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Suzanne Borkowski and I ran my Nocturnal Owl Survey Route
(Tangier) on Saturday night, 4 May. This was at least two weeks later
than we usually do it. The high winds we had through most of
April made it harder to find a suitable night, since I can only do
this remote route when I don't have to go to work the following morning.
Weather conditions last night were excellent: scarcely any
wind, no fog or precipitation, and no water running in the
ditches. Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs were loud but only a
hindrance to listening at one stop. There was scarcely any traffic
along our route; in fact, only one car passed us the whole
evening. We missed the moonlight, but the night sky was so bright
with stars that it was always possible to scan the treetops for any
owls which might fly in.
A note of caution to anyone planning a drive along the
eastern shore: that perennial standby in Lake Charlotte, Webber's
General Store, has closed! There is now no place to buy gas or
provisions, and no amenities e.g. public washrooms, on Highway 7
between Musquodoboit Harbour and Sheet Harbour, a distance of 100 Km.
On our early evening drive, we saw a few returning migrants:
there were two occupied Osprey nests along Hwy. 107 near Porter's
Lake, and we saw another Osprey in flight, carrying fish. There were
several Great Blue Herons along the coast, and at Ship Harbour there
was a Belted Kingfisher. When we pulled over to admire the
kingfisher (first of the year for us both) we heard a Fox Sparrow
singing from the cut-over hillside above the road. I haven't heard
one for several years, so it was a particular delight. There was
also a flotilla of 10 Common Loons at Ship Harbour, which seemed
rather late. Shouldn't they be on the lakes by now? In Bullrush
Lake at Tangier, there was a pair of Green-winged Teal, as well as
noisy Red-winged Blackbirds.
We arrived early, well before sunset, at our first stop,
which is near the beginning of the inland road from Tangier to
Mooseland / Moose River Gold Mines. While waiting for the appointed
time to start, we listened to American Woodcock peenting and
twittering overhead, and a few Canada Geese flew over, honking. Lots
of American Robins were singing, and a lone Winter Wren. Best of
all, at twilight came the symphony of my three favourite sounds of
springtime: Hermit Thrushes and White-throated Sparrows, against a
background of Spring Peepers. But we heard only two Common Loons all
evening, which was surprising.
We detected 13 owls last night, including two Great Horned,
three Northern Saw-whet, and eight Barred Owls (including two
pairs). This is higher than our average. In the previous ten years,
we have averaged 8.6 owls, with Saw-whets being by far the most
abundant in the last three years. Nine of the thirteen were already
calling during the "silent listening" portion of the survey, that is,
before we began playing recordings of owls.
Other wildlife we encountered included a Porcupine ambling
across the road, a pair of Coyotes beyond Mooseland which responded
to playback, and two Snowshoe Hares which scampered about in front of
our vehicle.
It was a lovely night to be out, and there was much to
enjoy: the night sky, the clear fresh air, the songs of birds and
frogs, a friend's company, the sense of shared purpose, and the hope
that we were contributing to an understanding of nature.
Patricia L. Chalmers
Halifax
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<font size=3><x-tab>
</x-tab>Suzanne Borkowski
and I ran my Nocturnal Owl Survey Route (Tangier) on Saturday night, 4
May. This was at least two weeks later than we usually do it. The
high winds we had through most of April made it harder to find a
suitable night, since I can only do this remote route when I don't have
to go to work the following morning. <br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Weather
conditions last night were excellent: scarcely any wind, no fog or
precipitation, and no water running in the ditches. Spring Peepers
and Wood Frogs were loud but only a hindrance to listening at one
stop. There was scarcely any traffic along our route; in fact, only
one car passed us the whole evening. We missed the moonlight, but
the night sky was so bright with stars that it was always possible to
scan the treetops for any owls which might fly in. <br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>A note of
caution to anyone planning a drive along the eastern shore: that
perennial standby in Lake Charlotte, Webber's General Store, has
closed! There is now no place to buy gas or provisions, and no
amenities e.g. public washrooms, on Highway 7 between Musquodoboit
Harbour and Sheet Harbour, a distance of 100 Km. <br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>On our
early evening drive, we saw a few returning migrants: there were two
occupied Osprey nests along Hwy. 107 near Porter's Lake, and we saw
another Osprey in flight, carrying fish. There were several Great
Blue Herons along the coast, and at Ship Harbour there was a Belted
Kingfisher. When we pulled over to admire the kingfisher (first of
the year for us both) we heard a Fox Sparrow singing from the cut-over
hillside above the road. I haven't heard one for several years, so
it was a particular delight. There was also a flotilla of 10 Common
Loons at Ship Harbour, which seemed rather late. Shouldn't they be
on the lakes by now? In Bullrush Lake at Tangier, there was a pair
of Green-winged Teal, as well as noisy Red-winged Blackbirds. <br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>We arrived
early, well before sunset, at our first stop, which is near the beginning
of the inland road from Tangier to Mooseland / Moose River Gold
Mines. While waiting for the appointed time to start, we
listened to American Woodcock peenting and twittering overhead, and a few
Canada Geese flew over, honking. Lots of American Robins were
singing, and a lone Winter Wren. Best of all, at twilight came the
symphony of my three favourite sounds of springtime: Hermit Thrushes and
White-throated Sparrows, against a background of Spring Peepers.
But we heard only two Common Loons all evening, which was
surprising.<br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>We
detected 13 owls last night, including two Great Horned, three Northern
Saw-whet, and eight Barred Owls (including two pairs). This is
higher than our average. In the previous ten years, we have
averaged 8.6 owls, with Saw-whets being by far the most abundant in the
last three years. Nine of the thirteen were already calling during
the "silent listening" portion of the survey, that is, before
we began playing recordings of owls. <br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Other
wildlife we encountered included a Porcupine ambling across the road, a
pair of Coyotes beyond Mooseland which responded to playback, and two
Snowshoe Hares which scampered about in front of our vehicle.
<br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>It was a
lovely night to be out, and there was much to enjoy: the night sky, the
clear fresh air, the songs of birds and frogs, a friend's company, the
sense of shared purpose, and the hope that we were contributing to an
understanding of nature.<br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Patricia
L. Chalmers<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab>Halifax
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