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--Alt-Boundary-2939.18018224
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BRIER ISLAND CHRISTMAS COUNT, 14 DECEMBER 2012
Weather mainly overcast. 4-5C. Wind W 10-50 kph.
0715-1715 AST
Participants: Stewart & Wanda Brown, Lisa Clark, David Currie, Alix d'Entremont, Ronnie
d'Entremont, Jim Edsall, Ross Fisher, Cindy Garron, Frank Garron, Carl Haycock, Mike
Kieley, Dawn Mackenzie, Sharron Marlor, Crystal McDormand, Anne Mills, Eric Mills
(compiler), Richard Stern.
71 species, 50, 459 individuals
Brant - 5; Canada Goose - 2; Black Duck - 129; Mallard - 4; Lesser Scaup - 2; Common
Eider - 400; Surf Scoter - 1; White-winged Scoter - 13; Black Scoter - 8, Long-tailed Duck -
63; Bufflehead - 17; Common Goldeneye - 44; Red-breasted Merganser - 32; Ring-necked
Pheasant - 4; Ruffed Grouse - 5; Common Loon - 57; Red-necked Grebe - 7; Northern
Gannet - 241; Double-crested Cormorant - 6; Great Cormorant - 314; Turkey Vulture - 6;
Bald Eagle - 3; Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1; Red-tailed Hawk - 2; Merlin - 1; Purple Sandpiper -
6; Black-headed Gull - 1; Ring-billed Gull - 26; Herring Gull - 1713; Iceland Gull - 37;
Glaucous Gull - 10; Great Black-backed Gull - 577; Black-legged Kittiwake - 24,685;
Dovekie - 45; Common Murre - 40; Razorbill - 936; Black Guillemot - 79; Alcid species -
20,000; Rock Pigeon - 22; Mourning Dove - 48; Great Horned Owl - 1, Barred Owl - 1;
Belted Kingfisher - 1; Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1; Hairy Woodpecker - 2; Northern Shrike
- 1; Blue Jay - 27; American Crow - 117; Common Raven - 16; Black-capped Chickadee -
219; Red-breasted Nuthatch - 6; White-breasted Nuthatch - 1; Winter Wren - 2; Golden-
crowned Kinglet - 13; Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1; American Robin - 1; Northern
Mockingbird - 1; European Starling - 93; American Pipit - 14; Snow Bunting - 25; Yellow-
rumped (Myrtle) Warbler - 1; Savannah Sparrow - 1; Song Sparrow - 10; White-throated
Sparrow - 1; Dark-eyed Junco;- 17; Northern Cardinal - 1; Red-winged Blackbird - 1;
Common Grackle - 25; White-winged Crossbill - 33; Common Redpoll - 91; Pine Siskin - 11;
American Goldfinch - 129; Evening Grosbeak - 3.
Comments:
We got a lovely day for a count, although it became unpleasantly windy in the
afternoon, and the next day, bitterly cold in a NW gale would have been a different story.
We had enough partcipants this time (not always the case) to cover the island really
thoroughly, a crew of dedicated feeder-watchers, and one participant who made a count
while lobster-fishing (dedication under very difficult conditions). The result was a high count
of 71 species, matched previously only in 1976 (the Brier Island count first became an
official one in 1971). Average species numbers, year by year on Brier Island Christmas
counts, run in the upper 50s to lower 60s, and when the weather has been bad, have been
as low as the low 30s. So this year was truly noteworthy.
That 1976 count took place with several cm of snow on the ground and rain in the
afternoon. There were a lot of species that we have seen relatively little of since then,
including Fulmar, Harlequin Duck, Red-shouldered Hawk, Wilson's Snipe, Short-eared Owl;
Saw Whet Owl, Gray Jay, a Winter Wren (see above), House Sparrow, Eastern
Meadowlark, Fox Sparrow and Rusty Blackbird. The participants (here we go back down
memory lane) were Ross Anderson, Fulton Lavender, Wickerson Lent, Ian MacGregor,
Bruce Mactavish, Anne & Eric Mills, Rick Palindat (from Edmonton), Ann Wetmore & Jim
Wolford.
