Hawks Visit Our Yard

A Three-Hawk Week

Merlin

The week of November 18 was a three-hawk week for us.  We live along the river and our trees and open area often draw raptors during migration.  So what we saw that week was not particularly unusual but never-the-less, interesting and enjoyable.  

The week started with a Sharp-shinned Hawk flying rapidly through our yard checking out the bird feeders.  That scattered the doves and woodpeckers which spend most of their time around our trellis/feeder area and rock garden.  It wasn't long before the hawk returned to perch in a high ash tree overlooking the active bird area.  Needless to say, the area was very quiet. Before long the hawk  moved on to better things.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

On the 21st another fast hawk flew across the yard and landed on another ash tree slightly down river.  From that vantage point it surveyed the area.  After a 15-minute visit, it went on its way.  I wondered if it was moving down river on its migration and decided our place might provide a quick meal.  See the photo at the top of the post for a view of the Merlin.

November 21 brought our third hawk of the week.  It was late in the day and getting dark when a buteo flew across the back yard and landed in a tall oak.  I grabbed binoculars and there was not enough light to tell what it was.  The hawk moved 3 more times and at that point I had the scope set up and caught a quick glimpse as it moved yet again.  The scope captured enough light so I could see the identifying dark band across the breast.  See the photo below.  That hawk (or another Red-tailed Hawk) returned again on November 27.  

Red-tailed Hawk

Fall migration is a wonderful time to be a bird-watcher in New Brunswick.  We just never know what we are going to see.  Sightings might be really rare birds which are not normally here or they might be our regular species.  This year has been a phenomenal year for unusual species, species from very distant places.  The hurricane Dorian brought many rare species to the Maritime provinces.  

Our regular migrants are also very enjoyable to see.  I am so happy we still have sufficient good habitat for these birds to feed and occupy.  Our wildlife is a wonderful heritage and it is our responsibility to protect it by preserving their habitat, their feeding areas and stop-over areas on migration.  Some of these hawks will spend the winter here but most of them will move south.  We will miss them and look forward to their return in the spring.

American Coot

American Coot at Fredericton 

American Coot

On Friday, November 15,  2019, an American Coot (Fulica americana) was seen and photographed at Fredericton's Carleton Park.  It was gone by noon hour.  This was an unusual place and time for a coot, so, what was it doing here?  The St. John River is a migratory pathway for birds moving south from the northern part of the province and possibly from Quebec.  This coot, which usually prefers coastal ponds and inlets, is an unusual visitor to fresh water in New Brunswick.  This individual was clearly on its way south and put down at Carleton Park to spend the night with other waterfowl, to feed in the early morning and then wing southward for the rest of the day.

American Coot [Internet Photo]

The American Coot is a chicken-sized and shaped bird which prefers aquatic habitats and swims or wades most of the time.  It feeds on plants, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, snails, worms and occasionally takes birds' eggs.  It forages by diving, tipping its head down from the surface or by walking along the shoreline.  It has a peculiar voice, making a variety of croaks, clucks, grunts and other loud strange noises.  It is definitely not a songster!

The American Coot is about 40 cm/ 15.5 in long with the males slightly larger than the females.  It is a member of the Rallidae family which it shares with rails and gallinules.  Generalizing, the coot looks like a black chicken with a white bill.  Males and females look alike.  It is an overall dark gray colour with a black head.  In flight they show a white trailing edge to their secondary wing feathers.  The undertail coverts are black with white patches on the outer edges.  The white bill sometimes shows a brownish-red partial ring.  This can also be on the white frontal shield above the bill.  The eye is red and the legs and feet are greenish coloured.  The toes have characteristic lobes between them much like webs (see photo below).  As shown above, the chicks are black with curly orange and yellow fluff on their heads.  

American Coot [Internet Photo]

In summer the American Coot breeds from British Columbia across southern Canada to the Great Lakes southward to the US and Mexico.  It winters through most of the central and southern US and Mexico.  It is a permanent resident over much of the southern US, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands.   In winter it is often seen in huge rafts swimming or resting in tight formation.  I have seen these rafts in North Carolina.  The coot is a rare summer visitor to New Brunswick.  There have been a few breeding records mostly along the St. John River and in the marshes along the NB-NS border.  The coot builds its nest out of leaves and stems over water attached to reeds.  Two to 12 eggs of variable colours are incubated for 21-25 days by both adults.  

The only other species one might mistake an American Coot for is the Common Gallinule but it has a bright red bill with a yellow tip and a white line along its side.  The Purple Gallinule is similar in size and shape but is so brightly coloured purple and green one would not mistake it.  

The American Coot is a unique bird.  Its voice is so strange it was used as one of the jungle calls in the Tarzan movies.  It is nicknamed 'marsh hen' or 'mud hen' because it walks (and swims) like a chicken with the characteristic head-bob.  A group of coots is sometimes called a 'commotion of coots'.  I doubt if we will ever see that in NB but we can often find one or two of this species in NB each summer.

