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CANADA -
NEW BRUNSWICK:
GRAND MANAN
ISLAND
07 - 10 March 2002
by Roger Leblanc
Thursday 07 March
Narrative en français and English (English follows)
Voici un peu d'info de la grande dame de Fundy, autrement dit Grand Manan.
Se sera un petit avant goût du printemps pour vous tous, je l'espère.
Je suis arrivé sur le bateau de 15H30 et serez ici jusqu'à
dimanche. D'ici là je tacherai de vous tenir au courant de ce
qui vole dans les alentours me disant que ça pourrait en intéresser
quelque'un en ce temps de l'année. Aujourd'hui dans à
peine 2 heures d'observation j'ai vu les espèces qui sont dans la
liste suivant le message. Les haut points? un Tohi à flancs
roux / Eastern Towhee à la fameuse mangeoire visible de la rue Durant
sur le chemin vers Swallowtail / des Grand Cormoran / Great Cormorant en
plumage nuptial volant a hauteur d'|il au Whistle/ environ 3 000 Bernache
cravant / Brant au large de Castalia permettant d'excellent observation visuel
et auditive (il y a sûrement beaucoup plus de cette espèce a
ce moment sur l'île et je tacherai de les estimer demain) Enfin se
soir dans un petit lac qui commence a peine a dégelé a l'entré
du camping de North Head des GRENOUILLES! (Rainettes a mon meilleur
avis). Demain j'irai à la recherche de nouvelles arrivants et
aussi d' Arlequin plongeur au large de White Head. A bientôt.
____________________________________________________________________________
Here is a bit of info from the great Lady of Fundy, Grand Manan. Hope
it will be a little of a preview of spring for you ... as it is for
me. I came in on the 3:30 boat and will be here till Sunday.
During the next days I will try to keep you up on what's flying around here.
Today in just under 2 hours I saw the species listed below. High points?
a Eastern Towhee/Tohi at the feeders on Durant street on the road to Swallowtail
/ Great Cormorant / Grand Cormorant in breeding plumage at eye level off
the Whistle / approx. 3 000 Brants / Bernache cravant of the beach
at Castalia. Great visual and sound observations (there must be a lot
more Brants on the island at this time tomorrow I will try to get an estimate)
Finally this evening near the small pond at the entrance of the North Head
camping ... FROGS! (Peepers I would say). Tomorrow I will
go looking for new arrivals (blackbirds maybe) and also Harlequins off White
Head. Will be in touch
Sunday 10 March
Les deux dernier jours ont été tres froid et parfois même
désagréable sur Grand Manan. Très froid (-15 avec
facteur éolien) vendredi et très brumeux aujourd'hui.
Par contre de très belle vues dans la brume. Au niveau oiseaux
c'est plutôt tranquille. Apparemment le Tohi à passé
l'hiver au mangeoires avec les bruants (j'ai parlé à la propriétaire
hier).
Points fort? Hier... les deux grèbes marine ensemble à
plusieurs reprises / les trois Macreuses au large de l'Anchorage / des Cravants
partout au tour de White Head. Aujourd'Hui... un couple de Canard
d'Amérique à Castalia / un Fou de Bassant adulte au large du
Whistle (est t'il sur son retour ou a t'il passé l'hiver ici?
car j'en ai vue quelque uns ici en février ) / et un très beau
Goéland brun en plumage adulte sur les roches de Long Eddy Point.
J'observais des Mouettes Trydactyle lorsqu'un oiseau plus sombre attira mon
attention. J'était en train de me rappeler les caractéristiques
du Goéland brun en même temps que je comparais sa taille à
celle des Goélands arctique et argenté qui l'entourait quand
l'oiseau sauta sur un rocher qui affleurait et me révéla ses
pattes bien jaune et règla du même coup l'identification.
Demain la météo prévoit de fort vents du sud et de l'ouest.
Il sera intéressant de voire ce que ce système pourrait rabattre
sur L'Ile. A bientôt. ______________________________________________________
The last two days have been rather cold and sometimes down right miserable
on Grand Manan. Very cold (-15 with wind factor) Friday and very fogy
today But as usual the vistas were very nice in the fog. As for birds
it is rather slow as could be expected with the weather and the time of year.
The Towhee, I learned from the owner of the feeders has been here all winter
with the Sparrows. Otherwise here are the high lights. Yesterday...
The two sea wintering grebes in the same field of view several times / the
three scoters species off Anchorage beach / Brants everywhere around White
Head. But no Harlequins.
