Morning Report
7:00AM – 11:00AM
Weather: Fog; winds east to northeast @ Beaufort 2; seas becoming rather calm; visibility was limited to roughly 100 metres for the first two hours before slowly increasing to 300 metres
Observers: Todd Watts, Richard Blacquiere
Standard counting today (the standard protocol is 15 minutes of observations followed by 15 minutes of rest)
Not a single migrant was observed during the first two hours. Medium to large sized flocks of Black Scoter with some Surfs began to appear as the fog slowly moved back from the coast (around 10AM). One large flock of eiders raced around the corner. In the end, diversity was good, but the slow clearing occurred too late in the period to record big numbers. At one point, a tern appeared out of the fog. It was viewed for about four seconds. This individual appeared to be medium sized, too slender for a Caspian and a bit big for a Common. Forster’s seemed most likely, but it was a very brief observation in poor lighting. We were lucky to have managed to spot it.
Seabird counts:
Eastbound 502,
Westbound 41 (standard count periods)
Species observed over the bay: Common Eider, Black, Surf, and White-winged Scoters, Red-breasted Merganser, Harlequin, American and Long-tailed Ducks, Common and Red-throated Loon, Great and Double-crested Cormorant, Black Guillemot, Razorbill, Common Murre, American Herring, Great Black-backed, Iceland and Ring-billed Gulls, Horned Grebe, Purple Sandpiper
Parked birds: 15 Common Eider, 35 Black Scoter, 8 Surf Scoter, 4 Harlequin Duck, 2 Common Loon, 1 Red-throated Loon, 3 Black Guillemot, 1 Common Murre, 2 Double-crested Cormorant, 1 Great Cormorant
Several Song Sparrows and four Savannah Sparrows consumed seed in front of the building. A Merlin perched in the inter-tidal zone. This individual made a couple attempts to capture sparrows near the observatory.
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
Saint John Naturalists’ Club
Afternoon Report
From Noon to 4:00 PM
Weather: Fog .Beaufort (Bf) 3, Winds NE, 5 Deg Celsius and seas calm. Visibility 2 km (1pm to 2:45pm 300m). Tide Low to reversing.
Observers: Paul Martin and Erin Brown
During Counts:
Eastbound: 2478 birds
Westbound:37 Birds
Rest Period Counts
Eastbound 2141 birds Westbound 99 Birds
Total birds seen East 4619 West 136
Species observed over the bay:
Common Eider, Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Duck,Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Black Guillemot, Ring-billed Gull, American Herring Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Brant Geese, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Common Golden-eye, Black Guillemot, Razorbills, Thick-billed Murre, Harlequin Duck, and Red-necked Grebe.
Parked; Harlequin (4), Common Eider (36), Black Guillemot (1), Razorbills (1), Common Loon (1), Harlequin Duck (4) , Thick-billed Murre (1) and Red-necked Grebe (1)
The movement was non-stop, at 1pm the fog moved in heavy close to the point, at which point we saw ducks moving but were not able to ID or make out much other then shadows passing quickly by the 100’s. Once the fog moved off the point, starting at 2:30pm and clear by 2:45pm the ducks were visible and we jumped right back into counting.
5 Song Sparrow, 2 Savannah Sparrow, 1 crows, and a seal were seen.
In the woods 4 American Robins, 3 Song Sparrows, 2 Northern Flicker, and 3 White-tailed Deer.
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