Green Heron

Green Heron - Rare and Local

Green Heron

The Green Heron normally spends its summers in the US from the Canadian border southward and from the mid-west to the eastern seaboard.  There is also a population on the west coast from Puget Sound to California.  Some winter in Florida, coastal Georgia, South Carolina, California, southern Texas and Louisiana.  Most Green Herons winter in Mexico, Venezuela, Panama and the West Indies.  But every year we have a handful who spend their summers in New Brunswick.  I have seen them on Grand Manan and along the St. John River at various times.

The Green Heron is our smallest heron, 46 cm/18 in long.  It is even smaller than the Cattle Egret.  It is very dark overall in colour, stocky, thick necked and it has short yellow legs.  In flight its wings are broad and rounded.  It has a crest but it is not often seen.  Its colours are subtle but beautiful if you happen to see it in good light.  The crown is black, the sides of the head and neck are rufous.  It has a white-streaked chin, throat and breast.  The eyes are yellow and it has a dark yellow bill.  The back, rump and tail are dark green.  The belly is gray.  Both genders look alike.

Green Heron

When you are lucky enough to see a Green Heron, it is usually alone.  A solitary bird is the norm.  It is always in wet habitats, either fresh or salty.  It prefers woody areas and likes to perch on branches which hang over the water.  It feeds on small fish and aquatic invertebrates.  The only other wader you might mistake it for is the Least Bittern but it has a white scapular line and bright buffy wing coverts.

Green Heron [Internet Photo]

The Green Heron population is subdivided into 4 subspecies.  Two of these occur in North America; one along the west coast and one along the east coast.

It is my experience that when you encounter a Green Heron, it sees you first and what you first see is a startled bird taking off close to you in thick vegetation, emitting a hair-raising squawk.  Apparently its song is a sharp, croaking 'qua qua'.  This species nests in trees near water 1 to 10 metres off the ground.  The nest is made of sticks and leaves.  The 2 to 7 pale green eggs are incubated for 19 to 21 days.  The chicks fledge in about 16 days.  There are records of it breeding in New Brunswick.

The Green Heron is one of the few herons that have learned to use tools to obtain food.  They place a small bright object (leaf, bread, piece of a feather, small piece of fish) on the surface and wait quietly for a fish to investigate it.  They then grab the fish and get an easy meal!  I have watched Green Herons do this in South Carolina.  An interesting species!

Green Herons tend to wander after the breeding season.  Occasionally some end up as far away as England and France.  Maybe that is how they got here in the first place.

Greater White-fronted Goose

Greater White-fronted Geese on the Nashwaak River

Greater White-fronted Goose [Internet Photo]

For the last few days (November, 2019) there have been two Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) with the flock of Canada Geese feeding along the Nashwaak River.  This species is listed as a 'casual' visitor to the area.  One of the first records was one shot at Burtts Corner in 1949.  There have been many records since.  Sibley lists it as rare here.  This species breeds in our far north; Alaska, northern Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and some of the Arctic islands and western Greenland.  They winter in Texas, Louisiana and Mexico.  They have one of the largest ranges of any species of geese in the world.  They are common only west of the Mississippi River.

The Greater White-fronted Goose is a medium-sized gray brown goose (71 cm/ 28 in long).  The adult has a white band around the bill (useful for identification), gray brown underparts and back with black barring running from the breast to the belly, white belly and vent, pinkish orange bill, and orange legs.  In our area when these birds are mixed in with the Canada Geese they can be difficult to pick out.  

There are recognized subspecies of this species including the Greenland Greater White-fronted Goose and the Taiga Greater White-fronted Goose.  It also will hybridize with the Snow Goose or the Canada Goose.  

Greater White-fronted Goose [Internet Photo]

The Greater White-fronted Goose forages in grain fields, meadows, and some marshes.  Like our Canada Goose, it roosts at night on ponds, lakes and rivers.  This species chooses marshy tundra to breed.  The nest is a depression on the ground lined with down and grass.  The 3 to 6 buff or creamy eggs are incubated by the female for 22 to 28 days.  It takes about 40 days for the young to fledge.  

These geese eat seeds, grain, and grasses and sedges.  They will also take berries and plant roots in summer.  It has been recorded that the setting female drinks the water off her feathers to stay hydrated.  The voice of this species is a distinctive bark-like sound sometimes described as 'kla-ha' or 'kla-hah-luk'.

I have just stepped outside my back door here in Fredericton and heard the geese calling from the river.  I wonder what rare geese might be with this flock!  We are lucky to live where we do.  The Greater White-fronted Goose is a holarctic species.  It is also found in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Siberia.  It is intriguing that we can share our rich New Brunswick habitat with a few individuals of this species.