Back to 2012. The noteworthy species or numbers are in bold-face in the list above.
Most striking of all was the amazing abundance of Kittiwakes and alcids, probably most of
the latter being Razorbills (most were well offshore, too far to identify with certainty). The
flypast of the tens of thousands started just after 9am on a rising tide and as the wind began
to come up. Kittiwakes and alcids started to stream out of the Bay of Fundy, moving SW, at
a rate of up to 200 a minute. This continued for at least two hours, and although numbers
decreased late in the morning, there were still thousands of birds on the move into the
afternoon. It was one of those amazing sights for which Brier Island is famous, but which are
seen by few.
Lesser Scaup and Barred Owl were new for Brier Island counts, and the Red-bellied
Woodpecker was only the second (the first was in 2011). Gannet numbers in early winter
continue to increase, although we had to struggle to find Savannah, Song, and White-
throated Sparrows, also Juncos. On the other hand, the amazing abundance if Black-
capped Chickadees in fall seems to have carried over into winter. Seeing a shrike on the
island is always a treat, and the Mockingbird in Westport, atop a rhodendron, came as a
surprise. The White-breasted Nuthatch, like the Red-bellied Woodpecker, has almost
certainly been around since October, good luck for us.
Doing a Christmas Count on Brier Island is always a challenge, usually due to the
weather, but the payoffs can be great in this rugged, windswept place as this account shows.
Eric L. Mills
286 Kingsburg Road
RR#1 Rose Bay, NS B0J 2X0
Canada
e.mills@dal.ca
--Alt-Boundary-2939.18018224
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</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">BRIER ISLAND CHRISTMAS COUNT, 14 DECEMBER 2012</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">Weather mainly overcast. 4-5C. Wind W 10-50 kph.</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">0715-1715 AST</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">Participants: Stewart & Wanda Brown, Lisa Clark, David Currie, Alix d'Entremont, Ronnie
d'Entremont, Jim Edsall, Ross Fisher, Cindy Garron, Frank Garron, Carl Haycock, Mike
Kieley, Dawn Mackenzie, Sharron Marlor, Crystal McDormand, Anne Mills, Eric Mills
(compiler), Richard Stern. </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><b>71 </b>species, <b>50, 459</b> individuals</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">Brant - 5; Canada Goose - 2; Black Duck - 129; Mallard - 4; <b>Lesser Scaup</b> - 2; Common
Eider - 400; Surf Scoter - 1; White-winged Scoter - 13; Black Scoter - 8, Long-tailed Duck -
63; Bufflehead - 17; Common Goldeneye - 44; Red-breasted Merganser - 32; Ring-necked
Pheasant - 4; Ruffed Grouse - 5; Common Loon - 57; Red-necked Grebe - 7; Northern
Gannet - <b>241</b>; <b>Double-crested Cormorant - 6</b>; Great Cormorant - <b>314</b>; Turkey Vulture - 6;
Bald Eagle - 3; Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1; Red-tailed Hawk - 2; Merlin - 1; Purple Sandpiper -
6; <b>Black-headed Gull</b> - 1; Ring-billed Gull - <b>26</b>; Herring Gull - 1713; Iceland Gull - 37;
Glaucous Gull - 10; Great Black-backed Gull - 577; Black-legged Kittiwake - <b>24,685</b>;
Dovekie - 45; Common Murre - 40; Razorbill - 936; Black Guillemot - 79; Alcid species -
<b>20,000</b>; Rock Pigeon - 22; Mourning Dove - 48; Great Horned Owl - 1, <b>Barred Owl</b> - 1;
Belted Kingfisher - 1; <b>Red-bellied Woodpecker</b> - 1; Hairy Woodpecker - 2; Northern Shrike
- 1; Blue Jay - 27; American Crow - 117; Common Raven - 16; Black-capped Chickadee -
<b>219</b>; Red-breasted Nuthatch - 6; <b>White-breasted Nuthatch</b> - 1; <b>Winter Wren - 2</b>;  Golden-crowned Kinglet - 13; <b>Ruby-crowned Kinglet</b> - 1; American Robin - 1; <b>Northern
Mockingbird </b>- 1; European Starling - 93; American Pipit - 14; Snow Bunting - 25;  Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler - 1; Savannah Sparrow - 1; Song Sparrow - 10; White-throated
Sparrow - 1; Dark-eyed Junco;- 17; Northern Cardinal - 1; Red-winged Blackbird - 1;
Common Grackle - 25; White-winged Crossbill - 33; Common Redpoll - 91; Pine Siskin - 11;
American Goldfinch - 129; Evening Grosbeak - 3. </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">Comments:  </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">           We got a lovely day for a count, although it became unpleasantly windy in the
afternoon, and the next day, bitterly cold in a NW gale would have been a different story.
