Thursday, January 9, 2025

A Winter Day of Birding and Musing About Low Hawk Numbers

 

                                                Rough-legged Hawk Light Morph

Boxing Day, December 26, 2024, dawned sunny and relatively warm, with a high of -3ÂșC.  We had been wanting a trip to Lower Jemseg for quite some time but kept delaying it because of pre-Christmas activities.  A free day, so this was the day!

The route to Jemseg and on down to Lower Jemseg makes a good birding ‘run’ this time of year.  I wanted to try to see some hawks and that is the place to go - or at least it used to be.  The last 2 or 3 years has changed things for this route and the hawk population in this area.  In years past we would see up to 20-plus hawks on that route on a good day.  I remember one day we saw 23 hawks.  If you add the Bald Eagles to that sum, you get a wonderful day of birding!  Well, not now.  For the last two years one is lucky to see 2 or 3 hawks and many times we see none.  

Our trip started with nothing and then in middle Sheffield, a fast stop for the first silhouette of a raptor in a tree.  An eagle, an adult Bald Eagle.  Our first raptor to record.  We then drove many kilometres without seeing any other large birds.  Two Common Crows were a welcome addition to our list.  We scanned hundreds and hundreds of naked hardwood trees.  These would have been adorned with beautifully coloured leaves just two months earlier.  Now we could see deep into the forested areas because of the openness.  The trees were adorned with snow, the remnants of the Christmas Eve storm.  

In Lower Sheffield we saw a huge flock of Snow Buntings.  Pulling over we got a good look at about 100 birds.  They would land on the road covering the shoulder and half of the pavement.  Quickly they would take flight and circle over the adjacent field, only to return to the road again.  Fortunately, they seemed to know how to avoid the traffic.  

The St. John River which runs alongside for most of the route was mostly frozen over.  There were only a few mid-stream open slivers of water, not really useful for waterfowl.  One of these open areas was close to shore and in it were 4 Canada Geese.  They were looking quite forlorn and obviously were the remnant of the much larger flock that was using the river as a staging and feeding area on their migration south.

Periodically we saw small flocks of finches feeding on turf and soil on the sides of the road where the plough has scraped the snow off.  The first few flocks we checked were of Dark-eyed Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, and American Tree Sparrows.  As we got closer to Jemseg and onto the road to Lower Jemseg, these flocks became more frequent and were mainly Snow Buntings.  On the Lower Jemseg Road itself there was a late Savannah Sparrow feeding with the Snow Buntings.  

                                                                    Red-tailed Hawk

We arrived at the end of the road at the landing of the Jemseg/Gagetown summer ferry.  A good spot to let my small dog out for a run.  As we quietly stood there checking the rather large patch of open water for waterfowl, a hawk flew out of a large ash tree and sailed over our heads - a Rough-legged Hawk.  Wow!  I hadn’t seen a Rough-legged Hawk in 2 years.  I was very excited and watched admiringly as it soared over the big open field there.  It was a light morph bird.  We stood around checking further and found only a few more Snow Buntings.  Before we got back into the car the hawk returned to soar over again.   It must have known how happy we were to see that species today!

Our trip home revealed another species, a beautiful one.  As we left Turner’s Store in Jemseg a male Pileated Woodpecker flew across our view.  It seemed like a nice punctuation mark to our list.  The rest of our trip home did not reveal another raptor even though we scanned hundreds of hardwood trees.  When we arrived home in Douglas near Fredericton, we went for a short walk in a vacant hillside area and were blessed with another hawk flying across our path.  It landed in a tree overhanging the road giving me a chance to confirm its identity as a Red-tailed Hawk.  It then took off and as I moved up closer to where it had disappeared, there it was sitting in full sun high up in an oak tree and facing me, its breast brilliant in the bright sun.  The breast band and brown heard were easy identification features.

Winter is a wonderful time to bird.  Our landscape looks empty but it is surprising what can be found.  Other birds seen on this trip included Mourning Doves, European Starlings, Rock Pigeons and White-breasted Nuthatches.

