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publications Mail Registration , 8302 ISSN 0710-4847

THE

OSPREY vol. 22 14 October - December, 19

CONTENTS

Western Report .......••.. • ....• • .••...•.......

Tuck/Walters Award Reminder .•..••.............. . .... 137

Magnifying Lenses for Naturalists: I. Basic Items ... 138

Fall Outdoor Program - A Great Success .•...•......• . 148

"Water Weed" Phracpnites australis , New to the flora of Newfoundland and Labrador ..•.••.•........ 149

Rare Bird Reports: Orchard oriole, Kentucky Warbler, Prothonotary warbler, White-eyed Vireo ... 150

Newfoundland Bird Report: September - November 1991 . 156

Dr . Don Steele 48 Wicklow Street St. John ' s, NF AlB 3H2

1991 paid

Published Quarterly by the Natural Hi story Society of Ne wf oundland and Labrado r, Inc .

P . O. Box 1 0 1 3 , s t. J o hn' s , Ne wfou ndland Ale SN3

THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

P. O. Box 1013

ST. JOHN'S. NEWFOUNDLAND Ale 5M3

The Osprey is a journal of Datural history (or Newfoundland and Labrador and adjacent regions. It is published quarterly by the Natural History Society of Neufoundland and Labrador and provided to mellibers. The subscription amount is included In lIlelllbership fees.

Editorial information: All itelllS for publication should be sent to the Editor ",hose address appears below. or to the address given above. Major art.icles. notes, anecdotal items. interesting observations. sketches, tables and graphs of all aspects of natural history vtll be accepted. Originals cannot be returnC!d. Letters to the Edito r and correspondence on matters of envi r onmental concern are welcoeae and will be published as space allows. Any articles exceeding six pages in length may be edited, reduced or serialized at the Editor's discretion.

Article format: In an attempt to cut prineing and mailing costs. all itellLS \/ill be printed in such a vay as to reduce the nWllber of pages and ",eigh t of each issue. This allows three alternatives: l. Items can be typed SINGLE SPACED on S!s" x 11" paper for direct photocopy.

This paper size is preferred for all sketches and graphic material. unless the material is equally sharp and identifiable in a reduced form. . A ONE lNO!. HARGIN should be left on both sides of the page to allow for binding.

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2. Ieems can be supplied DOU5LE OR ONE-AN~A-HALF SPACED on foolscap 11" x 14" paper for reduction to the quarto 81:5" x 11" size. A margin is NOT 'required in such cases. Type si%:e should be selected to ensure that reduction viII noe reduce readability. SOCDe typestyles (like this one) do not reduce veIl. e

3. Items can be supplied on diskettes if tlte vord-processing system used is WordPerfect 4.1 or above; 'these disk.ettes should be ISH PC cOflipatib l e, i.e . 51t" double-sided, and can be returned. This option vould be preferable in the case of longer articles requiring editing.

Items are velcomed from me:abers and non-members. Deadlines for inclusion are februarY 15 (Harch), Hay 15 (June), August 15 (September). November 15 (December).

President: Secretary: Past Pres: Vice-pres: C.N.F. Dir:

SOCIETY OFFICERS 1991-1992

John McConnell Don Steele Roger Burrows Greg Warbanski Alan Stein

Membership: Rita Anderson Treasurer: David Rendell Acting Treas: Roger Burrows Osprey Ed.: John Pratt

Members-at-large: Chris Brown, John Gibson, Charlie Horwood, Bruce Mactavish.

EDITOR'S ADDRESS: John Pratt, 29 Parsons Rd .• St. John' s. AlA 2J2

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• NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NFLD. AND LABRADOR

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WINTER WORKSHOP AND OUTDOOR PROGRAM JANUARY TO MARCH 1992

SATURDAY. JANUARY 18 SNOWY OWL WALK· WlfiTE IflLLS AREA

Join Doug Phelan (or a hireling outing in the White Hills area. With any luck you will see Snowy Owls, White-winged Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks and boreal finches.

Meet at 9:00 at the Main Entrance to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DrO) There is plenty of parking beside the building.

We will walk to the ocean and back which should take 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Dress wannly. with wann winter boots. Bring binoculars, camera, thermos, and perhaps bring along snow shoes if you have a pair and want to give them a try (snowshoes are not necessary however). Call Doug Phelan at 772-4538 at work or evenings at 726-0062 to register .

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2 CROSS COUNTRY SKIING· SOUTH SIDE IflLLS

Ski across ponds, through woods and along trails in the Petty Harbour - Long Pond Reservoir area of the South Side Hills.

Meet John McConnell at 10:00 at the Irving Station parking lot in IGlbride along the Southern Shore Highway, 100 metres south of the Harbour Arterial overpass. Bring cameras, binoculars, thermos, picniC lunch and something waterproof to sit on. The outing will be about 2 1/2 hours duration. Call John at 579-9240 evenings to register.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9 WORKSHOP· INTRODUCTION TO WINTER CAMPING

Have you always wanted to try winter camping but didn't know where to begin? This will be an indoor workshop to look at some of the basics for winter camping and winter survival, clothing and equipment requirements.

Call Greg Warbanski evenings at 895-2620 to register .

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 TWIG WITH QUIGLEY· BOWRING PARK, ST. JOHN'S

Join Judith Quigley for a casual winter stroll through Bowring Park and examine the twig structures of different native trees and shrubs as you walk. Meet at the 1:00 PM at the Bowring Park Bungalow.

