113th CBC Atlantic Canada Regional Summary

 (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia,

 Prince Edward Island, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon)

By David Currie

The Atlantic region experienced weather that seemed more usual for us this year with biting cold and higher winds compared to those balmy conditions of last year.  The food crops were poor, but despite that, our results showed the beginnings of a larger winter finch movement plus examples of the remarkable endurance of birds that just shouldn't try the over-wintering strategy.

The region submitted 59 counts to Audubon, increasing by six over last year. Nova Scotia bettered their number by an outstanding six new counts (Bridgetown, Caledonia, Springville, St. Peter’s, Shubenacadie, Tatamagouche) for a total of 29! Prince Edward Island submitted three counts and New Brunswick 17, including a new one from Miramichi.  , Newfoundland and Labrador dropped by two to nine counts.  Îles du St. Pierre et Miquelon were able to complete one of their traditional two counts.  Coastal Nova Scotia counts harboured the most variety as usual, with Halifax-Dartmouth finishing with a total species count of an astounding  127, next being Cape Sable Island with 91 and Lunenburg at 89. St. John's, NL reported a very respectable 74 at the end of the day.

Nova Scotia tallied 173 species, New Brunswick had 120, Newfoundland and Labrador came in at 111, Prince Edward Island had 75 and St. Pierre had 58. The Regions total combined species list was 185 but there were still another six species that were seen during count period.  Two hundred species in this part of the country is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities as more counts come on board, weather events become more frequent and warmer temperatures allow for the more tardy and disoriented birds to be detected.

Remarkably, for the second consecutive year and only the second Christmas Count record from Canada, a Pink-footed Goose was discovered here, but this time it was St. John's,  NL during count week.  A "not quite so rare", Greater White-fronted Goose stayed just long enough to slip into count week totals at Truro, NS.

It looks like the Wild Turkey hunting groups in the Atlantic are beginning to get their wish as it appears there is some northward movement from Maine into New Brunswick with a sizable flock of 28 that was discovered at St. Stephen. Apart from a few previous and isolated records of this species this is what could be a much more common occurrence, at least in New Brunswick.  The closest Gray Partridge came to being included in the results were a few tracks in the snow near Truro, NS; this species is on the verge of extirpation here. Previous populations, albeit tenuous to begin with, occurred in the Annapolis Valley and Truro over the last 20 years. It is now doubtful that more than a dozen birds exist there and only near Truro. 

Twelve species of warbler were found in various spots. Those species were Orange-crowned, Nashville, Yellow, Magnolia, Townsend's, Yellow-rumped, Yellow-throated, Pine, both Eastern and Western races of Palm, Blackpoll, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow-breasted Chat.    

As for Yellow-breasted Chats and their proclivity to "reverse migration" or post-breeding meandering, you have to feel that mixture of delight of discovery and the opposite and equal pessimism for its survival.  Once again, we had another record year with 29 Yellow-breasted Chats counted. For a bird that is having trouble trying to survive in its normal range, trying to endure an Atlantic winter won't help its chances.

December showed the early signs of what we thought was going to be good southerly movements of birds in search of better food sources.  There seemed a very minor movement of northern owls, with two Snowy Owls encountered, and a single Northern Hawk Owl ventured to Bouctouche NB.  Barred Owls must have had a great breeding season as they seemed to be everywhere with 27 found and many simply sitting on wires or woodland edges during the day. Bohemian Waxwings totalled almost 5000, with 3800 of those counted in Nova Scotia, but they were evident in all areas despite the low fruit yields.

Probably the most welcomed species this year was the very much revered and regal Evening Grosbeak. The recent outbreaks of spruce budworm have given us back a species that seemed on the brink of disaster. Notable were 3500 counted in Nova Scotia and another 1300 in New Brunswick, rivalling numbers we remember during the early 1990's when budworm infestations were high.

Common Redpolls began showing up in New Brunswick earlier in December but by mid-month they were being seen along headlands in all regions finding what little wild food was available. Over 6800 were counted in New Brunswick, 4300 in Nova Scotia, almost 1000 in Newfoundland and Labrador and smaller numbers in Prince Edward Island and St. Pierre et Miquelon. This was just the beginning as feeders became empty in hours as hundreds made their way to backyards, feeding non-stop while the going was good. Even with the good redpoll counts, just 12 Hoary Redpolls were identified; six in NS and three each in NL and NB. Along with the redpolls, good numbers of both Red and White-winged crossbills were seen, with latter outnumbering the former by 2:1.

Besides the highlights listed, St. Pierre registered its rarities with White-rumped Sandpiper, and Short-eared Owl, Newfoundland and Labrador had 45 Tufted Ducks this year, a Pied-billed Grebe and of course our only records of Willow Ptarmigan in addition to the three odd warblers, Nashville, Yellow and Townsend's.   PEI had the only Yellow-throated Warbler.   Nova Scotia with its many count areas and participants, had some exciting additions including  American Bittern, Great Egret, two Ospreys, Sandhill Crane, Spotted Sandpiper, Little Gull,  Carolina, House, Marsh and Winter Wrens, as well as Vesper, Lincoln's and Clay-coloured Sparrows.  New Brunswick's Northern Hawk Owl, Brown Thrasher, Gyrfalcon, King Eider, Eastern Towhee, Dickcissel, and Rusty Blackbird were some of the added bonuses that made the total species so significant in the Atlantic this year.