                                                    Rough-legged Hawk Light Morph

What has happened to the former hawk population which wintered in the Sheffield/Jemseg area?  Serious birders have been pondering that question.  In Lower Jemseg this morning we stopped to talk to a retired biologist who was out on his morning walk.  When asked that question his reply was wise, “Well, it certainly is not just one cause but probably a multitude of causes all working together.”  He is probably right.  

Maugerville, Sheffield, Jemseg, and Lower Jemseg present good habitat for raptors.  Being a hardwood area over rich farmland, scrub and marsh, it provides rich feeding grounds.  The rodent population must have been high there in past years.  Much of the area floods each spring and I am not sure what damage that does to the rodent population.  I believe a certain percentage of rodents survive in their burrows during flood waters.  It is possible most of the rodent population dies out and is quickly replenished over the next year or two.  Surely this has something to do with the food supply for raptors.  In past years flooding did not seem to have an effect on the wintering raptor population.  So, what now is the cause of the decline? 

There has been a general decline in raptor populations over recent years.  For example, the Sharp-shinned Hawk population has declined by 47% at some count sites.  Generally speaking, causes of declines could include loss of habitat, scarcity of food resources, window strikes, predatory/prey cycles, effects of pesticides, and human disturbance.  What causes are affecting the raptor population in question?

                                                            Northern Harrier Female

With the Sheffield/Jemseg winter population we are concerned mainly with Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, and Northern Harriers.  The global population of Red-tailed Hawks is estimated to be 2 million and considered stable.  In fact, in recent years their numbers have increased by 1.3% per year.  The Canadian population is estimated to be 500,000 to 1,000,000.  

The global population of Rough-legged Hawks is estimated to be 100,000 to 1,000,000.  Scientists claim this is difficult to estimated because their breeding grounds are so widespread and they have unpredictable migratory habits.  However, the population of Rough-legged Hawks has been stable since the 1970s.  The literature does say, however, that regional populations can fluctuate depending on the availability of prey and the weather in their breeding grounds.  The main threats to the Rough-legged Hawk population are habitat loss, vehicle collisions and shooting.  For example they suffer in some places from agricultural development on their wintering grounds.  Vehicle collisions would be more of a cause in their wintering areas.  The third important threat to their numbers is indiscriminate shooting.  It is illegal to shoot hawks in New Brunswick but our game laws are sometimes poorly enforced due to low numbers of enforcement officials.  

Breeding success is also a factor in hawk numbers.  Research tells us that the numbers of Rough-legged Hawks in the Arctic fluctuate with the size of the rodent populations there.  This is because Rough-legged Hawks are specialist predators of small mammals such as voles and lemmings.  If the prey species population numbers are high, hawks produce more young and raise them more successfully increasing their population numbers. 

Looking at the literature on the effects of flooding on small mammal species in the flood zone, one study from the Sacramento River found that after flooding all species declined dramatically and remained depressed for at least a year after flooding.  The voles were the first species to recover.  The only species that did not decline significantly were the arboreal species (squirrels).  The same study also found that the vole populations declined as agriculture sites became more mature.  

A study done in Albuquerque, NM, found that after annual flooding there was no clear effect of flooding on the density of small mammals.  They found that some mice used trees as refugia during the floods.  Another study found the highest numbers of small mammals on and near the non-flooded elevated parts of the area. Another study confirmed this and found that flooding was not detrimental to the rodent numbers.  Another study done at Dongting Lake in China where frequent flooding occurred found that there was a significant decrease in rodent populations after a long period of flooding compared to a short period.  They found that the rodent population increased rapidly after the flood and became greater than the unflooded areas in half a year.  

So what does this mean about the Sheffield/Jemseg site?  The winter population of Rough-legged Hawks is presently very low in this area.  This is not the case in other parts of New Brunswick.  A recent report from the Tantramar area reported 16 Rough-legged Hawks sighted in one day.  Are we looking at two different populations here?  One population might be migrating down the east coast and wintering at Tantramar.  Another population (now very low) might migrate down the St. John River to winter in the Sheffield/Jemseg area.  Perhaps some of this population has changed its route to the east coast.  Or perhaps the breeding success on the St. John River population was much lower than the east coast population. 