Dress warmly. bring your camera, a thermos of tea or hot chocolate and something waterproof to sit on at tea time. If you have a copy of Native Trees and Shrubs of Newfoundland by J. Ryan bring it along as well.

Call Judith at 726-m~44 for more information and to register.

SUNDAY MARCH 8 GULL ECOLOGY WORKSHOP

Interested in the lives and world of gulls? Join Dr. Don Steele for a fascinating discussion or Gull Ecology.

Call Don during evenings at 154-0455 for more information and to register.

INDOOR PROGRAM, JANUARY · MARCH, 1991

JANUARY: Thursday,January 16, 8:15 p .m. Coughlan College, MUN campus. Ray Fennelly will give a presentation on his 1991 expedition retracing William Cormack's route across the interior of Newfoundland during the year 182.2. This recent trek with Don Cava was sponsored by the Canadian Geographical Society and by the Canada Council. Ray is a naturalist and free lance photographer. William Cormack was an early naturalist and the first European on record to walk across the island.

FEBRUARY": Thursday, February 20, 8:15 p.m. Couglan College, MUN campus. Here's an opportunity to shake off the mid-winter blues. Society member David Rendell will give a slide presentation on his recent year spent in Singapore entitled "A Malaysian Experience"

MARCH: Th"",day, March 19,8:16 p.m. Coughlan College, MUN campus. Participate in the Society's Annual General Meeting and elect your executive for the April 1992 to March

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1993 period. The business meeting will be followed by the Annual Members' Slide Show, e 80 bring your best slides and images to remind us of the highlights of the past year.

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IT'S TIME TO RENEW

Membership fees for 1992 are due for renewal with this iss ue. Annu al dues including subscription to tbe Osprey are $15.00 . Please consider making a (tax-deductible) contribution to th e Society.

1992 MEMBERSHIP REN EWAL FORM . MAIL TO: NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR,

P.O. BOX 1013, ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND, Ale 5M3

Name ...

Address ...

Telephone No ...

Membership dues for 1992 .... . ..................... $1 5.00

Contr ibution to Soci ety (lax receipt will be se nt) ..... .

Total...

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WESTERN REPORT

from t he Humber \ Bay of Islands Branc h

OUI year has begun with two interesting s pea kers:

The September speaker was ste ve Heard, a graduate student from the Universlty of Pennsylvania, ... ho has spent the past three summers ..... orking out of the Biology Field Station 1n Bonne Bay. The illustrated lecture described hls ecological s tudy o f the communi ty of animals which inhabit pitcher plant leave s. Member s learned of some fascinating inter-relationships between three types of insect larvae, [otHers, bacteria and the pitcher plant itself.

In November Keith Nicol, of the Geography Department at Sir wll fred Grenfe 11 College, descr Ibed his exper lences w1 th canoes, kayaks and whales 1n ..... estern Newfoundland . He described his family's favorite canoeing trips on local rivers and ponds and gave us a glimpse of a few more unique experiences such as kayaking around a humpback and rafting the Hain River .

The Humber Branch of the Natural History Soc iety held its Annual General meeting Tuesday, October 1,1991. The ne .... slate of officers is !

President Henry Hann 637-6245('10') 686-2340(h) Vice-President Violet Bell 634-5223(h) Secretary-Treasurer Julie Briffett 637-5541(w) 686 - 5l49(h) Program Chair - Doug Forbes 637-6295('10') 634-925 3 (h) Publicity - Cal Holloway 634 - 3460(h) Osprey Correspondent - Lo is Bateman 637 - 6247(...,) 6 3 4 - 720 6( h ) Hember-at-Large Shirley Butt 785- 5273 ( h)

We hold our meetings at 8 : 00 P . H. on the first Tuesday o f the month, usually in Room 22 4, Fine Arts Building, Sir Wilfred Grenfell Co llege . please joi n us if you're in t o wn.

Furthe r inf o rma tio n may be o b t aine d by conta cti ng a ny of the Execu t i ve.

A Quick RenU.nder

Members a r e urged to get their nominations fo r the Tuck/Wa l ters Awa r d submitted to Bi ll Montevecchi at Memor ial University for consider ation!

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MAGNIPYING LENSES POR NATURALISTS: I. BASIC ITEMS

Hanry Mann

Just beyond the reach of our eyes lies an amazing world so colorful, so intricate, so bizarre and so fascinating that those who have never been there may scarcely believe it exists. Naturalists who first travel to this world invariably become regular v isitors regardless of their initial interests. Bird feathers, plant flowers, rock crystals, insect wings, and even pond waters reveal a hidden beauty combined with the strangeness of a fairy tale landscape. Nothing is as you thought it was and yet it is all wonderfully real. You may enter this world through a simple magnifying lens, the same today as back in the seventeenth century when Leeuwenhoek ground some of the first lenses and amazed himself and the scientific establishment of the day.

Microscopes come to mind when discussing magnification, but most i ndividuals cannot justify the expenditure for a good microscope costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. Microscopes are also large, heavy, precision instruments which need to be used and cared for indoors. Naturalists need something small and

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!~~~il~h~;e~~~ ~~~~!;~ ~: ~:~~~ed I~n m~~~ ;~:~dbe b~ig~~~Ch is e functional, quickly and easily providing clear precise images even under the most adverse conditions . Of course, it must also be very affordable. The standard basic hand lens fulfils all these requirements .