We had enough partcipants this time (not always the case) to cover the island really
thoroughly, a crew of dedicated feeder-watchers, and one participant who made a count
while lobster-fishing (dedication under very difficult conditions). The result was a high count
of 71 species, matched previously only in 1976 (the Brier Island count first became an
official one in 1971). Average species numbers, year by year on Brier Island Christmas
counts, run in the upper 50s to lower 60s, and when the weather has been bad, have been
as low as the low 30s. So this year was truly noteworthy. </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">           That 1976 count took place with several cm of snow on the ground and rain in the
afternoon. There were a lot of species that we have seen relatively little of since then,
including Fulmar, Harlequin Duck, Red-shouldered Hawk, Wilson's Snipe, Short-eared Owl;
Saw Whet Owl, Gray Jay, a Winter Wren (see above), House Sparrow, Eastern
Meadowlark, Fox Sparrow and Rusty Blackbird. The participants (here we go back down
memory lane) were Ross Anderson, Fulton Lavender, Wickerson Lent, Ian MacGregor,
Bruce Mactavish, Anne & Eric Mills, Rick Palindat (from Edmonton), Ann Wetmore & Jim
Wolford. </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">           Back to 2012. The noteworthy species or numbers are in bold-face in the list above.
Most striking of all was the amazing abundance of Kittiwakes and alcids, probably most of
the latter being Razorbills (most were well offshore, too far to identify with certainty). The
flypast of the tens of thousands started just after 9am on a rising tide and as the wind began
to come up. Kittiwakes and alcids started to stream out of the Bay of Fundy, moving SW, at
a rate of up to 200 a minute. This continued for at least two hours, and although numbers
decreased late in the morning, there were still thousands of birds on the move into the
afternoon. It was one of those amazing sights for which Brier Island is famous, but which are
seen by few. </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">           Lesser Scaup and Barred Owl were new for Brier Island counts, and the Red-bellied
Woodpecker was only the second (the first was in 2011). Gannet numbers in early winter
continue to increase, although we had to struggle to find Savannah, Song, and White-throated Sparrows, also Juncos. On the other hand, the amazing abundance if Black-capped Chickadees in fall seems to have carried over into winter. Seeing a shrike on the
island is always a treat, and the Mockingbird in Westport, atop a rhodendron, came as a
surprise. The White-breasted Nuthatch, like the Red-bellied Woodpecker, has almost
certainly been around since October, good luck for us. </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">           Doing a Christmas Count on Brier Island is always a challenge, usually due to the
weather, but the payoffs can be great in this rugged, windswept place as this account shows.    </span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt"><br />
</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">Eric L. Mills</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">286 Kingsburg Road</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">RR#1 Rose Bay, NS B0J 2X0</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">Canada</span></font></div>
<div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style=" font-size:10pt">e.mills@dal.ca</span></font></div>
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--Alt-Boundary-2939.18018224--
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