Today... a pair of American Wigeons at Castalia / An adult Gannet off
the Whistle (is he early to return or has he been here all winter?
I did see a couple here in February) / and to top it off a great looking
Lesser Black-backed Gull in breeding plumage on the rocks at Long Eddy Point.
I was looking at BL Kittiwakes when a darker bird caught my eye. I
was just reviewing it's field marks while at the same time comparing it to
the nearby Iceland and Herring Gulls when it jumped on a rock just breaching
the surface and flashed a pair of bright yellow legs ..so much for working
on an ID. Tomorrow they call for gail force winds from the South and
West. Wonder what that could bring onto the island.
Monday, 11 March
Well I left Grand Manan this mourning but as I was coming off on the mainland
I saw Brian Dalzell, who had told me he was moving back today, getting in
line for the return trip. So I have to admit the island has not lost
in the birding eyes exchange. For myself I was very happy with my trip.
Of course 48 species is not very high (specially for a place were on a good
day in May you could see that number of species before a late breakfast)
but numbers are just that. It's the sights that stay with you.
Like those flights of Brants/Bernache cravant taking advantage of every little
cove on White Head Friday or hidding in Castalia marsh during the rain storm
Sunday. This morning's treat were the fast flying Razorbills/Petit
Pingouin which had been pretty well absent for the rest of the trip.
They were using the 50+ Km winds off the Whistle to power a pretty continuous
movement that I figured at about 30 birds a minute. Hard scooping also
produced I Common Murre / Guillemot marmette sitting in the water as well
as the breeding plumaged Lesser Black-backed Gull/Goéland brun that
I had first seen Saturday. Wheatear wise I had it all in four days.
Sun, fog, hot, cold, rain, gale force winds, even a bit of a snow storm yesterday.
Everything you should expect at this time of year I guess. So all in
all a nice trip and a great preview of thing to come in the coming weeks.
TRIP LIST
(the numbers at the right indicate the day of first sighting)
Plongeon catmarin / Red-throated Loon 8
Plongeon huard / Common Loon 8
Grèbe esclavon / Horned Grebe 8
Grèbe jougris / Red-necked Grebe 8
Grand Cormoran / Great Cormorant 7
Cormoran à aigrettes / Double-crested Cormorant 7
Fou de Bassan / Northern Gannet 9
Bernache du Canada / Canada Goose 7
Bernache cravant / Brant 7
Canard d'Amérique / American Wigeon 9
Canard noir / American Black Duck 7
Canard colvert / Mallard 7
Sarcelle d'hiver / Green-winged Teal 10
Fuligule à collier / Ring-necked Duck 8
Eider à duvet / Common Eider 7
Macreuse à front blanc / Surf Scoter 8
Macreuse brune / White-winged Scoter 8
Macreuse noire / Black Scoter 8
Harelde kakawi / Oldsquaw 7
Petit Garrot / Bufflehead 8
Garrot à oeil d'or / Common Goldeneye 8
Harle huppé / Red-breasted Merganser 7
Pygargue à tête blanche / Bald Eagle 8
Busard Saint-Martin / Northern Harrier 8
Épervier brun / Sharp-shinned Hawk 7
Faisan de Colchide / Ring-necked Pheasant 7
Bécasseau violet / Purple Sandpiper 7
Goéland argenté / Herring Gull 7
Goéland arctique / Iceland Gull 8
Goéland marin / Great Black-backed Gull 7
Goéland brun / Lesser Black-backed Gull 9
Goéland bourgmestre / Glaucous Gull 9
Mouette tridactyle / Black-legged Kittiwake 7
Guillemot marmette / Common Murre 10
Petit Pingouin / Razorbill 7
Guillemot à miroir / Black Guillemot 7
Pigeon biset / Rock Dove 7
Tourterelle triste / Mourning Dove 7
Geai bleu / Blue Jay 7
Corneille d'Amérique / American Crow 7
Grand Corbeau / Common Raven 8
Mésange à tête noire / Black-capped Chickadee 7
Sittelle à poitrine rousse / Red-breasted Nuthatch 7
Étourneau sansonnet / European Starling 7
Tohi à flancs roux / Eastern Towhee 7
Bruant chanteur / Song Sparrow 7
Bruant à gorge blanche / White-throated Sparrow 7
Chardonneret jaune / American Goldfinch 7
48 Species
Roger Leblanc
<bismarck@NB.AIBN.COM>