For most biological work a ten power (lOX) hand lens of t he type illustrated in figure 1. is the preferred item . The lens quickly folds in or out of its protective case and it has a cord a ttachment so that it may be hung around the neck, ready for use i nstantly. These lenses can be purchased for twenty or thirty dollars, a real bargain when considering a lifetime of use and enjoyment. Besides nature study, they can also be utilized for a host of more mundane purposes such as removing slivers, repairing jewelry, threading needles, sharpening tools, stamp or coin collecting, and hundreds of others .

Many individuals are familiar with the large magnifying glasses used for readi ng purposes (figure 2.). These can only provide a two or three times enlargement. This magnification is useful for scanning large areas, but i t cannot provide the fine detail necessary in most biological studies. As lenses become higher powered, they must be made smaller in diameter and therefore also become more difficult to use. High powered lenses must be held very close to the eye, but still allow you to see only a tiny part of the object being observed. They are said to e have a "small field of view" which sometimes makes it difficult to relate what is seen through the lens to the structure of the

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Figure 2. A low powered reading glass usefu l for scanning large areas.

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Figure 1 . The folding type of hand lens recommended for all naturalists.

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Figure 3. A single folding lens. b. A triple folding lens c. An acrylic lens combination of 3X and 6X. d . An illuminated acrylic r.lagnifier of 5X and lOX.

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whole object. The higher the power, the less light a lens gathers, making it difficult to obtain sufficient illumination with lenses greater than about 20X. Also, the higher the power, the less the depth perception of the object being viewed. The best compromise between magnifying power and ease of use for the average person seems to be a lOX lens, although any good lens between 5X and 15X is probably adequate in most cases.

Several variations of the common folding lens are available in addition to the standard single lenses illustrated in figur e 1. and figure 3a. Figure 3b. illustrates a triple swing out lens which allows a range of magnifications by using lenses singly or further increasing magnification by using them in combination. Although multiple folding lenses provide more choice in magnification, they also require more finger fumbling in swing ing out the chosen lens. I personally prefer a single lOX lens which is adequate for almost all my needs and for those rare times when a higher magnification is required, I carry a second 20X single lens.

Several factors determine the price of a lens including magnification, quality of the lens, size of the lens, craftsmanship of the case, and manufacturer I s brand name. Higher

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:~~~!;!C~~i~~S n~e~~e~o f~~ :~~~d~~e~~;;eth:~t t~1ri~e~~~ia;~e~~ a e good quality lOX lens. Some manufacturers do produce superb items with beautifully crafted cases costing much more than this. It should be stressed, however, that the average person will be able to see just as much detail with a $25 lens as with one that costs $75, the extra expense being justified only in terms of craftsmanship, durability, or perhaps prestige. A lens with t he diameter of a five cent nickel (about 20-21 millimetres) or larger is preferred as it is easier to use than a lens of smaller diameter and the extra cost is not great. Good quality lenses about the size of a dime are also quite adequate, but much smaller ones should be avoided. The diameter referred to is t he actual diameter of the glass lens itself not including the mounting frame. Because of their relative low cost, hand lenses make great gifts for older children and adults of all ages.

When purchasing optics, the actual quality of the lens i tself should be one of the prime considerations. There are two major problems that poor quality lenses exhibit to a greater degree, but which even good quality lenses may exhibit to a lesser extent. These are distortion of shape and distortion of color . Both of these problems become more pronounced towards the edges of a lens . A buyer can easily check for these aberrations by taking along a piece of finely ruled squared paper (graph paper), preferably in one millimetre squares. Ask to see the

;~~~ ~~~~~e~f s~~~:~:, a:a~!:~!~~p ~;a~~u~~:rf~~:ha~~P:~a~~n: ~~:t e squares with each lens in turn comparing the distortions they

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produce. The best lens will provide the flattest field of view, or in other words. produce the least distortion in shape except perhaps at its extreme edges. The color of the lines should remain the same from the centre of the field of view to the edges. If color distortion occurs, the 1in(.:; will start to become more fuzzy with thin color sheens appearing at their edges. This comparative shopping tip may even produce some surprises as the higher priced items may not necessarily always win.

The lenses mentioned above are made of high quality optical glass which is usually coa-ted to prevent scratching. A variety of lenses made of acrylic plastic are now available, being almost optically as good as glass ones. Swing out lenses of acrylic are only a fraction of the cost of good glass lenses, one half to one quarter the price . Figure 3c. and 3d. illustrate two of the many styles and sizes of handled acrylic lenses now being sold. Figure 3c . shows an amazingly useful and inexpensive little lens combination that I find handy for a variety of everyday chores at my desk. Overall, it is only eleven centimetres long, the largest lens being 4 . 5 centimetres in diameter and the smaller one about 1 .5 centimetres . The larger lens provides a 3X magnification while the smaller one is 6X, an ideal combination for quick casual usage. It sells for less than three dollars . Figure 3d. illustrates one of the many types of self illuminating acrylic lenses requiring batteries or an AC adapter. This particular model has a magnification of 5X with a small ground inset of lOX. Besides being extremely inexpensive, acrylic lenses are also very light, easy to carry, and practically unbreakable. Their major drawback is that acrylic is fairly soft and can be scratched or abraided much more readily than optical glass. I still prefer a good quality glass lens for normal biological work, but find that I am beginning to accumulate several of these acrylic ones for a variety of incidental uses.