Has there been a change in habitat?  It does not appear that there has been significant changes in agriculture in the area.  It might be possible that a new/different agricultural chemical is being applied to the land.  There may be less acreage under cultivation.  This might make some of the former heavily populated rodent sites too mature and thus support a smaller population.  The number and duration of the floods might also play a part.  We seem to have fewer heavy floods now (speculation) so that might have an effect.  An argument against that is that the population seemed to be stable for many years and the floods probably fluctuated during that time with no appreciable change in hawk populations.  Or, no flood at all as happened in 2024?  One study mentioned above found that the populations became greater after flooding so perhaps no flooding is a detrimental effect.  And lastly, what about the breeding grounds?  If the population of rodents on the breeding grounds was low or the weather bad or the predator populations high, these factors could affect the breeding success.  

The biologist we discussed this issue with was right!  There must be many factors causing the decline in the wintering population of hawks in the Sheffield/Jemseg area.  We need more information.  A study of this problem might help us improve the  St. John River wintering hawk populations.

Friday, December 20, 2024

Harris's Sparrow - A Very Rare Visitor to New Brunswick

First Winter Harris's Sparrow Showing Speckled Crown and Pink Bill  [Photo by Marbeth]

On the 14th of December, 2024 during the Sackville Christmas Bird Count a Harris’s Sparrow was discovered at a feeder in the count circle at Westcock, NB. The Harris’s Sparrow is a very rare find for New Brunswick being a species of the central part of North America. The bird remained at that location for only one day so only a few birders were fortunate enough to see it. Some photos in this blog post were taken of that individual. Westcock is in Westmorland County, near the Nova Scotia border on the isthmus of Chignecto, fairly close to the eastern end of the Bay of Fundy.

The Harris’s Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) is the only bird species to breed only in Canada. All other species overlap into the United States. It is a member of the Passerellidae family and is closely related to the White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows.

The breeding range covers Northwest Territories, Nunavut and south to northern Manitoba, and northwestern Ontario. From there they migrate to their wintering grounds mainly through the central Great Plains. Rarely they will migrate through other parts of the US and eastern Canada. Peak fall migration is in October and spring migration is mostly in April. They spend their winters from southeastern Alaska, southern British Columbia, Utah, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, south to Texas, Arkansas, and New Mexico. They are most commonly found in the winter in central Kansas, central Oklahoma and northern Texas.


In its usual range this species is fairly common. On the breeding grounds it prefers mixed taiga forest habitat that overlaps between tundra and forest. These are open tundra areas dotted with spruce. In the winter it prefers dense deciduous woodlands often near water and adjacent to open fields, farmland and roadsides. It can also be found around bird feeders, hedgerows and brush piles. On the wintering grounds it associates with White-throated Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. 


First Winter Harris's Sparrow Showing White Breast Patch and Side Streaking
[Photo by Jim Carroll]

The Harris’s Sparrow is a large sparrow, 16-19 cm long. In breeding plumage the adults show a black face, crown and throat and a large conical pink bill. The plumage is striking and unique. The back is brownish and striped and the breast is white. The cheeks are pale silvery gray to brown coloured. The whitish underparts are dressed up with a bold black bib and heavy black streaking on the sides and flanks. Both male and female aldults look the same. In winter the black on the crown of adults becomes flecked with brown or white. 

The juveniles or first winter birds (which our specimen is) are less brilliantly marked. They resemble winter adults but with less black, and a white throat bordered by dark malar stripes. The distinctive post-ocular cheek patch is ochre or chestnut coloured.

First Winter Harris's Sparrow Showing Chestnut Cheek Patch
[Photo by Jim Carroll]

The Harris’s Sparrow is such a distictive species it is not often mistaken for any other. The only one (which is not common here anymore) is the House Sparrow. Most birders would not make that mistake because the House Sparrow is much smaller, has a shorter tail, lacks the pink bill and is a bird of open spaces. The Harris’s Sparrow is a bird of bushy cover and does not linger in the open.

