From about 2:00 P.M. to 4:00m P.M., the Boss and I went for a drive along
coastal parts of the Municipality of Argyle between Pleasant Lake and Eel
Lake. Avians of interest:
A flock of five hooded mergansers tending and the Annis river inlet of
Pleasant Lake.
Two red-breasted mergansers near the Sluice Bridge, between Sluice Point and
Surette's Island
Three white-winged scoters near the Tittle Bridge between Surette's and
Morris's Island.
Fifteen-odd eiders on the Morris's Island side of the Tittle
One common loon off the end of the road on Morris;s Island
A harrier cruising the marshes near the "reversing falls" at Abrams River.
Seventeen hooded mergansers on Eel Lake near the old bridge-causeway.
There were other unidentified ducks in various places, as well.
Wonder if the hooded are after smelt ..
Bird count to day.
11:00 pm - Dec 24/21:
Winds had been roaring around our house on the Wolfville Ridge for the past
4-5 hrs, with it sounding much of the time like a train running through our
house! The wind gusts had been at least 50-60 kph.
Shortly before 10:00 pm I was sitting at the computer in my dining room just
beside glass sliding doors leading to our back patio. Suddenly among the
strong wind sounds I heard a 'click' sort of tap against the base of the
glass door on the outside just to my left. At first I thought it was just a
leaf because there are some leaves flying around the patio, but something
made me look at the glass door as I heard repeats of the sound again. When I
turned to look I realized it wasn't a leaf...it was a HUMMINGBIRD struggling
at the base of the window (barely more than a foot above the patio stones)
but fighting to stay stable and not hit the window again. Just as I started
to get up to see if there was anything I could do to help, another strong
gust just as quickly swept it away into the dark night! I went out with a
flashlight but could not relocate the poor bird. This all seemed to happen
in less than a minute. It seems incredible to be seeing a hummingbird on
Christmas Eve. Had it been blown out of its tree roost, was it drawn to this
window because of the light and hoping to find shelter out of the wind?
All very sad. Makes one appreciate how much wildlife faces in the pursuit of
survival.
Judy Tufts
>>>>>>>>
Judy Tufts
Wolfville
<<<<<<<<
To follow up and hopefully relieve some concerns about this extremely late Ruby-throated Hummingbird (an immature male I believe) I received this info:
"Cobequid [Wildlife Centre] is aware and if she gets weak and able to be caught then she will be rehabbed for the winter but only if able to be caught when weak."
Nancy D
> On Dec 19, 2021, at 9:49 PM, Lois Codling <loiscodling(a)hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote:
>
> They won't likely find it, though, Nancy. It simply won't make it through one of these cold nights.
> Lois
>
>
> On 12/19/2021 7:43 PM, NancyDowd wrote:
>> With respect I disagree. The hummer has remained at the feeder for several weeks now returning each morning to its station under a gazebo next to the home. An attempt at capture while it is still free-flying, active and unhurt will only scare it off for good to an almost certain and early death. If the home owner finds it weak and grounded then it is time for a trip to rehab. But until then I think we should let nature take its course.
>>
>> Nancy D
>>
>>> On Dec 19, 2021, at 6:18 PM, Lois Codling <loiscodling(a)hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>> That Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Economy really needs someone to rescue him. The pics show what appears to be an injury on the right side of the breast or wing. Could someone (preferably the feeder owner) catch him? Wonder if they'd take him at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehab. Centre in Hilden? Or at Hope for Wildlife?
>>> Lois Codling
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Naturens mailing list -- naturens(a)chebucto.ns.ca
>>> To unsubscribe send an email to naturens-leave(a)chebucto.ns.ca
>> _______________________________________________
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>
That Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Economy really needs someone to rescue
him. The pics show what appears to be an injury on the right side of
the breast or wing. Could someone (preferably the feeder owner) catch
him? Wonder if they'd take him at the Cobequid Wildlife Rehab. Centre
in Hilden? Or at Hope for Wildlife?
Lois Codling
The Boss and I took a short trip to Pinkney's Point late this afternoon.
Weather was pretty clear.
Folk familiar with Pinkney' Point will know that it is the southeastern
extreme of the Chebogue River catchment and is isolated from the mainland by
an enormous salt marsh. About 2/3 of the distance towards Pinkney's Point,
I noticed a familiar-looking large-bird-sized big-headed, white
birdy-looking thing, in the marsh about 200 feet from the road. There were
cars coming, so we proceeded to the Point, turned around, and returned to
get a better look with binoculars. The lump shifted as we were looking at
it. This was about 4:30 P.M., and viewing conditions were good.
Snowy owl. Couldn't have been anything else.
I copied this from Dominic Cormier’s recent NSBS Facebook post:
Hi All,
I will again be managing the winter bird list this year. The reporting period runs from 1 Dec to 28 Feb. We will be keeping a collective total for the whole province, as well as totals for each county. Use the link below to access the sheet, where you can view the province-wide tab and the county tab. All reports to eBird will be updated to the sheet, and I will periodically check other sources. If you see any reports online, or hear reports from birders not online that I miss, feel free to to direct message me through any channels (discord, email, facebook).
The county 'competition' went over well last year, so I hope we can continue to get good turnout in all counties, especially some of the less populous ones!
https://tinyurl.com/yxuhgt4o
Happy birding!
Always fun and valuable long term data. The table takes a bit of time to update but if you see or hear any birds not on the chart and you are not an eBirder you can also let me know and I can eBird them for you so they reach the Winter List as well as the NS Records. The Winter List can also be seen on the NSBS website at https://www.nsbirdsociety.ca/library/resources/the-birds-of-winter One notable I just eBirded is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that appeared Nov 9 in Economy and is still present today feeding under a gazebo.
Nancy D
Sent from my iPad
Bird life chez nous on Wyman Road, south of Yarmouth, has been quiet since
the migrations. The chickadees are upon us again, as of this morning. Also
caught sight of a golden-crowned kinglet and a myrtle warbler flipping
around bushes near the house, about ten feet from the window.
A couple of weeks ago, my brother encountered a flock of bluebirds while
walking down the road, about 300 meters to our north. We've had them here
other years, but it is good to see them.
I'm not feeding, yet. Probably better for the birds to disperse and find
what they can where they can. The snow should cover things, eventually!