Many individuals, including my biology students, are not impressed at their first casual encounter with a hand lens mainly because they fail to use it properly and therefore, see only a fraction of the detail that should be visible to them. There are only two rules of usage both of which are simple to follow, but neglect of these two will produce unsatisfactory results. Firstly, with head held high, the lens should be held in a stationary position as close to the eye as possible, about the same distance as eyeglass lenses. The specimen is then brought towards the lens with the other hand until it comes into focus (f igure 4.). The closer the lens is held to the eye, the sharper is the detail, the more of the object can be seen, and the easier it is to adjust the lighting. Avoid the tendency to move the lens for focusing as is often done by beginners. Secondly, lighting is critical. The head should be held high to make maximum use of the sky lighting. The object, the person's head, and even the whole body if necessary should be oriented so that

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Figure 4. Using a hand lens . Keep the lens stationary near the eye and move the object towards the lens until it comes into focus.

Figure 5. One type of stereomicroscope. a. eyepiece tube (ocular tube). b. Zoom knob for varying the magnification from 7X to 30X. c. focussing knob . d . working surface.

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the maximum amount of light reflects off the object through the lens to the eye. Proper lighting can make the difference between seeing fine detail or not. Shade from an overhead tree, or cliff, or even the peak of a cap can produce poor lighting conditions. Indoors with overhead lighting it is also important to orient oneself for best use of reflected light. To become totally comfortable and to achieve maximum efficiency, a beginner must practice under all types of lighting conditions using all types of specimens until he/she becomes thoroughly familiar with the conditions that produce the best results. To excel at even relatively simple skills, effort, practice and patience are required.

A hand lens user is at some disadvantage if a specimen needs to be dissected while being viewed through the lens since both hands are already occupied, one holding the lens and the other the specimen . Fine dissections are usually carried out indoors with a stereomicroscope. A stereomicroscope essentially consists of two adjustable tubes, each containing a number of simple lenses (f igure 5). The combined tubes are mounted in a stand which leaves both hands free to manipUlate or dissect a specimen using forceps, needles, and scalpels. several lenses separated along a tube also allow a greater IIworking distance ll which is the space between the lowest lens and the specimen being manipulated. Single lenses have a much shorter working distance. For example a lOX hand lens will have a working distance of about 20 millimetres whereas a lOX stereoscope may have a working distance of 90 millimetres. As magnification increases for both a stereoscope and a hand lens, the working distance decreases. Stereoscopes can be obtained in a variety of multiple magnifications from 5X to 40X, but are mostly used in the lOX to 20X range. Just like single lenses, they become more difficult to use at higher magnifications. Unfortunately, these instruments can cost a thousand dollars or more and so are beyond the budget of most naturalists .

Fortunately there are a number of low cost alternatives to a stereoscope which will leave both hands free for manipulation. For low power scanning (2X - 3X), large adjustable reading glasses on stands are available (figure 6.). Similarly, homemade adjustable stands can be devised for lenses of 4X to 6X with some decrease in lens size and working distance. For higher power dissection, simply attach your lOX hand lens to one lens of an old pair of reading glasses with an elastic band . If you don't wear glasses or do not wish to risk scratching your lenses, purchase a cheap set of plastic frames, sunglasses , or e ven IIGroucho ll glasses complete with nose, eyebrows and mousta che. With some glue, wire, tape and a bit of ingenuity, you c a n even make a custom holder into which to pop your standard lOX lens when necessary. These homemade gadgets work as well as more expensive store bought items if aesthetics is not a problem with the user. To avoid being IIhunched over ll while making

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Figure 6. Low powered scanning l enses on adjustable stands.

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Figure 7. a . Jeweler ' 5 eyeloupe . b. Jeweler' 5 eyeglass loupe. c. Various acrylic magnifiers. d. Eyeglass monocular tube.

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observation s I build a small box to put on your tabletop for a higher working surface. A long necked adjustable table lamp will provide adequate lighting. Often for attachment to glasses an inexpensive 4X or 5X acrylic lens may be preferable because of the light weight coupled with 3. greater working d i stance than the normal lOX lens .

Reasonably priced ready made alternatives to stereoscopes can also be purchased. A few of these are illustrated in figure 7. Jewelers eyeloupes (figure 7a.) can be held in the eye socket or held in place by a broad weak elastic band around the head and moved up to the forehead when not in use. Jewelers eyeglass loupes (figure 7b.) that readily snap on and off eyeglass frames come with single or multiple swing-in, swing-out lenses. Both of these are available in a variety of magnifications from 3X to lOX and range in price from fifteen dollars to fifty dollars. Figure 7c. illUstrates a variety of inexpens ive acrylic magnifiers with powers up to 5X. Figure 7d. shows a focusable clip-on 5X eyeglass monocular which is essentially a single stereoscope tube containing several lenses. This is several times as expensive as the above items, but also provides a much greater working distance.

Even tiny objects can be studied and manipulated using some basic purchased or homemade miniature tools (figure 8.). Fine tipped forceps can be constructed by grinding the tips of inexpensive drugstore tweezers to a sharp point. Handles for common sewing needles are made by forcing the eye-end into small corks or into wooden dowels about ten centimetres long and as thick. as a pencil. Single edged razor blades or small hobby knives with replaceable blades are used to cleanly slice plant or animal parts. Scientific suppliers have a wide range of precision made instruments available for purchase, but these locally purchased/homemade items will be adequate normally.

