Dipping on mega rarities is my Newfoundland kryptonite

Atlantic Canada, BEYOND, Birds, Canada, Travel

So last year and the year before, I narrowly missed the Steller’s Sea Eagle while visiting Newfoundland.

I thought I might give it a shot again this year but there have been no sightings yet this spring, so I decided to finally make a more concentrated effort to find a Willow Ptarmigan.

Chasing birds brings me to some super off the beaten path places, and this time I spent the night in Portugal Cove South. It is at the bottom of the Irish Loop and pretty much the middle of nowhere and at this time of the year the one restaurant in town is closed until May, so I had to bring some food for the cottage. Totally worth it just for the morning view of the ocean through the window while drinking coffee in my humble abode. And the community is surrounded by the South Avalon–Burin oceanic barrens, so perfect terrain for Ptarmigan and Caribou.

I almost didn’t make it because I had one of the worst drives of my life. For some unknown reason, the car rental agencies don’t think snow tires are necessary in Newfoundland. They are wrong. I woke up in the morning to get ready for a sales call and looked out the window to an unexpected dump of snow that was still in progress. I got stuck trying to get out of the driveway in fact but, since I’m a Cape Bretoner, I know how to drive in bad weather and got myself loose and on my way quickly. The roads weren’t plowed, and I had to drive 4 highway hours just in between sales calls that day! It took a while with my hazard lights on, white-knuckled all the way but I was determined not to change my plans and the weather reports said weather would improve as I went East so powered through.

Finally made it to the south of the Avalon peninsula, and I went immediately to bed. I couldn’t really open the cottage door due to the wind anyway…she was blowing a gale!

Now about that kryptonite. So, two days after I booked the accommodations, one of the rarest birds ever showed up 6km away from where I was to be staying. And it stayed for 8 days. And left the day before I flew onto the island. Yup. So I got to stand on the very beach where just 48 hours earlier a Greater Sand-plover was feeding. I now crown myself the queen of Newfoundland dips. But it’s okay because I was after a Willow Ptarmigan anyway, and actually enjoy ticking off endemics best.

I got up early and drove the gravel road quietly where they were expected to be found. No luck but I had an idea of where they might be for the reverse direction. So got out my sandwich and drove even slower and finished up just before one flushed. It was molting out of breeding plumage so looked a bit like a patchwork Pinto horse. Very cool to see it standing and it flew up immediately and I managed to snap this shot.

It landed in the grass and disappeared immediately not to be seen again.

I had spotted two Caribou quite far in the distance on the drive in through my bins on the next road over so decided to drive around and up the other road where I expected them to be. To my delight there was a family of seven, one with antlers. I’m not sure if it was the mama or the papa as both sexes grow antlers but it was watching its family very closely and a little spooked, so I kept a good distance as I walked in a bit on foot off the road. It’s always a balance with wildlife photography of your safety and the animal’s comfort level. Caribou are quite tame, and I could have likely pushed the envelope more, but they did not want me to and I chose to respect that. It’s their home and there are so few places wildlife can be wild so it’s important to me to be conscious of that.

I made one more pass of the gravel road before I left to see if I might get another Ptarmigan sighting, but the universe had ended the show for the day. So, I headed off to St. John’s, and did a sales call before heading out to dinner with some of the finest kind.

Sure, it would have been great to see a mega rarity, but I’m pretty pleased at how my little birding detour turned out. Interestingly the first time I saw Caribou in Newfoundland was on the Summer Solstice this time it was on Earth Day so perhaps they are my spirit animal?

Just a Pigeon

Atlantic Canada, Birds, Canada

When the Steller’s Sea Eagle was sighted in Windsor, Nova Scotia in November of 2021 I was on the way to have my winter tires put on so opted not to go. I figured I would just go the next morning. And I did. And the bird flew away not to be refound 10 minutes before I arrived that morning.

As far as rare birds in Nova Scotia go it’s top of list so a tough dip to manage.

So, this May as I was on the way to the airport for work in Newfoundland and saw the report it had just shown up, I could not believe my luck for a second chance. And I certainly don’t make a habit of chasing birds out of province, so this was an amazing opportunity.

I had one free day scheduled for wildlife viewing and photography and had planned to spend the night near St. Shotts to see if I could find the Caribou herd. I’ve been wanting to photograph Caribou for a few years now and never seen to be in Newfoundland at the right time or be in the right place. The report of the Steller’s came in as I was on the way to the airport, so I changed my day off plans to stay in Bonavista to see the bird as it was nearby in Trinity.

