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Rare Birds 2007

Sighting November 20, 2007
A SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER [Tyran à longue queue] 

Spotted at Fundy National Park around the Visitors' Centre and another nearby building and also in the area of the Visitors' Area Campground on Tuesday.  This is a juvenile bird; so it does not have the very long tail-feathers of the adults however it is unmistakable when spotted.  Daniel Mazerolle first put the alert on Tuesday.  For up-to-date information, Daniel Mazerolle can be reached at Fundy National Park at 887-6112. 
  
Sighting November 17, 2007
BREWER'S BLACKBIRD [Quiscale de Brewer] 

Located on Miscou Island.  This is only the second confirmed record for New Brunswick.   Three birders (Denise Godin, Rosita Lanteigne and Jollande St-Pierre) from Caraquet spotted it on Monday and it was observed again on Tuesday.  It is coming to feeders at #19 Ward Road, across the bridge onto Miscou Island travel another 12.5 km and Ward Road turns off Route #113 at that point.  #19 Ward Road is right at the intersection and the bird has also been seen at a farm just down Ward Road.  It has been traveling with EUROPEAN STARLINGS [Étourneau sansonnet] as well.  Frank Branch got some great photo-images that are posted on the internet.  This bird was first seen on November 17th and confirmed on November 19th and 20th.

Sighting October 25, 2007
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW [Bruant sauterelle]

Several folk were able to get good observations of a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW [Bruant sauterelle] located by Jim Wilson at Fundy NP on Thursday.  The bird was located just off to the left in a little overgrown field when making the turn into the swimming pool.  At times it was very cooperative for this secretive sparrow species by going up into alders along the brook, perching for short periods. 

Sighting September 24, 2007
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER (Paruline a ailes dorees)

Gilles Belliveau and Merv Cormier found a female GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER (Paruline a ailes dorees) along the road to
Black Beach, near Saint John. The bird was along the main gravel road, just about 30 meters before the second side road on the left after you pass by the Colson Cove Generating Station. This would be just before the crest of the hill and I would estimate about .75 of a kilometer from the start of the gravel road (perhaps a bit more).

To get to the Black Beach Road, turn off Route 1, west of  Saint John and take exit 112 to Lorneville. Turn south toward Lorneville and proceed straight toward the generating station, which is about six kilometers. As you continue straight along the road you will see the tall stack of the station long before you arrive. As you approach the generating station continue straight and take the only gravel road, which leads eventually to Black Beach. The warbler should be another .75 kilometer or so along this road, as described above.

Sighting September 19, 2007
GREEN HERON [Héron vert]

Norm and Gisèle Belliveau, Rose-Alma Mallet and Stuart Tingley found a immature GREEN HERON around 10:15am, feeding among ducks and shorebirds on the open flats of the recently-drained Grey Brook Marsh located on Golf Club Road on the south side of Hillsborough, Albert County. They watched the heron for about 45 minutes as it hunted the small remaining shallow pools near the southeast corner of the marsh, straight out from the parking area and close to the water control structure (despite some very noisy maintenance work being carried out on that structure).

The heron could easily be overlooked as it stood among the hundreds of teal, pintails and yellowlegs that were feeding in the same area so be patient if you go looking for it and don't spot it right away. Be sure to bring a 'scope!

Sighting September 9, 2007
WESTERN KINGBIRD [Tyran de l'Ouest]

Norm Belliveau phoned me to say that he and others discovered a
WESTERN KINGBIRD [Tyran de l'Ouest] at the sewage lagoon in
Hillsborough. The lagoon is located  behind the Irving station,
between an apartment building and the river. They observed it from
the area of the apartment building about 1:30 p.m., today, Sunday.

Sighting September 3, 2007
BLACK VULTURE [Urubu noir]

Gilles and Norm and Gisele Belliveau, Stu Tingley, Rose-Alma Mallet and Dona and Dorca Pellerin spotted a BLACK VULTURE [Urubu noir] on Monday afternoon circling a wooded area on the Johnston's Point Road off Route 955 in the Shemogue area.  They spotted it in the area where the Johnston's Point Road pavement ends and the gravelled portion begins.

Sighting September 2, 2007
SEASIDE SPARROW (Bruant maritime)

Stu Tingley just phoned to say that Merv Cormier has discovered a SEASIDE
SPARROW (Bruant maritime) on the rocks at the wharf in Lorneville - the same
location where he found a Say's Phoebe last week. Stu and others went to the
wharf with Merv and he was able to show them the bird. I don't know if the
sparrow is an adult or immature, or whether it remained in the area during
the entire time they were there, but I doubt it went far.
Here are the directions I sent for the Say's Phoebe. Conveniently, they
apply in this case as well.

Turn off Route 1, west of  Saint John and take exit 112 to Lorneville. Turn
south toward Lorneville and Black Beach. About 1.5 kilometres down the road
turn left toward the community of Lorneville. Proceed exactly 3.0 km to
Point Road, turn left on Point Road and proceed 1.2 kilometers to the end of
the road at the wharf.

