Morning Report
7:00AM – 11:00AM
Weather: Fog; wind east @ Beaufort 3, diminishing to Bf 2 while shifting to southeast; seas becoming relatively calm; visibility less than 1km
Observers: Todd Watts, Joanne Mawhinney
Continuous counting recorded in 15 minute blocks (the standard protocol is 15 minutes of observations followed by 15 minutes of rest)
Dense, widespread fog lingered through the session limiting visibility to no more than a few hundred metres except for a few brief periods when it moved out to about a kilometre. Some hints of clearing occurred after the last count, so we stayed for the second count knowing that a significant movement of loons was likely. Paul will cover that in his report.
Seabird counts:
Eastbound 113 Westbound 15 (standard count periods);
Eastbound 368 Westbound 3 (rest/break periods)
Species observed over the bay: Common Eider, Black, Surf, and White-winged Scoters, Red-breasted Merganser, Harlequin and Long-tailed Duck, Common and Red-throated Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Black Guillemot, Razorbill, Common Murre, American Herring, Great Black-backed, Iceland and Ring-billed Gulls, Northern Gannet, Willet, Greater Yellow-leg and Purple Sandpiper
Parked birds: 1 Black Guillemot, 3 Razorbill, 1 Common Murre
Two or three Song Sparrows consumed seed in front of the building.
A Merlin was briefly observed.
The woods and fields were not explored.
The NB Wildlife Trust Fund and NB Environmental Trust Fund help support this project.
Todd Watts
Official Counter
Point Lepreau Bird Observatory
Afternoon Report
From Noon to 4:00 PM
Weather: Fog till 1:30 pm and then it cleared to variable clouds,Beaufort ( Bf)2 ,Winds South West, 9 Deg Celsius and seas calm. Visibility -1 km till fog cleared then 38km, Tide High at 12:30pm and then Receding.
Observers: Paul Martin, Todd Watts, Joanne Mawhinney
During Counts:
Eastbound:1651 Birds Westbound:43 Birds
Rest Period Counts
Eastbound 720 Birds Westbound 31 Birds
Total birds seen East 2371 West 74
Species observed over the bay:
Common Eider, Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser,Common Merganser, Green-winged Teal, Long-tailed Duck, Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Black Guillemot, Caspian Tern, American Herring Gull,Ring-billed Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, Northern Gannet, Razorbills, Harlequin Duck,Brants, Canada Geese, Purple Sandpipers and Greater Black Backed Gull.
Parked; Common Eider (1), Black Scoter (3), Harlequin Duck (3) , Common Loon (7), Double- Crested Cormorant (3) Red-throated Loon (1), Black Guillemot (1), Long-tailed Duck (1),Purple Sandpipers (3),Northern Gannet (4), Red-breasted Mergansers (2) and Razorbills (7)
The morning started off slow with the fog, but as soon as it started lifting we began to see Loons moving; Common Loons Total E 213 Red-Throated Loons E 149 , the Northern Gannets and Surf Scoters were up also in nice numbers with many fly quite high up. I learned something new today, as Todd explained how the Loons can pass high up over the top of us, which we experienced a number of times.
2 Song Sparrow at the seed, a Bald Eagle was over Maces Bay and a Northern Harrier came in from Grand Manan plus we had a couple of Caspian Tern fly by heading East.
This project is supported with funds provided through the NB Wildlife Trust Fund and the NB Environmental Trust Fund.
Paul Martin
Official Counter
Point Lepreau Bird Observatory