One company that carries an amazing variety of magnifying lenses of all shapes , sizes, types, and for mUlti-purposes is the Edmund Scientific Company. It is worth requesting a copy of their small catalogue just to see what is available, however, try not to get " carried away" when viewing such a bonanza of optics. Just remember, all that a naturalist needs initially is a good moderately priced lOX single folding lens and a string with which to hang it around the neck . Most scientific suppliers of f er a selection of basic lenses. catalogues of well known companies such as Ward 's, Boreal, Fisher, and others are a vailable in school, college , and university science departments . u s u a lly college and university bookstores carry hand lenses for purchase by students and the public.

Maintenance of lenses is minimal. A small pack of s pecial lens paper (eyeglass tissue) should be available at all times to remove dust and eyelash grease. Scratching of the lens can be

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avoided with proper care and by keeping the lens swung into its case when not actually in use. Some lenses are held in their mounting socket by a small screw-in ring which can sometimes work loose. To prevent this, apply a bit of nail polish to the threads with a needle. This is not necessary f or many lenses with permanently sealed mount s. Strong nylon lanyards in a variety of colors are available, especially made for carrying a lens around the neck on even t he most rugged h ikes. Perhaps, however, a word of caution is in order. Anything loosely hung around the neck should not be worn in the vicinity of rotating or mov ing machinery such as augers, lathes, drills, chain drives, etc. which can quickly and unpredictably entangle them causing serious injury. This includes hand lenses as well as other items such as neckties, ropes, jewellery, bandannas, and so on.

Of all the tools I have had at my disposal as a biologist , the simple lOX hand lens has provided me with the most pleasure as well as with a great deal of useful information . Today we often bypass or ignore the world of the hand lens even though we still know and understand only a tiny fraction of what i t has to offer . No more magnification than lOX is required to identify all of our Newfoundland vascular plants . All the basics in the study of our mosses, lichens, insects, and many other groups c an

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~r;~a~~:~ ~~ ~~;: ~:f~l~!~a;~~~i:;o:~th ~ig~:r a~~~e;~~ ~~~~a!nd e electron microscopes if we are to keep contact with the whole organism when we zoom deeper into finer and finer detail. For the cost of a twenty dollar hand lens, half the price of an average textbook, the naturalist can be exposed to much more biology than is taught in twenty years of formal schooling. What other instrument offers so much and offers it equally to nine year aIds and ninety year olds?

I wish to thank Warwick Hewitt, graphic artist at the Grenfell College, for the preparation of figures 3-8. The prices quoted are approximations in Canadi an 1991 currency minus a pplicable taxes.

Add r e ss •• o f Suppli.r. cited in Article

Borea l Laboratories Limited 399 vansiCkle Road St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3T4

Edmund Scientific Company 101E Gloucester Pike Barrington, N.J .• U.S.A. 08007-1 380 •

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Fisher Scientific Limited 18 Morris Drive Dart mouth, N. S. BJB IKe

Ward I S Natural Science Limited 397 Vansickle Road st. Catharines , Ontario L2S 3T5

:"""?3" "' w= > a. d.

7 , > b.

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Figure 8. Specimen dissection/manipulation tools. a. straight and curved forceps. b . scalpel c. single edged razor blade . d . dissecting needles. e . small hobby knife with replacement blades.

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Fall Outdoor Program - A Great Success

The 1991 Fall outdoor program was a great success , by all

accounts. Programs were well and enthusiastically attended by

members and non- members alike. Some highlights were the fossil

hunt at Manuels River led by Jack Botsford, which attracted

several carloads of rockhounds, young and o ld. At the conununity

centre, we were treated to an animated lecture on the history

of the earth , after which we clambered about under Manuels

River Bridge looking at ancient granites and conglomerates.

Then it was down into the valley to poke into the sha le in

search of trilobites , and finally to the quarry where we could

hack away to our heart ' 5 content.

Then, a week later , John McConnell and Chris Brown led

a brisk stroll along the cliffs and through the woods between

Torbay and Flatrock. Again , a good number of fol ks turned out

on a beautiful, if windy , morning to learn about anticlines

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and synclines, dip and strike, and to enjoy late fall butterflies e and errant songbirds. A Scarlet Tanager at Gallows Cove was a

big surpr ise.

A feeder workshop conducted at Greg Warbanski I s warehouse

also a big hit. Over forty people, including a big contingent

of Junior Forest Rangers under t he wing of Janet Montevecchi

showed up to make pop bottle feeders and suet logs, and learn a

bit about how, when, where, and why to feed birds. Donuts and

lots and lots of help f rom Greg and Darlene War banski made this

event a big success.

I haven I t had reports from the other outdoor program

l e aders , but I suspect they met with similar success (although

I recall the day of Roger Burrows I Cape Spear walk with a

shudder - what ghastly weather! 1. Obviously, the interest is out

there for these events . A big thank you is owed to all t he

leaders, and to all those who showed up . •

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" Water Reed , Phragmites australis, Ne ... to t he Flora of Nevfoundland & Labrador

A specimen of Phragmites ~ ( Cav. ) Trin . .... as collected August 1, 1991 , on the Stephenville barachois, in a d itch near the new municipal park. I deposited it at the Agricul ture Ca nada National Herbarium 1n ottawa, accession No . 595274 , and I sent photocopies to Memorial Universlty 1n st. J ohn 's and Corner Brook. This 1s now the largest grass found in the province and this the only record of its distribution (figure 1 ).

