick-billed Murre mixed in, and this female Harlequin Duck. 

Here is a photo of the angry sea and skies at East Point.

Of course Dan and I did a lot of landbirding as well, including finding 16 warbler species, breeding Boreal Chickadees, and a Gray Jay.  Plus our landbirding featured excellent looks at an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and good views of a normally skulking Canada Warbler.  We also had a long mammal list including numerous foxes, deer, coyote, etc.  Not to mention birding at this nice northern bog.

Our day ended with a calling Saw-whet Owl and Woodcock, and a visual on a Barred Owl.  Along with two partial days of birding, I had 114 species in total, and added 53 species to my PEI list which now stands at 138. 

Nova Scotia

With a starting point of 107 in NS and 88 possible targets, I hoped to add 43 more to get to 150 species.  I spent a lot of time reviewing the province birdfinding guide and researching eBird to develop an itinerary covering much of the province except for Cape Breton.  That information was supplemented with tremendous local advice from NS birder Keith Lowe, who also birded with me on two days. 

The highlights from my 3 full days and 3 partial days of birding included –

• Brief stop at Amherst marsh to find local target Black Tern
• Eddy Marsh wetlands birding including Virginia Rail and local specialty Marsh Wren, and woodlands birding featuring Ruffed Grouse and the first of many Mourning Warblers
• Woodlands walk around Amherst Point featured singing Blackburnian and Cape May Warblers, followed by wetlands birding including finding a rare Common Gallinule
• A brief stop at the Amherst sewage treatment plan with a pair of Greater Scaup along with the only Killdeer for the province
• A rare Glaucous Gull seen from the PEI-to-NS ferry
• Piping Plover on its nest at Big Island, along with Black Scoters off-shore, and a difficult to find Common Nighthawk nearby (especially as a daytime flyover)

• An evening of birding along West River west of Melrose with the only Evening Grosbeak of the trip, several pairs of Common Mergansers, plus a somewhat unusual Chimney Swift.  I couldn't resist this "Kodak moment".

• A dawn walk along the beautiful Liscomb River trail featuring several Winter Wrens and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, and lots of signs of Black-backed Woodpeckers though no birds in sight (and luckily no sightings of recently spotted bears)

• Boreal birding at Taylor's Head Provincial Park including 9 singing Blackpoll Warblers plus Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers
• A flock of 25 Red Crossbills amazingly attracted by spishing at Martinique Beach Provincial Park
• More boreal birding along Mines Road included finding a rare Willow Flycatcher and a pair of Gray Jays which had apparently just stolen a baby Purple Finch from the nest

• An early morning birding in the Musquodoboit River valley included 2 singing Canada Warblers and 3 calling Snipe
• Quick stops near Elderbank in deciduous woodlands with a decidedly more "southern" feel that yielded a White-breasted Nuthatch, 3 Veerys, and a fly-by Broad-winged Hawk
• A walk along the Herbert River trail was successful for two key targets - Eastern Phoebe (one of its few reliable spots in NS) and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• A "tactical strike" for House Sparrow at Scotch Village (a rare case when you can get excited about seeing a House Sparrow)
• My lone Sapsucker of the province at Akin's Marsh
• Baltimore Oriole at its nest at Miner's Marsh (another species with a very restricted NS range), though we missed a nearby stakeout Great Crested Flycatcher

• A Black-throated Blue Warbler at a brief late evening stop along Myra Road north of Porters Lake
• An Arctic Tern, but little else, in a raging rain and wind storm on Cape Sable Island where I was forced to do almost all my birding from inside the car
• A pair of Roseate Terns with Commons at Pond Road in West Pubnico
• A lone Turkey Vulture along Chepogue Road in Yarmouth
• And an excellent ride on the high-speed ferry from Yarmouth to Portland, ME featuring 1 Fulmar, 2 Cory's, 30 Greats, 27 Sootys, 27 Shearwater Sp., 7 Wilson's Storm-Petrels, and 1 South Polar Skua.

I ended the NS portion of my trip with 135 species, 67 of which were new to my province list, giving me 174 in total.  Once again – many thanks to Keith Lowe for all his help!

Numbers for the Entire Trip

• 193 new ticks, greatly exceeding my goals of 133 for the 3 provinces, and a remarkable 70% of my targets.  My total ticks in Canada are now at 1,347 (the old ABA reportable threshold was 1,000)
• 175 species including 21 warblers and 20 waterfowl.  Easily the most Magnolia and Mourning Warblers I've ever heard in one trip, and perhaps more than I've heard in my entire life.
• Excellent boreal species including Gray Jays in 2 provinces, Boreal Chickadees in 2 provinces, Philadelphia Vireos, Red Crossbills in 2 provinces, and Whit-winged Crossbills.  Though I couldn't find Spruce Grouse or Black-backed Woodpeckers.
• 13 new species for Canada, now at 370 (the old ABA threshold was 350)
• Ticks in all 3 provinces in 1 day (started the day birding in NS, then added my last tick in NB, then birded the evening in PEI).  Only once before have I added ticks in 3 jurisdictions in 1 day - TN, AR, and MS.
• 60 miles walked (according to my Fitbit)

Province Bird Maps

For quite a while I've prepared state bird maps, where I shade in all the US states where I've seen a given species.  And now that I'm spending more time focused on province birding, it's time to start preparing province bird maps.  My province map for Eastern Kingbird is included below.  Although it shows that I have only seen this species in the southern tier of provinces, I've actually never birded the northern provinces - Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Newfoundland and Labrador.  In fact, Eastern Kingbird is one of just 10 species that I've seen in each of the 9 provinces where I've birded.

By comparison, my US statebird map for Eastern Kingbird is provided below.  In the US I've birded extensively in each of the 50 states and DC, and am only missing Eastern Kingbird in WA and NV within its regular range.

Near the the other end of the spectrum for province maps, my map for Ruffed Grouse shows that I've only seen (or heard) this species in the 3 Maritimes provinces - in each case on my 2017 trip. 

There's certainly a lot more province birding ahead!