2024-01-24
The Great Backyard Bird Count returns
It is getting close to that time of year again for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Please mark the dates on your calendar, Friday, Feb. 16 through Monday, Feb. 19.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a global event. You can go out to your favourite place to count the birds or do it from the comfort of your backyard as long as you spend 15 minutes. You can count longer if you wish.
Last year bird watchers from more than 100 countries reported a record 6,456 species, more than half of the known bird species in the world. If at your specific birding location, you are travelling by car, you would keep a record of mileage (under eight kilometres for each location). You would record the species that you see, how many of each species and the time spent counting. If you wish you can send in counts for the same area each day of the count.
The data you send in helps scientists to better understand and protect birds around the world. The way to submit your data is through eBird or Merlin.
On Jan. 12, Logan Moore found a red-bellied woodpecker at Hirtle's Beach in Kingsburg. The next day, Kevin Lantz reported a fox sparrow at his place at Front Centre. On Jan. 14 Eric Mills saw the pink-footed goose at First South. Robert Keereweer saw a female Barrow's goldeneye in Blandford and I watched a male in Broad Cove. I also found a black-headed gull in Broad Cove on that day.
Birds reported in Riverport by Kerry Jarvis were black-capped chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, American goldfinches, European starlings, mourning doves, blue jays, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, a northern flicker, a song sparrow, common loons, red-throated loons, red-breasted mergansers, hooded mergansers, common goldeneyes, surf scoters, bald eagles, mallards and American black ducks.
Joe Dillon told me that a Baltimore oriole was still present in Bridgewater on Jan. 15.
On Jan. 3 Diane LeBlanc had a fox sparrow along the Ketch Harbour Road. Liz Doull found a rough-legged hawk at Hartlen Point. She sighted a thick-billed murre along the Ketch Harbour Road on Jan. 4. On the same day, Angela MacDonald reported a brown thrasher at Port Bickerton and Mike MacDonald discovered a lesser yellowlegs at The Guzzle on Cape Sable Island. Paul Gould saw a snowy egret at Pubnico.
David Currie reported 14 sanderlings at Martinique Beach on Jan. 5. On Jan. 6 a marsh wren was seen by Zach Wile at the Eddy Marsh in Amherst and three sandhill cranes were sighted by Lyall Bouchard at Aylesford.
While walking on the Bisset Lake Trail on Jan. 7, Natalie Barkhouse-Bishop saw a yellow-breasted chat. In Argyle Paul Gould found a killdeer. Lyall Bouchard had an eastern phoebe at the Middleton sewage plant.
Sarah Foote discovered a Wilson's warbler at Miner's Marsh on Jan. 8. On Jan. 9, Paul Gould saw two rusty blackbirds at Argyle. Mark Dennis reported a common gull at West Head on Cape Sable Island.
Dominic Cormier located a lesser black-backed gull at Sullivan's Pond in Dartmouth on Jan. 10. Other birds that are rare for the winter were observed later in the month. Some of these were a mute swan, a yellow-breasted chat, a winter wren, a pied-billed grebe, a snowy egret, a rusty blackbird, seven brown-headed cowbirds, an orange-crowned warbler, glaucous gulls, and a dickcissel.
On Jan. 11, Alix d'Entremont and Kathleen MacAulay did a two hour seawatch at Cape Forchu and reported seeing black-legged kittiwakes at 200/h and alcids at 100/h with some very close flybys of dovekies.
As of Dec. 29 the Nova Scotia Winter List was at 205 species.
You may reach me at (902) 693-2174 or email jrhbirder@hotmail.com.
