GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW   [Bruant à courone dorée ]

Jean & Jim Wilson report a GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW in St. George.  The bird is very skittish and will not come out of the bushes when people are around. Therefore, you must stay in your car in order to see the bird.

Directions:
        Drive past Pennefield on Route 1.  Take exit 56 and go to the stop sign at the end of the ramp. Set your odometer. Turn left onto route 172 for      0.9 km to Main Street Turn right on Main Street. Stay on Main street until you see Clinch street on your left. (It is across from Country Market.) Turn Left onto Clinch. The bird is coming to feeders across from #4 or between #2 and #4.

Please STAY IN YOUR CAR. Park between #2 and #4 or in front of #3.  Remember that there will likely be several cars looking for the bird so judge your time there accordingly.

SAY'S PHOEBE [Moucherolle à ventre roux]:

From Alma White and the Moncton Naturalists' Club's Rare Bird Alert here are the directions, as provided by Denis Doucet, to the SAY'S PHOEBE [Moucherolle à ventre roux]:

Go to the village of Saint-Antoine and at the crossroads, turn west on chemin de l'Eglise. Continue 3-4 km as far as the Cormier meat market. There, turn right on chemin Haut Saint-Antoine and drive 2-3 km, which will bring you to an a road junction in the community of Pelerin, where Denis lives. Follow chemin Pit Melanson Road to #405, which is nearly at the end of the road. (For general orientation, refer to squares B3 and C3 on Map 58 in the NB Atlas / L'Atlas du N.-B.)

HOUSE WREN [Troglodyte familier]

Eurasian Siskin [Tarin des aulnes]

Seen at Karen McCavour's feeder at 29 Lundy Lane in Lorneville, west of Saint John. The bird has been present a couple of days. This species is sold to some extent as a cage bird, so reports in North America are always suspected of being escaped birds. This bird comes to feeders behind the house, so interested observers would have to go to the front door to ask to see it.

Driving south on Route 1 from Saint John or Fredericton, take exit 112 to Lorneville. At the stop light turn left onto King William Road. Drive 1.6 kilometers, then turn left onto Lorneville Road. Proceed another 2.2 kilometers and watch for LUNA (not Lundy) Lane on the left. The McCavour's home is the large white house (#29) on the knoll at the end of the short lane.

Please go to the front door and introduce yourself. Karen and Ken welcome birders and will work out the best arrangement for you to try to see the bird.

(Eileen gives further directions).  If you decide to look for this bird, take Route 1 out of Saint John towards St. Stephen. Take exit 96 (Musquash, Chance Harbour) Make the loop back on to Route 1 so that you are heading back to Saint John.

Drive just a short distance. Cross over the East Branch Musquash River (a sign names the river), pull well off the highway and park your car. Scan the trees on both sides of the highway for a white object. Then walk down the ATV trail towards the marsh. Today, the bird spent quite a bit of time perched in a tree at the north side of the marsh. A walk eastward along the dyke was productive on one occasion. Later, we knew the bird was in a ditch but we were unable to see it from the area near the monument. Therefore, the stork may be there even if you can't see it.

(Possible) CACKLING GOOSE [Bernache de hutchins].

Directions to get to Walsh farm in Pokemouche: On Highway 11, drive north from Tracadie- Sheila toward Caraquet. In Pokemouche, you'll turn left on road 350. Walsh road is the first road on your left, maybe ( a rough quess) half a kilometer from Highway 11. Walsh farm is at the end of that road, by the Pokemouche river.

Please be respectful of private property and local residents if you go looking for this bird.

Heads up on a possible rare bird went out yesterday on a possible SPOTTED REDSHANK. The suspect bird was spotted by a British Columbia birder who was in the Bouctouche area sighting it at noon hour on Sunday he passed this on to Kathie Popma who he met at Cape Jourimain. The bird was seen in a creek roadside along the route around the Irving Eco-centre at the Bouctouche Dune. He felt he saw the field marks clearly unfortunately he was not certain what creek it was seen in but it is assumed to be the one approximately 2km N of the Eco-Centre. All creeks should be monitored between the Bouctouche Rotary Park and the Bouctouche Dune. I am away from home but I heard of no positive sitings of the bird on Monday but have to assume the area has been carefully checked.

Yolande LeBlanc reports that  The GREATER-WHITE FRONTED GOOSE is back!