Reed Grass has tall, leafy, stems 1.5 to 4 meters high ( short in Nfld.) W'hlc h are terminated by feathery pan Icles of £1 0 ... e [ 9 and seeds. People, 1n many parts of the vorld, cut the tall flovering plumes as an ornamental dried grass, as stra ... for domestic animals and as a construction material . The plant spreads by rhizomes to form large clonal clumps. GRA Y'S MANUAL OF BOTANY states that the ... ord Phragmites comes from Greek meaning "gro ... ing in hedges tl apparently from its hedge - like gro ... th along ditches, and australis means southern. The scientific name Phragmites ~ is a synonym of ~.~. In other provinces Water Reed forms huge stands in ... etlands and although it is eaten by fe ... animals it does form important cover .

At present there is no information to suggest 1£ this plant is an introduction or a native species. It gro ... s as a native plant on nearby Prince Edward Island , Anticosti Island and Nova Sc otia so ... e should not be too surprised to find it growing in Stephenvil at the very base of st. George's Bay .

- Robin Day Ottawa

Figure 1. PhraBmites australis in r~fld .

Illu s tr a tion frot!l : Flore Laurentienne

by F r ere Harie-Vi cto rin, 1947 .

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Species: Orchard Oriole

Date: September 13, 1991

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Rare Bird Report

Location: Red Cliff. Avalon Peninsula. Newfoundland (5 km north 01 51. John's)

Writer of Report: Bruce Mactavish

Observers: Initially Bruce Mactavish, later also Ken Knowles and John Wells

Optical Equipment BM-8x42 Bausch & Lomb, KK-l0x42 Mirador, JW-1Ox42 Leitz

CiraJmstances of Obsarvatlon: The writer was crouched under the alders pishing. The first bird to

come was what at first seemed to be a large bright Blaekpoll Warbler. When the bird showed its

s81f property I immediately recognized it as an inmature or female type Orchard Oriole. The bird

remained at close ranga, 4-8m, hopping about in the alders for three minutes before flying out

through the top 01 the alders and out of sight

Fifteen minutes later it was relocated 100m away among a mixed feeding flock of American

Robins, White-throated and Fox Sparrows, ;.mcos and Yellow-rumped Warblers. It divided its

time between feeding in small alders in an open .re. and sitting at the top of 4m high fir trees In

the open. It was In sight for a least five minutes of a ten minute period, watched at distances of

20-30m.

After this sighting the word of Orchard Oriole was sent out by telephone to local St. John's

birdwatc:tlers. John Wells and Ken Knowles were the onty ones able to respond to the call in the

middle of a working day. After some searching W8 relocated the bird along when it flew up to the

top of • 5m hlght spruce tree where the three of us was able to watch tor it for a minute befOfe it

flew down to the alders beneath the spruce. Moving in closer the oriole flew up to the top of a

nearby spruce for 2 minutes at 30 m. h was not seen again after it flew from this perch.

Description

Size - Although there were no Northem Orioles around for direct comparison, the Orchard Oriole

gave the definite impression of being a smaller bird. With direct comparison to an Ovenbird, it

was about one inch longer - maybe 1 112 inches longer.

Shape - typical oriole shape - slender build; long tail; longish, slender pointed bill.

Head - clear light olive on crown, nape and ear coverts; rest of side of head and throat bright

yellow. Eye - big, black and conspicuous on plain head.

BiII- typical icterid shape - broad at base tapering to a long sharp point, $lightly decurved. Colour

of bill dark gray becoming light along cutting edges.

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e Underparts - bright lemon yellow trom throat to undertail covens. Almost uniform throughout but

slightly duller flanks and belly.

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Upperpar1s - Back: a smooth unmarked olive-gray : rump area olive yellow, duller then under

parts but contrasted with darker back and lail. Tail : diny olive yellow, central tail leathers seen 10

be darker when it fanned its tail in flight. Wing: lips of greater and median coverts broadly tipped

in white forming two bold wing bars of equal width. Tertiars broadly edged in dull white. leading

edge 01 the secondaries finely edged In whitish creating a frosted look on folded wing. Overall

wing colour dirty, dull brown, which was a little darker than the back.

legs - colour der1dsh - not seen well. Sturdy typical of orioles.

This descrition was written on September 13, 1991 .

Postscript - On September 14 the Orchard Oriole was seen again by John Wells and John Pratt.

Status in Newfoundland

This sighting represents the first documented record of Orchard Oriole in the province of

Newfoundland and labrador. There are however, two previous undocumented sighting fo the

island: two males and a female June la, 1974 at SI. John's and an immature male June 13, 1985

at Cheeseman Provincial Park.

The breeding range of the Orchard Oriole reaches as far north as southem Ontario and

Massachusetts. n occurs annually as a stray to Nova Scotia with most records clustered around

late May and the first half of September. Its eventual occurrence In the province was anticipated

and it can be expected very occasionally In the future at coastal vagrant birdwatrching locations.