The next morning, I had to drive from St. John’s to Grand Falls for a sales call and I received word the bird was still present. As I passed the highway exit to Trinity, my spidey senses told me I should take the detour now in case the bird doesn’t stick around, but I didn’t want to be late for my sales call so stuck to the plan to try later in the afternoon.

I had never been to Bonavista, but it’s been on my list of places to visit as I wanted to visit the Puffin colony. The Puffins show up in May each year, so I was excited to also have the opportunity to see them.

Around 4 in the afternoon I finally arrived in Trinity and there were lots of birders there hoping to see the Steller’s. It had been there and left not long before I arrived. I decided to try again the next morning and headed to the Puffin colony excited to have the place all to myself. And you guessed it, no Puffins. They arrived a couple of days after I left of course.

It was nice to finally visit Bonavista and the next morning I had my coffee by the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse and got ready to go spend the day looking for the Steller’s Sea Eagle. Cape Bonavista was beautiful but I did wonder why European settlers would think it a good idea to setup camp on a windy peninsula on a rough ocean. But I digress…

When I arrived in Trinity that morning a good sized crowd was there again; some had even slept in their cars but no sighting of the Eagle yet. It had been in the area for a few days before it was reported so was expected to show, but the sea ice was shrinking, and we were feeling discouraged.

Around 1pm I decided to take a drive to see if I could find a smaller Caribou herd that was said to be around. And you guessed it, I didn’t find the Caribou herd. I did visit the Tickle Cove Sea Arch though and that was amazing.

When I returned a few hours later I was told that not long after I left the Steller’s made a brief appearance. I stayed a few hours, with no luck and had to head to St. John’s for the night to resume work.

And so, I left Newfoundland without seeing any Caribou, or Puffins, and no Steller’s Sea Eagle.

I wish it were a better story, but I did meet a lot of nice people on the quest, and got a great photo of a Rock Dove. Yeah, it’s a Pigeon. Oh well.

Hurricane Dorian bird fallout in Eastern Passage, NS

Atlantic Canada, BEYOND, Birds, Canada

Black Skimmers at Rainbow Haven Beach – September 30th, 2019

During a harsh winter over 4 years ago I became a “birder” when I saw in the news there was a mega rare bird, a Eurasian Kestrel, hanging around Hartlen Point. Our Eastern Passage streets were packed with ice and I couldn’t venture too far so I thought it was worth popping down to see what all the excitement was about. The birding community immediately welcomed me in, and life has never been the same.

After viewing many rare birds here in Eastern Passage since that day, I now fully realize how lucky I am to live next to one of the best migratory points in the province, and in fact one of the best in Canada. In good weather and bad, and in all seasons but especially in the fall, Hartlen Point is the envy of many birding enthusiasts across the country.

On the evening of September 7^th, Hurricane Dorian made first landfall in Eastern Passage, and many thousands of birds that had been trapped in the eye of the storm hit the Eastern Shore and later Cape Breton after flying for days exhausted and hungry.

Had I been better prepared I would have gone out that evening in the eye of the storm, but I really didn’t realize how spectacular that would be as a birder. Right after the eye passed over our house, a rare bird report came through my email from Diane LeBlanc (VP of the Nova Scotia Bird Society) who had documented the event from the other side of the harbour from her home in Portuguese Cove. Through her birding scope she watched large numbers of Black Skimmers, Swallows, Swifts, Shorebirds, and Terns flying over the ocean during the eye. After reading Diane’s summary I promptly set my alarm to get up early and head for the shore here in Eastern Passage.

Many of the best birders in our province had the same idea and groups of them congregated from sunup to sundown in Eastern Passage along the shore over the following days.

For most of us this this was exciting, wondrous, and tragic all at once. Many of the birds who were swept away by Dorian from the Caribbean through the Carolinas suffered greatly and many surely died at sea. Many died upon landing or perished over the next 24 hours. Many Laughing Gulls were hit by cars as they stood in the roads confused, tired and looking for warmth from the pavement.

As it always happens, the strongest survive, and over the next days and weeks the birds rested, ate, and many made their way back down the coast. As I write this 5 weeks later this Thanksgiving weekend, there are still a group of about 40 Black Skimmers lingering at Rainbow Haven Beach in the fantastic Salt Marsh habitat, but hopefully they will find their way back down South as the temperatures drop. Their numbers have been dropping gradually and at the height of it there were approximately 200 Black Skimmers in the area between Rainbow Haven and the Salt Marsh Trail.