 

Harris's Sparrow Showing Chestnut Cheek Patch, White Throat and Long Tail     [Internet Photo]

                                                 

The Harris’s Sparrow likes to feed on the ground and then sit high up in trees. It moves around by hopping and often sits with a limb or some other object between you and it. It is a difficult species to draw out of the bushes because it does not respond well to spishing. It is a strong flier and usually flies in a straight line with strong wing beats interspersed with a closed-wing glide. Its song is a high, clear whistle similar to that of the White-throated Sparrow, usually two or three notes delivered at the same pitch; seeeee seeee seeee. The call note is a low, rapid metallic sound. 

This sparrow was named after an amateur American ornithologist, Edward Harris (1799-1863). For a long time the nesting habits of the Harris’s Sparrow were a mystery. To find a nest of this species became one of the great quests of North American ornithologists. It was not until about 100 years after the Europeans first found this species here in North America that a nest was actually found. In 1931, George M. Sutton found an active Harris’s Sparrow nest near Churchill, Manitoba, 91 years after it was first described. 

The breeding territory of the Harris’s Sparrow is about 2 hectares in size. Nests are well hidden on the ground under a thick bush or conifer or in a mossy depression in a thick clump of grass. It is cup shaped and built of twigs, grass, moss and lichens and lined with fine grass. Three to five greenish or grayish eggs spotted with reddish brown are laid and incubated for approximately 13 days. The young fledge in about 3 weeks. If the first nest is destroyed a second may be attempted. This species is one of the least studied North American sparrows. 

Harris’s Sparrows feed on the ground scratching the turf looking for food. Their preferred diet is made up of seeds, Carex sedges, grasses and Scirpus bulrushes. They will also eat fruit mainly black crowberries, mountain bearberries and various Vaccinium fruits (cranberries and blueberries). Their animal protein comes from beetles, flies, spiders, etc. They will even consume pine needles, flower buds and blossoms. As you can see, this is a versatile species! 

There have been recent declines in the total population of the Harris’s Sparrow. That is a bit of a mystery because the species breeds in the far north and is isolated from human interference such as logging and urban development. It is speculated that there is habitat change, however, due to global warming with a change in soil conditions, and an increase in wildfires. It could also bring more predators into their nesting area. 

I have often wondered why all the photos we have of this species are of first winter birds or wintering adults (rarely). When you think about it, we are a very long way from the breeding grounds of this species and we are not close to the migration route. So, the likelihood of an adult in breeding plumage arriving here is remote. Breeding birds are anxious to leave their wintering grounds and make a direct fast trip to their breeding grounds to claim their favourite territory. Most of those are experienced birds or led by experienced birds so they are unlikely to get off-route. So, we will have to be satisfied with the very rare occurence of this species here and most often of first winter birds. We are pleased at least one arrived in Westcock. Of the two I have seen, one was a second-year bird (Syracuse, NY, 1971) and one was a 1st winter bird (Harvey, NB, 2003).

         First Winter Harris's Sparrow Showing Streaked Back and Black Malar Stripes   [Internet Photo]
 

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Tundra Swan

 

                                        Tundra Swan Juvenile  [Bev Schneider Photo]

Whenever a Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) is reported from New Brunswick it causes great interest and excitement among birders.  These are birds of the central and western parts of Canada so they very rarely show up here.  On November 11, 2024 a report came in that a Tundra Swan was seen at Gauvreau, near Tracadie-Sheila, NB.  It was moving around and feeding with a flock of Canada Geese but seemed to be returning alone to its favourite place at Gauvreau.  I saw it on November 19, 2024 at Gauvreau.  It was alone, resting on a body of water that goes well inland.  It was alone, no Canada Geese present.  A small group of birders watched and photographed it at a safe, elevated distance.  After resting it came ashore for a preening session.  It fed on the grassy bank above, an area of mown grass.  It seemed unconcerned with the people watching it but we were well away.  Another sighting of 3 swans has been reported this week (Nov. 29-30) in the Hampton area but this has not been confirmed.  It could be that our juvenile Tundra Swan was not alone.