She spotted it from her house. There may be several groups of geese in and around the marsh in Memramcook. A group can always be found on the north side of the new lagoon, off Royal Road. That's where they were this morning. Just as she was getting to the lagoon, still far away, behind the gate, some of the geese took to the air, and trailing the group was the White-fronted. The road to the lagoon is just after the big blue garage of heavy machinery, Val's. The geese visit the numerous corn fields toward, and in, M'cook East. So do about 200 crows that spooked when she advanced toward one field off Ch Pont Rouge. When they did, so did the flock of geese that were there.

Some of the geese are very skittish and will take off at the least movement, so be careful, and slow. Check the hundreds of ducks on the river.

SWAINSON'S HAWK [Buse de Swainson]

The area were Marco spotted the bird is near a hydro line which would give a nice area for the hawk to hunt. It is near the large sign, which is advertising Shediac Bay Cruises near the kilometre 24 signpost. Alain Clavette and Richard Peron cruised the area and pointed out that Harbour View Road that runs behind the Seaside Chev Olds and parallels the highway maybe a good road to drive along to search as well as the road that goes back to the Scoudouc Industrial Park may also be a good searching area

Sighting December 12, 2004

This is the western subspecies of the DARK-EYED JUNCO [Junco ardoisé] is coming to the feeder of Ron Wilson at 680 Canterbury Drive which is in the Forest Hill area of Fredericton. This bird was present Saturday and Sunday at Ron’s feeder yard. Ron’s telephone # is 457-1720.

Appeared at the feeder yard of Réjean Laforge on Sunday. Réjean Laforge is located at Sate-Anne-du-Bocage just West of Caraquet toward the Acadian Village. The address is 18 Rue Landry. The bird is coming to the feeder and was perching on a yard spruce tree decked out with Christmas lights.

The Harris's Sparrow has been relocated, Dec 13th, at # 525 rue des Épinettes, also in Caraquet. It's a short distance from rue Landry, where it was seen yesterday, by Réjean Laforge. At the same place, # 18 rue Landry, Michel Chiasson spotted a Pine Warbler, feeding on the suet, earlier this morning. Yesterday, Frank Branch saw a Wood Duck in Grande-Anse, in the rocks near the wharf.

**An update on the HARRIS'S SPARROW [Bruant à face noire] near Caraquet. The bird is actually attending two feeder yards in close proximity. It was reported yesterday as coming to a feeder at 18 Rue Landry. It is also coming to feeders at 525 Rue des Epinettes which is very nearby. This again is in the village of Ste. Anne-du-Bocage just west of Caraquet toward the Acadian Village.

IVORY GULL [Mouette blanche]

To reach the St. Thomas wharf:

Coming from the SOUTH, take the Cocagne exit off of Route 11. At the stop sign (intersection with Route 134) in Cocagne, continue straight, which puts you on the coastal route #535. Drive approximately 13 kms. on Route 535 and you'll see the St. Thomas wharf on your right. It's reached by driving down Ch. Quai de St. Thomas Wharf Rd. Note that you'll pass another wharf on your way from Cocagne, the Cormierville wharf - continue on for a few more kms. to the St. Thomas wharf.

Coming from the NORTH, take the St. Thomas exit off of Route 11 just a few kms. south of Bouctouche. Follow the signs for St. Thomas and once you're on Route 535, drive for several kms. (5?) and you'll see the St. Thomas wharf  on your left.

Louis-Emille Cormier originally found the bird early this afternoon, sitting on the ice with other gulls near the end of the wharf. When I was there from 3:00-3:30pm, the Ivory Gull spent most of its time feeding on the remains of fish guts, mainly a large dark stain in the snow, to the left just before you drive onto the wharf. Later the Ivory Gull flew out and landed with other gulls on the wharf.

This is exactly the same location (and behaviour) of an adult Ivory Gull discovered by Gilles Bourque and present for several days in February, 1998!

To see a photo of the gull click on this link:  http://stubird.dreamhost.com/IVGUStThomasDec2204.jpg

TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE [Solitaire de Townsend]

Roger Leblanc saw a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE [Solitaire de Townsend] in Caissie Cape, at 428 rue Donald St., off ch. de la Côte, Route 530. This is a good bird to look for before or after searching for the IVORY GULL [Mouette blanche] a bit farther north at St. Thomas.