Members of the Nova Scotia Bird Society are always welcome at the Hartlen Point Golf Course if we are respectful and stay out of the golfers’ way, and the local mecca of birding at this time of the year is Jimmy’s Lane. It’s a spot that means very little to non-birders and is just a cart path down in the back bay. Birders were very fortunate as the course was closed for 2 days after the hurricane, so we were able to walk through uninhibited. For about a week, Jimmy’s Lane housed many Warblers that are very rare to Nova Scotia such as Cerulean Warblers, Worm-eating Warblers, and even an incredibly rare Swainson’s Warbler.

this Cerulean Warbler is the 300th bird species I’ve seen in Nova Scotia, so it may not be a wonderful photo, but I was over the moon to see it! The simply amazing wood carver Jim Edsall is working on a carving for me to commemorate my birdie milestone

The local beaches were graced with many Tern species which are quite rare to Nova Scotia, such as the Forster’s Terns which hung around the Eastern Shore for some time before picking their way down through Yarmouth on their long journey back home to southern waters.

Perhaps none of this sounds very exciting to the average person, but I know many people in our community have enjoyed watching the Black Skimmers and Laughing Gulls at MacCormack’s Beach. Wonderful little tourists to our seaside community.

got this snap in front of Boondocks Restaurant the morning after Hurricane Dorian of some human tourists with a Black Skimmer tourist

In the days following the storm I had the opportunity to chat with both birders and non- birders on the boardwalk, and the most interesting thing I heard was actually from a non-birder who said she watched hundreds of birds land on the shore through her window in her home on shore road as the eye of the hurricane passed over us. She didn’t know what most of the birds were, but she was awed all the same.

For me this was a truly amazing experience and I was able to see 11 new to me rare species of birds during the next week. We were very fortunate to have warm weather and not too much damage in our community. We are all better prepared for future major weather events, but us birders will be extra ready!

Nova Scotia Bird Society meeting and field trips in Yarmouth – summer solstice weekend 2019

Atlantic Canada, BEYOND, Birds, Canada

My 2019 summer solstice was spent in Yarmouth for the Nova Scotia Bird Society annual out of town meeting and field trips.

Honestly the annual out of town field trips are the best part of the NSBS for me, and likely many others feel the same. It’s only the second one I’ve attended, the first being the fabulous weekend in the Cape Breton Highlands last year.

I’ve been to Yarmouth many times but never for a pleasure trip, so it was wonderful to spend some time in the beautiful Acadian region at the most southerly tip of our province. I found an Airbnb right on the water on the Pembroke Road, which also turned out to be in a bit of a birding hotspot near the Goose Flats/Cranberry Head.

It wasn’t a weekend about rare birds, but of connecting with rare birders. There are only a small number of very good birders in the province, and a good percentage of them attend these events.

On the topic of rare birders, we had one join us all the way from British Columbia. Suzy Wright found out about the event when visiting Nova Scotia and incorporated it into her trip. It was interesting to have her observations as part of our group to include a perspective from our other coast.

left to right – Maurice LeBlanc, Angie Millard, Suzy Wright, Tony Millard, B Haley

We had wonderful weather and a good number of nesting warblers and songbirds.

Black-throated Green Warbler singing his most musical of warbler songs

The highlight of the trip for me and many others was the boat trip.

Alix d’Entremont sharing his vast knowledge of the local waters and islands

We all enjoyed sunny mornings and were often greeted by White-tailed Deer.

There was a photography workshop by Simon d’Entremont, which I do regret not attending as I love his work.

The talk on Northern Saw Whet Owls at the museum was very interesting and I’m tempted to head up to NB to see if I can assist with banding in October!

It was great to meet some of the local birders who don’t make it into Halifax for our meetings. Eric Ruff was a wealth of local birding knowledge in particular and kind and generous enough to share.

All in it was a wonderful kickoff to summer with lots of learning opportunities and great company. I even met my first Raven babies!

these young Ravens were hopping around noisily harassing their parents for food – their parents have skulked off quietly for a mental break at this point…haha

Nova Scotia’s hatch year birds

Atlantic Canada, Birds, Canada

Hatch year birds are confusing as they include two plumages, juvenile and immature. Juvenile plumage is the first set of downy feathers, and the immature plumage comes in shortly afterward. The immature plumage is the first real set of flight flight feathers a bird has, and it will likely look completely different after it’s first molt as an adult. For birds that come to Nova Scotia to breed, like our visiting Wood Warblers, the immature plumage will carry them to a warmer climate in the Fall when they leave us until next Spring.

Either way, the field guides can’t show you everything and there is a definite lack of photos showing newly fledged / hatch year birds so I will try to build a little library of them here from my own photos. It’s going to take me a long time, probably years, but that is half the fun…

Black-throated Green Warbler