Our earliest specimens of this species are at the NB Museum and are from 1881 and 1906.  After that we had a few unconfirmed reports and no confirmed sightings until the 1980s.  Local birders may have this species on their lists from Chance Harbour, 1983; New Horton, 1983; Grand Lake, 1985; Darlings Island, 1985; and Saint John, 1986.  It is unknown what caused them to migrate this way in the 1980s.  Most of these sightings are of adult birds.



                             Tundra Swan Juvenile  [Bev Schneider Photo]

The Tundra Swan seen at Gauvreau is a juvenile.  I had never seen a juvenile before so this bird was exciting for me.  I have seen Tundra Swans in Ontario where they are relatively common, being on the central flyway.  I have also seen adults in South Carolina and North Carolina.  The sighting in North Carolina was of a flock of 30-35.  Although that was exciting for me, it is not unusual because they winter there.


Tundra Swans formerly were called Whistling Swans.  This name referred to the whistling sound their powerful beating wings make in flight.  The name was changed to Tundra Swan in recent years.  It is also called Slender-necked Swan.  


The Tundra Swan is our smallest swan (132 cm), smaller than the Trumpeter Swan and the Mute Swan, both 152 cm long approximately.   When you see it, however, it does not look small, especially when you compare it to Canada Geese.  The Tundra Swan is our most widespread swan in North America.  However, it is a holarctic species.  As well as North America they summer in most European countries and winter in Algeria, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Nepal, NW Pakistan, Siberia and the islands of the western Pacific.  In North America they breed in the far Arctic from Ungava to the west coast of Alaska including some of the Arctic islands, and along parts of the shoreline of Hudson Bay.  The preferred habitat is tundra ponds and lakes and coastal wetlands.  There are two distinct wintering populations.  The eastern population winters on the coast from southern New Jersey to Georgia with most of them wintering in North Carolina.  The western population winters from southern British Columbia to the Central Valley of California.  The individuals that arrived here probably were from the Hudson Bay or northern Quebec population.  In the winter they prefer back bays, shallow estuaries, open lakes and rivers, and agricultural land.  During migration they move between stopover staging sites.  Some of these are the Great Basin, the eastern Great Lakes, the upper Mississippi Valley and eastern Pennsylvania.  Normally they prefer nonstop flights between these areas.  They fly in ‘V’ formation and can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour especially in favourable winds.  They can fly at altitudes of 8 km.  Peak fall migration is from September to mid-December.  The birds found here must have been blown off their normal fall migration route.  


                                         Tundra Swan Juvenile  [Bev Schneider Photo]

Migrating swans are beautiful to watch and hear.  They fly with their necks outstretched and their eerie haunting sounds are one of the wonders of nature.  They often vocalize into a chorus while flying.  Individually their vocals sound like an abrupt whoo! Sometimes they string it out to a longer whoooooo!


                             Adult Tundra Swans (South Carolina)  [Bev Schneider Photo]


The Tundra Swan has a more slender neck than the Trumpeter or Mute Swan.  The adult is white all over with a black bill.  One has to look carefully at the bill in order to tell this species from the Trumpeter Swan which also is white with a black bill.  The bill in the Tundra Swan is black with a yellowish area at the base.  The bill of the Trumpeter Swan is all black.  At a long distance the yellowish area on the Tundra Swan is not visible so the profile of the bill and head is helpful.  The Tundra Swan has a slightly concave bill and a peak to its head.  The Trumpeter shows a straight line along the bill to the top of the head.  Some say the Tundra Swan looks happy and the Trumpeter Swan looks sad or solemn because of the shape of the head and bill.  The Tundra Swan would not be mistaken for the larger Mute Swan which has an orange and black bill often with a knob on it.  The legs and feet of the juvenile Tundra Swan are gray coloured and those of the adult are black.  The adult female is called a ‘pen’ and the male, a ‘cob’.  See photos above for the noted features.


                                Tundra Swan Juvenile  [Bev Schneider Photo]

The juvenile Tundra Swan is much grayer than the white adult.  As seen in the photos above the gray is concentrated on the head and neck although the much younger juvenile is all gray.  The bill is pinkish except for the tip and base which show a black line.  