Sighting August 27, 2007
SAY'S PHOEBE [Moucherolle à ventre roux]

Turn off Route 1, west of  Saint John and take exit 112 to Lorneville. Turn
south toward Lorneville and Black Beach. About 1.5 kilometres down the road
turn left toward the community of Lorneville. Proceed exactly 3.0 km to
Point Road, turn left on Point Road and proceed 1.2 kilometers to the end of
the road at the wharf.  The bird was flycatching on the rocks and seaweed
just at the right of the wharf and later moved further to the right and
perched at various locations within sight of the shoreline on the property
adjacent the wharf road.

Sighting June 7, 2007
ROYAL TERN [Sterne royale]

As we were entering our house at 6:25 p.m. Thursday evening, a white
bird flying over the bay caught my attention. It seemed different
from the gulls I normally see.  A quick look through binoculars made
me realize that it was a large tern  with more pointed wings than a
gull and a elongated, pointed beak. I couldn't see the dark underside
of the wingtip of a Caspian Tern, the expected large tern in New
Brunswick. I grabbed my scope and got to our picture window just as
the bird disappeared to the east behind trees.

I zipped down to the beach with the scope and got decent looks at the
tern, which had turned and was flying back to the west. It had a full
black cap, yellow-orange beak slimmer than on a Caspian, black on the
underside of the wingtip was principally just a line along the
primary tips. It looked to be a ROYAL TERN [Sterne royale], a species
very seldom found here, usually blown in by a big storm.  This one
seems an exception to that rule.

During the next 25 minutes, the tern travelled first one way, then
the other, feeding along the line between the muddy nearshore water
and clearer water farther out. The tide was falling (high tide had
been at 17:44). At around 6:55 p.m. I lost it as I was trying to call
a friend near enough to have a chance to see it. I suspect it may
have flown around Mary's Point to the channel between the point and
Grindstone Island. The currents there might bring food items to the
surface, but I didn't have time available to got out there to check.

Whether this bird will remain around Mary's Point, head east to
Northumberland Strait or west down the bay is a question that may be
answered in the next couple of days. I will check the bay in front of
our house around 7-8 a.m. Friday but then have to be away most of the
day.

David Christie

Sighting May 14, 2007
LECONTE'S SPARROW (Bruant Le Conte)

Yesterday Richard Blacquiere, Jim Wilson, and Caoline and Hank Scarth reported 
a LECONTE'S Sparrow.

Directions:
Travelling on Route 1 from either Sussex or Saint John, take exit 175 to
Norton. Turn right onto Route 124 and proceed 1.2 kilometers, crossing the
Kennebecasis River and coming to a stop at the intersection with Route 121.
Continue straight west on 124 toward Evandale. Proceed 1 - 2 kilometers,
then turn right onto Mercer Settlement Road and continue 4.6 kilometers to
the white Mercer Settlement Church. There is a power pole just at the
church, continue another 50 meters to the second pole, park there. The bird
was in the field on the left. It's a weedy field with dead weeds poking
through the growing fresh grasses. The bird sings from the low bunches of
dead weeds.

It is recommended that birders might watch the field from the road with a scope, rather
than walking all over the area and disturbing the bird. Ammodrammus sparrows
(such as LeConte's, Grasshopper, Henslow's) are notoriously secretive and
skulky, acting and running like mice when alarmed. The best strategy might
be to stay on the road and wait for the bird to sing and show itself. This
is in the best interest of the bird would give other birders the chance to
see it too.

You should learn the song from a CD or tape before going, so you'll know it
when you hear it. It's a very faint buzzy song that can be rather difficult
to pinpoint and very easy to overlook. Try to triangulate the location and
then look for the bird low down in the grass. When singing it will usually
elevate itself to the top of the old tufts.

Another suggestion is to go in the morning, rather than later in the day.
Yesterday Richard heard it before 8 AM but nothing at 5:30 PM. Today Hank
and Carolyn heard it as soon as they arrived and it continued to sing
intermittently during much of the morning. But when Jean returned with me
about noon, the bird was silent and she came away "empty-handed".

Congratulations to Richard Blacquiere, who picked up this faint song while
slowly driving through the Atlas square with his windows down yesterday
morning. A great find, only the second time (so far) for this province.

Sighting March 19, 2007
EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH (Chardonneret élégant)

Murray Watters reports seeing a EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret
élégant] on March 19. It has been coming to the feeder of Mr. & Mrs.
Archie Boone, 11589 Route 105, Kilburn, Victoria Co., apparently
almost daily, since sometime around Christmas.

European Goldfinches in North America are generally believed to be
of captive origin. There is the possibility of a stray reaching here
from Europe or from the flourishing population on Bermuda, but
escaped or released cage-birds seem more likely...