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Index of Subjects
_Sable Island_ <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com>
_ _
_ Green Horse Society_
/44°N 60°W /
Home <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/default.htm>
Maps etc <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Maps%20etc/Maps%20etc.htm>
Sable Island
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Sable%20Island/sable_island.htm>
Horses <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Horses/Horses.htm>
Behaviour <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Behaviour/Behaviour.htm>
Foals <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Foaling/Foaling.htm>
New Residents
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/New%20Residents/New%20Residents.htm>
Naming Horses
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Naming%20horses/Naming%20horses.htm>
Sambro <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Sambro/sambro.htm>
Bats <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Bats/bats.htm>
Birds <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Sable-Island-Birds.htm>
Wilma birds
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds%20-%20Wilma/Birds%20from%20Hurricane%20Wilma.htm>
Bird Lists <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/BirdList/bird_list.htm>
Beached Birds
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Beached_Birds/beached_birds.htm>
Marine Mammals
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Marine-Mammals/Marine-Mammals.htm>
Seal Survey <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Seals/Seal_Survey.htm>
Shark predation
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Sharks/shark_predation.htm>
Cetaceans <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Cetaceans/Cetaceans.htm>
Fall Colours
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Seasons/Fall/fall_colours.htm>
Winter <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Seasons/Winter/winter.htm>
Spring <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Seasons/Spring/Spring.htm>
Wildflowers <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Flowers/flowers.htm>
The Beach <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/The%20Beach/The%20Beach.htm>
Ocean Litter
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Ocean%20Litter/Ocean%20Litter.htm>
Shipwrecks <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Shipwrecks/Shipwrecks.htm>
Station <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station/Sable_Island_Station.htm>
Operations
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Operations/station_operations.htm>
Meteorology <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Met/meteorology.htm>
Aerology <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Aerology/Aerology.htm>
Magnetic Obs
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Magnetic/magnetic_observatory.htm>
Morning Glory <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Clouds/Glory.htm>
Fuel cleanup <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Cleanup/Cleanup.htm>
Atmos. Research
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Research/atmospheric_research.htm>
Global warming
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Research/global_warming.htm>
Ozone
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Research/tropospheric_ozone.htm>
Aerosols
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Research/atmospheric_aerosol.htm>
Airshed
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Research/airshed_monitoring.htm>
Fog Chemistry
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Station_Research/toxic_fog.htm>
Offshore Industry <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Offshore/Offshore.htm>
Fuel Facility
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Refueling/helicopter_refueling.htm>
Waves <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Waves/waves.htm>
Notes <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Notes/sable_island_notes.htm>
Joyce Barkhouse
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/People/sable_island_people.htm>
Lyall Campbell <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/People/Lyall_Campbell.htm>
Jill MacLean <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/People/jill_maclean.htm>
History <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/History/History.htm>
Visiting Sable
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Visitors/Sable_Island_Visitors.htm>
Bibliography
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Bibliography/Bibliography.htm>
Postscript <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Postscript/Postscript.htm>
Contact <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Contact/contact_info.htm>
Guest Book <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/GestBook/GestBook.htm>
Media <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/media/Media.htm>
**
*Birds of Sable Island *
(November 2002; revised February 2007)
During the last 100 years a wide variety of birds – more than 330
species – have been reported from Sable Island. Some of these were first
records for Nova Scotia, Canada or North America. As well as “rare
birds”, the species list for Sable Island includes breeding birds,
common migrants and regular vagrants.
Black-bellied Plovers foraging on the south beach sandflats in late
October.
Heavy rain and ocean overwash from storm swell and high tides frequently
flood
areas of the wide south beach, particularly around saltwater Lake Wallace.
Depending on weather and location, the depth of standing floodwater on
the beach
ranges from one to 40 cm.
Until the late 19th century, interest in the birds of Sable Island was
limited to those species useful as sources of meat, eggs, or feathers.
Study of the island's birds began in 1894 with a visit by the well-known
naturalist Jonathan Dwight, Jr. Subsequently records were kept by the
family of R.J. Bouteillier – superintendent on Sable Island from 1884 to
1912 – but following their departure, accounts were only occasional and
often casual. Not until 1963, with the arrival of full-time residents
Norman and Christel Bell, were observations systematically recorded.
Since then, interested residents and visitors, and some scientists and
students working on the island, have provided accounts of bird life.
Research on Sable Island birds has been ongoing since the 1960s. Many
aspects of Ipswich Sparrow /Passerculus sandwichensis princeps/ biology
have been investigated (e.g. McLaren 1968; Stobo 1973; Stobo & McLaren
1975; Ross 1979; and Smith /et al/. 2002). The breeding biology of
Herring /Larus argentatus/ and Great Black-backed Gulls /L. marinus/
(Lock 1973), and of the Least Sandpiper /Calidris minutilla/ (Miller
1977), were the subjects of doctoral research.
Sable is not an important migratory corridor for terrestrial bird
species (e.g. wood warblers and thrushes). It is probable that many of
the common migrant land birds and most of the "rare birds” observed on
the island are actually off course from their regular routes. However,
Sable is considered significant for migrating shorebirds and several
marine species.
