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Hi there,
Suzanne Borkowski and I ran my Owl Survey Route (Tangier)
last night (i.e. Good Friday, 10th April). My route runs inland from
Tangier along the road to Mooseland; this road is the eastern
boundary of the Tangier Grand Lake Wilderness Area. Since most of
the road is paved, we can do this route earlier than Suzanne's, which
is all on a dirt road.
We were watching the weather and I'm glad that we did not
let the forecast of showers deter us. Conditions were ideal for
listening for owls last night - clear skies, no precipitation,
temperatures above freezing, and almost no wind. However, in seven
years of doing this route we had the second-lowest owl count - only
five. We heard three Northern Saw-whets, one Barred, and one Great
Horned Owl. In the past we have had a low of four owls and a high of
eleven, with an average of 7. We usually find all three of the
regular species.
A few of the salt marshes and barachois ponds were still
partly frozen, though all the salt water coves were open. Every bay
and inlet along Highway 7 seemed to have one or two Common Loons in
full breeding plumage, and no wonder. The lakes were 70-90% frozen
still, with open water only around the edges, and very dark, soft
looking ice. The loons have arrived on the coast and they are just
waiting for the lakes to open up so they can move inland and claim
them. The only loons we saw inland were a pair on River Lake, which
was about 70% frozen. So we didn't hear any loons calling last
night, and I missed their wails and yodels which usually accompany our survey.
There are a lot of cottages and fishing camps along this
road, but perhaps since the lakes are still frozen, there was very
little traffic for a long weekend, when more visitors might have been
expected. We encountered only 3 other cars in 3.5 hours, so it was very quiet.
There is still some light snow cover in the woods along the
eastern shore, and in the ditches, but we heard lots of running water
during our survey. However the Spring Peepers were not yet calling,
and I heard only one Wood Frog, late in the evening. Canada Geese
were calling from Scraggy Lake. At the last stop, just before
midnight, there were three American Woodcock peenting (but not winnowing).
Tangier is about 100 K from Halifax and far beyond any light
pollution. The view of the night sky was stunning, until the moon
rose, large and orange, half-way through our survey. For those who
wonder about a correlation between owls and moon phase, there was a
full moon (as always close to Easter), and it was after moonrise that
we heard the owls. However, we usually hear more owls later on in
the route, as we move further inland, so I'm not sure that the moon
was a significant factor.
On our way up the Eastern Shore we stopped in Jeddore Oyster
Ponds at Luc Berrigan's house. Unfortunately no one was home (sorry
we missed you!) but we were delighted to see two male Red Crossbills
in the yard, along with the regular feeder birds.
The most surprising observation of the evening came while we
were eating supper at the restaurant of the Fairwinds Motel in Sheet
Harbour. We had a table by the window overlooking the
water. Knowing it was such a great location we both naturally took
our binoculars with us into the restaurant, and I also had my field
guide on the table. (I like to let businesses see that naturalists
bring $$.$$) This was not lost on our waitress, who was happy to
tell us that a pair of Canada Geese and several mergansers had been
on the river earlier in the day. Anyway, while we were seated, I
spotted a large dark bird fly across the harbour towards us, flapping
its wings deeply. We had both been hoping to see an Osprey and
because I was expecting to see one, I was baffled by this bird at
first, until I finally realized that, despite its flight pattern, it
was a Turkey Vulture! I've never seen a Vulture in Halifax County
before. Today there were news reports of an abundance of dead seals
washing up on the beaches of the Eastern Shore, perhaps accounting
for the presence of this bird.
It was great to see all the Coltsfoot in bloom along the
roadsides yesterday in the sunshine, the first I have seen this year.
Cheers,
Patricia L. Chalmers
Halifax
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<font face=3D"Courier New, Courier">Hi there,<br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Suzanne
Borkowski and I ran my Owl Survey Route (Tangier) last night (i.e. Good
Friday, 10th April). My route runs inland from Tangier along the
road to Mooseland; this road is the eastern boundary of the Tangier Grand
Lake Wilderness Area. Since most of the road is paved, we can do
this route earlier than Suzanne's, which is all on a dirt road.<br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>We were
watching the weather and I'm glad that we did not let the forecast of
showers deter us. Conditions were ideal for listening for owls last
night - clear skies, no precipitation, temperatures above freezing, and
almost no wind. However, in seven years of doing this route we had
the second-lowest owl count - only five. We heard three Northern
Saw-whets, one Barred, and one Great Horned Owl. In the past we
have had a low of four owls and a high of eleven, with an average of
7. We usually find all three of the regular species.
<br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>A few of
the salt marshes and barachois ponds were still partly frozen, though all
the salt water coves were open. Every bay and inlet along Highway 7
seemed to have one or two Common Loons in full breeding plumage, and no
wonder. The lakes were 70-90% frozen still, with open water only around
the edges, and very dark, soft looking ice. The loons have arrived
on the coast and they are just waiting for the lakes to open up so they
can move inland and claim them. The only loons we saw inland were a
pair on River Lake, which was about 70% frozen. So we didn't hear
any loons calling last night, and I missed their wails and yodels which
usually accompany our survey. <br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>There are
a lot of cottages and fishing camps along this road, but perhaps since
the lakes are still frozen, there was very little traffic for a long
weekend, when more visitors might have been expected. We
encountered only 3 other cars in 3.5 hours, so it was very
quiet.<br><br>
<x-tab>