| | I arrived at the island late Thursday morning (Dec.12th) under a clear sky and with a stiff breeze. The thermometer was beginning to rise but it was still well below my body temperature.
Nothing of particular note on the overland leg of the flight: a dozen SNOW BUNTINGS at the Saint Stephen Airport; a handful of EAGLES along our route; various groupings of waterfowl in tidal waters; gulls, ducks and a few RAZORBILLS crossing the Grand Manan Channel.
A couple of SONG SPARROWS greeted us at MSI and a single RED WINGED BLACKBIRD was seen soon after landing.
Since arriving it's been split between rain, fog and sunny periods but all the while there's been gale force wind and heavy seas. Thankfully the temperature stayed well onto the plus side until last night. Even then the over-night only got down to around minus 5C.
Between precipitation and heavy, wind-blown spray, I only made one excursion along part of the shoreline on Friday, Dec. 13th. As expected, terrestrial bird-life was limited to the previously mentioned RW Blackbird, 3 or 4 Song Sparrows and a couple dozen PURPLE SANDPIPERS.
The lone exception was an AMERICAN BITTERN looking somewhat the worse for wear but with bare ground and mild temperatures it seemed to be getting food.
It appeared to be gone before the rain storm on Saturday which I took as a good sign. We have had off- season Bitterns and Herons before and I expect them to be young, malnourished and too weak to travel, probably succumbing to a lingering death.
No sign of our winter RAVENS or EAGLES but I'm expecting them to show when the weather improves.
The aquatic population has likewise been predictable: a few lingering GREY SEALS; HERRING, GREAT BLACK BACKED, ICELAND & GLAUCOUS GULLS; BLACK LEGGED KITTIWAKES; scattered GREAT CORMORANTS; a couple RED BREASTED MERGANSERS; half a dozen COMMON EIDERS and an unknown number of HARLIQUIN DUCKS.
Today, Monday, December 16th, I circumnavigated the island and checked some of the interior.
Again, no surprises but I got a better idea of numbers.
Purple Sandpipers stand around 5 dozen; Harlequins 4 dozen; Song Sparrows 1 dozen. The single Red Winged Blackbird is joined by a single JUNCO and a single WHITE THROATED SPARROW.
The gull population is steady with a couple hundred usually in the area. BLACK LEGGED KITTIWAKES, on the other hand, go from very few to super abundant. At high water today I could easily see several hundred at a glance foraging around the island.
The only new aquatic species have been a NORTHERN FULMAR on a fly-by Sunday, the 15th, and two PUFFINS (with several Razorbills) late today. |
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