During spring and more so in autumn, many hundreds of shorebirds are
found at the water's edge along the north and south beaches and on the
sandflats around saltwater Lake Wallace. Among the most numerous are
Black-bellied /Pluvialis squatarola/ and American Golden /P. dominica/
Plovers, Semipalmated Plover /Charadrius semipalmatus/, Greater /Tringa
melanoleuca/ and Lesser /T. flavipes/ Yellowlegs, Red Knot /Calidris
canutus/, Sanderling /C. alba/, and Semipalmated /C. pusilla/ and
White-rumped Sandpipers /C. fuscicollis/. Feeding on polychaete worms,
and also small amphipods, these shorebirds sometimes remain in the area
for two or three weeks, accumulating resources before beginning their
extensive travels to and from wintering grounds.
In 1970 and 1971 Sable Island was used as a monitoring site in a study
of migrating shorebirds (Burton 1974). Using returns from fifteen
species captured and banded on the island, as well as data on bird
weight, and dates of arrivals and departures combined with weather
records, researchers were able to learn much about the southward
migration of shorebirds in eastern North America. Among the many
shorebirds scampering at the waters edge and on the sandflats, banded
individuals are occasionally noticed. An example is a Semipalmated
Sandpiper seen in August 1995, feeding on the flats near Lake Wallace.
It had been banded as an adult at Coroa do Aviao Island, Itamaraca,
Pernambuco, Brazil, in April 1990.
In 1981, Ian McLaren wrote: "Sable Island is certainly one of the best
localities in eastern North America for the occurrence of vagrant
species". Vagrant birds are those species whose presence in the region
is considered abnormal because they are north or east of their normal
breeding or migratory ranges in North America, or from even further away
(e.g. Eurasia, South America). One of the most interesting vagrants was
a Black-tailed Gull /Larus crassirostris/ seen during the summers of
1997 through 1999. Although the normal breeding range for this Asiatic
species is the northern coasts and islands of the Sea of Japan bordering
eastern Siberia, China and both islands of Japan, the Black-tailed Gull
is a rare but increasingly frequent visitor to North America. Other
interesting sightings include birds that have arrived with storms and
hurricanes. Following Tropical Storms Bonnie (August 1998) and Wilma
(October 2005) a number of “southern” and unseasonable birds were
scattered about the island – including, in 1998, a Glossy Ibis /Plegadis
falcinellus/ which stayed for several weeks, feeding at the freshwater
ponds.
Thirteen bird species now nest regularly on Sable Island – Leach's
Storm-petrel /Oceanodroma leucorhoa/; four ducks (Mallard /Anas
platyrhynchos/, Black Duck /A. rubripes/, Northern Pintail /A. acuta/
and Red-breasted Merganser /Mergus serrator/); two shorebirds (Spotted
Sandpiper /Actitis macularia/ and Least Sandpiper); two gulls (Herring
and Great Black-backed Gulls); two terns (Common /Sterna hirundo/ and
Arctic /S. paradisaea/); and Starling /Sturnus vulgaris/ and Ipswich
Sparrow. Nesting Green-winged Teal A/. crecca/, Laughing Gull /L.
atricilla/, Black-legged Kittiwake /Rissa tridactyla/ and Catbird
/Dumetella carolinensis/ are sighted occasionally. Roseate Terns /S.
dougallii/ and Semipalmated Plover also nested, and may still do so in
small numbers – adults of both species have been sighted on the island,
as recently as summer 2006, during their nesting periods. Gulls, terns
and Ipswich Sparrows are the most numerous and widespread of the nesting
birds on Sable Island.
A comprehensive review of historical records for Sable Island, and of
sightings and research up to 1979, (covering 324 species) is provided by
McLaren (1981). The following account, illustrating ninety-six species
on Sable, is based on observations made by ZL since the mid-1980s. The
beached seabird surveys, underway since 1993, have provided an
opportunity to examine specimens that might otherwise have gone
unnoticed. The numbers of birds recorded here give only a very rough
idea of relative abundance. Without doing systematic counts, it is
difficult to distinguish between the comings and goings of breeding and
migrating individuals of the same species, and to know if sightings of,
for example, individual falcons or flocks of finches at different
locations are different birds or just the same bird or flock moving
about on the island. Thus, overall, the numbers in this account are
conservative. It’s likely that some species are considerably
underrepresented by the totals presented here.
Click on thumbnails for more information
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-1-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-2-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-3-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-4-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-5-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-6-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-7-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-8-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds-9-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds%20Part%20II/Birds-10-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds%20Part%20II/Birds-11-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds%20Part%20II/Birds-12-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds%20Part%20II/Birds-13-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds%20Part%20II/Birds-14-1a.htm>
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds/Birds%20Part%20II/Birds-15-1a.htm>
*Additional Reading *
McLaren, I.A. 1981. The Birds of Sable Island. Proceedings of the
Nova Scotia Institute of Science 31: 1-84.
Tufts, R.W. 1986. Birds of Nova Scotia. Nimbus Publishing Limited
and The Nova Scotia Museum, 3rd edition.
For a comprehensive list of articles, see Bibliography: Birds
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Bibliography/Bibliography-%20Birds.htm>.
* < <http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Bats/bats.htm> >
<http://www.greenhorsesociety.com/Birds%20-%20Nesting%20I/Nesting%20Birds%201.htm>*
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Index of Subjects