Another feature used to distinguish a Tundra Swan from a Trumpeter is the area between the bill base and the eye.  In the Tundra Swan the eye is separated from the bill by a short distance of facial flesh.  In the Trumpeter the black base of the bill seems to touch and envelope the eye.  This might be especially useful in juveniles.


 Tundra Swan Juvenile  [Bev Schneider Photo]

The diet of Tundra Swans includes plant parts mostly seeds, stems roots and tubers of aquatic vegetation.  They plunge their heads and long necks to the bottom and pull up aquatic vegetation.  They will also dabble by upending like many ducks and geese.  They will also graze on sedges, grasses and agricultural crops.  


Tundra Swans pair for life but an adult who has lost a mate will choose another.  Nest building is in late May.  They build a large mounded nest from plant material at an elevated site near open water.  They defend the territory around it vigorously.  3 to 5 eggs are laid and incubation lasts for 30 to 32 days.  It takes 60 to 75 days for the young to fledge.  While they are confined to the nest area they are vulnerable to predators like Arctic Foxes, Parasitic Jaegers, gulls, and even bears.  The young stay with the adults for the first winter migration and they are often joined by last year’s offspring.  They do not reach sexual maturity until 3 or 4 years of age.  


Tundra Swan Juvenile  [Bev Schneider Photo]

The population of this species is presently stable.  It is thought to have doubled from the 1960s to the 1990s.  It is the most common species of swan in North America with a population of around 170,000 in 1990. The European population was estimated at 17,000 in 1990.  The North American population is mostly stable over its range but it is dependent on agriculture on whose crops it depends in winter.  That is because of water pollution in its normal habitat and shrinking agricultural lands.  The main cause of adult mortality is hunting and the ingestion of lead pellets. 


The Tundra Swan genus is sometimes split into two species, the Tundra Swan and the Bewick’s Swan.  The Bewick’s Swan is more Eurasian and the Tundra Swan (Whistling) is more confined to North America.  Ornithologists sometimes separate them into various subspecies.  It is mostly accepted that the species is ‘Tundra Swan’ which includes all of the above.  


The Juvenile Tundra Swan that is visiting here presently should not be alone.  It obviously got separated from its parents.  It needs to make its way to North Carolina.  We hope it is motivated to continue its migration and it knows where to go on its own.  


Friday, November 8, 2024

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

 

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher    [Photo by Marbeth Wilson]

It is an exciting time when a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) appears in New Brunswick.  One has recently appeared in Baie Verte on the east coast, southeast of Shediac (November 2024).  This species is a widespread vagrant and is a rare-to-casual spring or fall visitor here.  This doesn’t happen every year but we have had many reports over the years.  In recent years there have been two individuals appear; one at Point Escuminac in 2009 and one at Big Salmon River Road in June 2024.  They seem to appear mostly across the southern and eastern parts of the province.  


I saw one on 26 June 2002 at Black’s Harbour while I was waiting in line for the ferry.  Another sighting was on 2 June 2011 when I saw and photographed one outside St. Andrews near Ghost Road.  Both were adult birds.  The normal range of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is the south-western US.  It breeds in summer in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. It winters in southern Mexico, the extreme south of Florida and Central America.  Its preferred habitat is open grasslands with some trees and shrubs.  It also is found in orchards, pastures, golf courses and other agricultural areas.  


The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is a member of the Kingbird family, Tyrannidae. It is a very long-tailed insectivorous species and is sometimes called a ‘Kingbird on a Stick’.  That is a good name because its tail looks very long and unwieldy. It was formally described in 1789 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin, a German naturalist.  It is one of 13 species placed in the Tyrannus species.  It is most closely related to the Western Kingbird and they are often seen together.  That may explain why birders in New Brunswick saw a Western Kingbird in Aulac one day and later that day a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was found in Baie Verte, just 22 km away.  They may both have been brought north on the same southerly winds.  


