Posted in Atlantic Canada Birding

May 4th birding in Shefield and St. Andrews, New Brunswick

May 4th birding in Shefield and St. Andrews, New Brunswick Posted on May 5, 2015

Monday, May 4th I drove through New Brunswick.  My first stop was Fredericton and I came in on the Shefield/Grand Lake side.  What a simply heavenly bird corridor.  First I stopped to take some shot of a group of Northern Shovelers and when I looked through my photos I noticed I even got an accidental shot of a grumpy owl (maybe a Great Horned Owl?) in a high up nest.  I didn’t even realize there was a bird in there!

I didn’t crop any of my photos so zoom in (just click on photo and then again) for a closer look.

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maybe a Great Horned Owl?
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Norther Shoveler male
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Norther Shoveler male x2 female x2
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Norther Shoveler malex2 female x1

A little further down the road I stopped again when I realized there were Tree Swallows flying across the road and over the water in McGowans Corner.  I have never seen them before so it was really fun to be surrounded by them.  Eventually a pair landed on a wire and I was able to get some actual still shots.

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Tree Swallow flying over the water
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Tree Swallow flying over the water
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my first Tree Swallows hanging out on a wire so cool!
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my first Tree Swallows hanging out on a wire
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my first Tree Swallows hanging out on a wire

Then I visited pet stores because that is the actual purpose of my trip.  But we won’t talk about that when there are all these good birdies.

I arrived in my final destination of St. Andrews around 6pm, checked into the Algonquin Resort where there were Common Redpolls at the feeders on the grounds, and headed to the Pagan Point Nature Preserve Trails.  On the wooded path is a songbird corridor with many nests and pretty little song birds.  American Goldfinch in bright yellow Spring colours eating buds off the evergreens, Juncos, Sparrows, Chickadees, an abundance of Yellow Rumped Warblers, and a Pine Siskin (thanks for the ID help).

Pine Siskin maybe?
Pine Siskin
Pine Siskin maybe?
Pine Siskin
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Yellow Rumped Warbler
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Yellow Rumped Warbler
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Yellow Rumped Warbler
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Yellow Rumped Warbler
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Yellow Rumped Warbler

The Gold Finches eating the tree buds are so cute!

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male American Goldfinch
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male American Goldfinch
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male American Goldfinch

Off to Maine in the morning and spending the night in Wells and hope to visit the Wells Reserve after my work is done.

As a footnote I should mention that one of the shops I visit with dog supplies, is also a wonderful birding spot.  The Crocker Hill Store features the paintings of Steven Smith in addition to selling high quality dog supplies, bird feeders, and books.  A charming shop run by wonderful people.