BnJce Mactavish

152

KENTUCKY WARBLER

Chence Cove Provincial Park - Ken Knowles, Bruce Mactavish, John Wells

I was walking around the white spruce trees in the picnic area when I heard some rustling in the

grass beneath some raspberry bushes. After 3 or 4 seconds a bird finally fluttered up to an open

dead branch beneath a low living branch of a spruce. I instantly recognized it as an immature

Kentucky Warbler by the smooth greenish-brown upper parts, brillant yellow underparts, yellow

spectacles with a small dark area on the ear coverts beneath the rear of the eye. It new to the

deeper shelter of the large old spruce tree yet because there were so few branches here and all

of them were dead, the bird was quite visible. It was hopping alertly on the branches for several

seconds while giving a low key call - a rich, wooden quality chip - unlike any other bird that I

know.

It disappeared for a mioote but then reappeared on a bare branch giving the three of us an

unobstructed view from about 40 teet. It actually remained perched here almost motionless for 2

to 2 1/2 minutes perhaps due to the passing of a Sha~shinned Hawk. We watched it with

binoculars ranging from 8 to 10 power and for 15 - 20 seconds viewed with a 22X telescope.

Underparts were completely brillanl, deep, rich, yellow from chin to tip of under lail coverts.

Aanks only slightly tnged with olive green, undertail coverts long and very intense yellow.

Upperparts, forehead, crown, nape, back, wings aU smooth uniform aii've green. Broad yellow

Iores continuing uninterrupted to a thinner yellow IIna that almost encompassed the dark eye but

stopped at the bottom of the eye. The dark area on rear of ear coverts not very noticeable with

this view probably because head sunk into shoulders somewhat. Bill largish lor a warbler and

bleck. legs bright "ashy pink.

Status In Newfoundland

There afe three previous documented records tor Newfoundland. September 22, 1969 at SI

John's (H. Clase); September 4, 1971 killed by cat, Birchy Cove, Bonavista Bay (G. Ayan);

September 4, 1976 at Oxen Pond, St. John's (B. Jackson).

The breed ing range 01 Kentucky Warbler reaches its northern limits at central Pennsylvannia and

Connecticullt is a rare stray to Nova Scotia with most of the 15 or so records occurring between

lat. August and earty October.

Bruce Mactavish

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153

PROTHONOTARY WARBLER

September §.,..!.ll! low overcast .'5-+1 aoc light winds

I had been birding in the White Hills of 51. John's for 1 1/2 hours finding lots of activity in the way

of ).Jncos and chickadees but very little In warblers lor the early date in the season - just 5

Yellow-rumped, 3 Blackpoli. 1 Yellow and 1 Black-and-While Warbler. Upon hearing some

chickadees and Swamp Sparrows chipping in the alders by a small hole 01 waler - always a good

locallon for a few birds, I walked to the location and began to pish. Immediately Swamp Sparrows

began chipping on either side of me and across an opening along the edge of the water pool 8

bright yellow warbler appeared. -Ashl A Wilson's Warbler, something bright to look at." I thought.

But I was flabbergasted when I put my binoculars on It and saw that It was realty a Prothonotary

Warbler! I pished lightly and it immediately came over to the alders in front of me to Investigate

the pishing . For two minutes It was dancing in the alders close to me, as close as minimum focus

of my blnocluars; and almost always on the dead bare branches completely In the open.

It was a large warbler. Bigger than any of the Newfoundland breeding warblers except perhaps

Ovenbird. Head, throat, breast down to start of belly very bright beaming yellow and unmarKed

except for a light greenish wash on nape. Eye black, big and bold, and conspicuous on the brillent

yellow head. Back dark olive green rather sharply cut off from the yellow head despite the light

greenish wash on nape. WlngS-COV8rts, primaries, secondaries and tertials silVery gray with an

olive edging on the greater coverts. Tail - a similar silVer gray above. Tail below was bright white,

bordered on the sides by a thin blackish line, and on the tip by a broader blackish band. A white

tail flash was not noted in flight Belly bright clean white, cut off quite sharply from the bright

yellow breast. Light yellow wash on feathering around base of legs. Under tail coverts like belly

were clean white. Legs heavy and sturdy for a warbler; distinctly gray in colour. Bill large lor a

warbler - long and tapered to a point and slightly decurved. Bill colour - fleshy blend ing into

brown tip.

Bruce Mactavish

Status In Newfoundland

There are two previous documented sight records of Prothonotary Warbler in Newfound land and

Labrador: October 15-16,1983 at Grand Bank, Burin Peninsula (J. Wells, C. Brown) and October

9, , 987 at Happy Valley, Labrador (B. Mactavish) .

The Prothonotary Warbler breeds as far north as extreme southern Ontario and central New York

state . It Is an almost annually seen vagrant to Nova Scotia with about one third of the records

falling between mid April and earty June and two thirds between mid August and mid October.

Species: Whlte-eyed Vireo

Dale: October 9, 1991

154

Rare Bird Report

Location: Cheeseman Provincial Park, near Cape Ray, Newfoundland

Observers: Bruce Mactavish. Stuart Tingley (the discoverer)

Writer of Report: Bruce Mactavish

Circumstances of Observation: It was one 01 those rat. days when the sky was blue horizon to

horizon; it was warm, and especially noteworthy, no wincH We had been birding in Cheeseman

Provincial Parte and immediate area since dawn without a break. Concentrating on passerine! in

the alders by 1300 hour we were getting a little thirsty. The alders were full 01 White-throated,

Swamp and Fox Sparrows with smaller numbers of Ruby-<rowned Kinglets and the occasional

warbler and vireo.