The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is a very pale-bodied flycatcher whose white head contrasts with its dark wings and tail, both of which show flashes of white.  It is 25 to 38 cm long depending on the length of the tail, the male being larger than the female.  The tail looks like a stick hanging on the back of the bird.  No other flycatcher looks so white-headed.  The male’s tail is longer than the female’s.  The bird shows a pinkish wash on the belly, salmon-pink on the flanks and the underwing coverts, and bright red axillaries (armpits).  The female appears duller than the male with a shorter tail.  The juvenile is much duller on the wings and tail than the adults and the tail is much shorter.  Its central tail feathers are edged in reddish brown.  It looks somewhat like the Western Kingbird. 


Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Showing Salmon Pink Flanks and Underwing Coverts and Red Axillaries 


The only species one would have to distinguish this species from is the Fork-tailed Flycatcher which also has a long tail.  Their flight is different; the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher exhibits stiff and unbending flight with that long tail, the Fork-tailed shows a wavy tail in flight.  (I noticed this in the Fork-tailed Flycatcher seen on Grand Manan in 2000.)  The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher lacks the black cap of the Fork-tailed Flycatcher and has the salmon-pink underparts.  The juvenile Scissor-tailed Flycatcher would have to be distinguished from the Western Kingbird but it does not have yellow on its belly.


The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher can be quite tame, allowing birders to approach.  It is often seen perched on a barbed wire fence, overhead wires, trees or bushes.  It feeds by sallying out to snap up a flying insect or it will take insects from ground vegetation.  It can be aggressive and is known to chase away a hawk.  


                             Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on One of Its Favourite Perches


The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher’s main diet consists of grasshoppers, robber-flies and dragonflies.  Most of these are caught by hawking. It undoubtedly eats a greater variety of insects while visiting New Brunswick.  It will also eat berries in winter.  


The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher builds its nest in trees and bushes and sometimes in telephone poles.  The male performs a spectacular aerial courtship display.  This includes such acrobatics as somersaults and is called a ‘sky dance’.  That must be something to see with that long streaming tail!  Three to 6 eggs are laid in a cup-shaped nest.  Both adults feed the nestlings.  They are very aggressive in defending the nest.


The vocalizations of this species are not spectacular.  They don’t need to be with a tail like that!  The song is similar to the Western Kingbird and is a series of ‘pip’ notes.  The call note is similar, a ‘pik’ or a nasal ‘chuh’.


                                               Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Adult


This species is significant in culture.  It is the state bird of Oklahoma.  On their official emblem it is depicted with its tail and flight feathers spread out.  It also appears on a commemorative 25-cent coin for Oklahoma and on the Oklahoma licence plate.  A professional soccer team, the FC Tulsa, shows this species on its crest.  This species has even made its way into the televised world, being part of a 2015 National Geographic Kids TV Show.  


In its home range, this species is economically important because of its assistance in grasshopper control.  The population size of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is listed as stable.   It certainly is a welcome and fascinating species to be found occasionally in New Brunswick.


                                    Scissor-tailed Flycatcher  [Photo by Marbeth Wilson]

Friday, September 27, 2024

Connecticut Warbler - Very Rare Warbler for New Brunswick


 Connecticut Warbler Showing Bright White Eyering  [Mark Morse Photo]

The 25th of September, 2024, brought a very rare warbler species for New Brunswick and a couple of good birders together near Black’s Harbour.  The warbler, a Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis), is so rarely found in NB that it excited birders immediately.  The few sightings we have in NB are primarily in the fall.  Along with several undocumented sightings beginning in 1932 one was photographed from Machias Seal Island in 1966 and two were banded on Kent Island in 1972.  Most sightings have been from southwestern NB but a singing male was seen in the north at Eel River Bar in 1974.


The Connecticut Warbler breeds across North America in a relatively narrow band from east central British Columbia across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba to southern Ontario and south into northern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.  This species winters in north central South America.  It has different spring and fall migration routes.  In the spring it travels northward up the central flyway and in the fall it travels south usually in an area bounded by the Great Lakes and New England and then southward to the Caribbean islands and on to South America.  Those birds that migrate further east fly over the Atlantic Ocean to South America.  


                Connecticut Warbler  Showing Remnant of Hood [Photo by Mark Morse]


The main identifying features of this species are its bold eyering, its unusual shape, and its unusual walking behaviour.  Pete Donne says that its ‘distinctive, round, white, no-nonsense, complete, staring, eyering makes all other characteristics almost superfluous.’  Wow, it would be interesting to hear from those lucky enough to see this individual if the eyering jumped out at them like this!  See the white eyering  on this bird in the two photos above.  


The Connecticut Warbler is a big, bulky oddly-shaped warbler (15 cm long).  It is described as oddly shaped because its head appears slim, tail short and it has a pot belly.  This doesn’t sound like a sleek warbler!  This species is monotypic with the spring plumage showing a bluish-gray hood covering  the head and throat and upper breast, olive-green upperparts, yellow underparts and olive-green on the sides.  The spring female is similar except the hood is brownish and she may have a buffy or whitish throat.  In the fall both genders are duller and the white eyering may be broken behind the eye.  First season birds are similar to the female.  This warbler shows very long undertail coverts and no wing bars.  Note the undertail coverts extend more than halfway to the end of the tail.


The photos in this blog are from the actual fall-plumage bird see at Black’s Harbour.  In the photos above, note the eyering, the olive-green dorsum and yellow underparts, and the pink legs.  The remnants of the hood can be clearly seen.  In the photo shown below note the olive on the sides and the extension of the yellow to include the vent.  The bird appears large and chunky with a short tail extension and a long primary extension (not shown in the photos).


 Connecticut Warbler  Showing Undertail Coverts Extending Over Halfway to the Tail  

                                                             [Photo by Mark Morse]


The behaviour of the Connecticut Warbler makes it hard to see.  It is a ground-loving species and it walks with an odd gait, somewhat like the Ovenbird.  It bounces and tail-bobs as it walks along.  It often sits motionless for long periods.  Its ground-loving behaviour can help distinguish it from the Mourning Warbler which prefers hopping around the branches of trees.  While the Mourning Warbler sits across the branch in ‘normal’ fashion, the Connecticut will sit along the branch, 90Âș from the ‘normal’ perching behaviour.  When the Connecticut Warbler is nervous it will move its head in odd jerks and it will reverse its position on the branch in 180Âș hops.  


The Connecticut Warbler is a loner.  It likes to forage in thick tangles close to the ground.  This causes it to be mistaken sometimes for a thrush.  Its preferred habitat is wet moist woodlands, spruce-tamarack forest and bogs, muskeg and poplar thickets.  The song of this warbler is loud and rich.  It consists of halting phrases which gain in volume and tempo. It is described variously but one example is ‘chuckity-chuckity-chuckity-chuck’.  It sounds a bit like the Common Yellowthroat.  


Connecticut Warbler  [Photo by Mark Morse]                                 


Similar species that we need to distinguish the Connecticut Warbler from are the MacGillivray’s Warbler and the Mourning Warbler.  The former would be extremely rare here but we do see the Mourning Warbler.  The Mourning Warbler lacks an eyering and the breeding male plumage shows black on the lower part of the hood as it extends onto the breast.  The occasional Mourning Warbler shows an eyering but they are a smaller warbler, their undertail coverts are shorter, they have brighter underparts, and they lack the peculiar gait.  Occasionally one might confuse a dull female Yellow Warbler or a Common Yellowthroat with the Connecticut Warbler.  But both species are smaller and have a yellowish throat.    


The Connecticut Warbler nests on the ground.  The nest is made of bark pieces and grass and is lined with fine plant materials and mammal hair.  Two to five white eggs marked with brown and lavender are laid and incubated 11 to 12 days by the female.  This species feeds on insects, spiders, berries, seeds and snails.  The young leave the nest by late July and both adults feed them.


Despite the name of the Connecticut Warbler, it is rarely seen in Connecticut.  It was named by Alexander Wilson who first saw this species in Connecticut.  This species is difficult for birders to find.  It is a much sought-after species.  It is easy to mistakenly try to turn other species into this one but it is said that it is difficult to second-guess a real Connecticut Warbler!



                                    Connecticut Warbler  [Photo by Mark Morse]