Having been Immersed In an expanse of healthy alders covering 8 hectare or two in area for the

last hour, the task of covering it thoroughly suddenly became daunting. To maximize use 0' the

limited manpower I decided to start again at the far end 01 the alders leaving Stuart near the

middle. I had walked lor 150 m when I heard an alarming call. It was Stuart shouting White-eyed

Vireol

With heart pounding I reached Stuart in seconds but 01 course the bird was no where to be seen.

A few ·pishes· brought in nothing.

The seriousness of the impending problem was quickly realized. In the middle of a sea of alders

this bird, infamous for its secretive nature, had almost unrestricted possibilities for movement.

Time was now of the essence. The potential search radius would increase rapidly. within minutes,

and soon reach the point of hopelessness.

Feelings of defeat had long been accepted when the bird was miraculously rediscovered some 30

minutes later on the edge ola clearing 75 m from the original point of discovery.

For the next 30 minutes, we followed the Whit~ed Vireo closely through the alders. Though

not always in sight we always knew where it was. It became ignorant 01 our presence and hunted

freely for Insects in the alders and often In young fir trees under alder canopies at close range:

3-10 meters on average, sometimes too close to focus binoculars on. It usually stayed 0.5-2 m

off the ground.

Because of the thick foliage, views of the entire bird at once were few, but through many close

1 ::w:eO~P:(rts the enlir. bird was seen wall.

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Description

Size - not able to compare body size directly with any other birds but it gave the impression 01

being 8 small vireo. smaller than both Red-eyed and Solitary VIreos of which we had already

seen foor each 01 thaI mOfning.

Head - Ear coverts and nape smooth dark mouse gray. Crown and forehead dull brownish green.

Lares. an intense golden rod yellow band thaI seemed to meet over the bill and merged into the

dull brownish green forehead . The lores were the brightest part 01 the bird and gave the

appearance of being a head light. The intense colour of the lores ran unobstructed inlo a

complete eye ring. The width of the eye ring was narrower than the lotes. The bright lores were

the dominating tearures of the head and in fact the entire bird. Throat smooth ashy white

gradually becoming whiter toward chin.

Underparts - Upper breast a muddled grayish wash blending into the ashy white throat. lower

breast and belly; dull white. Flanks; clear, washed with pale lemon yellow. Undertail coverts

white, very lightly washed with yellow.

Upperparts - Back and rump, clear dark olive green. Wings dark, very Imle contrast with back .

Two conspicuous clear white, tinged yellow wing bars. Tertials bordered with the same colour.

From above, but exckJding the head, the vireo recalled a Auby-<:rowned Kinglet. TaU darX.

nondescript and 01 vireo proportions,

Bare Pans - Bin proportionately smaller than Aed-eyed or Solitary Vireo but typically VIreo

shaped - i.e, thicker than a warblers bill, blunt point.

Eye appeared wholly darit until looked at closely; then a clear thin whrte iriS around the large

black pupil was plainly visible. legs thicker than a warbler's and gray In colour.

Range of White-eyed Vtreo - The breeding range extends north to southern Ontario and

Massachusetts, It has ocx:urred just over 20 times in Nova Scotia with late September to mid

October being the tine slot for most of the records,

This was Newfoundland's first report. It was top on the list 01 the most likely new birds to be

added to the provincial bird list. There had already been one November I, 1986 at St. Pierre et

Miqueloo.

This report was written on October 12, 1991 belore any references were referred too. The

description was taken mainly from notes written an hour aher the sighting .

1 56

IIEWfWND lANO .1110 ItEPOIIT SfPTEMBER--NOV(M8U 1991

byllOiler lurrows

Thl. p!"oYid to M • very i nteresting fill with I better SJWled of sighting. than usual , Inc luding. Ylried IIllCtion of vireos end Wlrbler. In Sept""r tncI OCtober, II well IS NOY""r.

LOONS, SEABIIOS 00 MOE IDS

There weren't MInf IIInti_ of COMMON lOONS . but • fft! r_ined on freshw.tl!r longer thin \./Sual, with 5 . t Sandy Pond "..r luch_ (Diu). 2.t B.y Bulls lig Pond ( \oM ) on October 20 end one on Windsor L.ke Iltl! I"to NOY""r (JM). Th.r. Wire no reports of PlED-IILLED GREBE for the fi rst !illt for. ~r IIf yl!lrt_ MOlt of the GllEATEI SHEAIIWATER reports In OCtober were of corps .. on the Portug.1 Coye South be.ch (101M), but • f ew dolm Wire blOW! Inshore clo .. to V.lleyfi eld in .id NOYl!IItler (per Clu). Thill birds wert \IreatLy outrurbered by SOOTY SIIEARWATERS, but Locil. reporttd fl!Wl!r thin no"",1 NAil l( SMEAIIWATUS. A WlII·grown NOIITHEII~ FUlKAR ch ick

:::':I(.~:otdth!~~ C;::'~~'~~:~iii~'CSH':·{Tc::..::r~~:';e ~~ ::\~~Ol;~~~ ::sah~r!h~rSr::aisetSer:: winds on OCtober 28 (lMt). p!"~t ll'l\l the usuaL nsh of telephone cells .bout wh.t to do with b i rds fOl..nd in IIlrdena, perking lilts and .hopp1ng 11111 ••

NOIITIIERN "NNETS continued to drift by to lite OCtober , Incluclit'lg In adult off Marti n Point , GMIIP, on OCtober 25 (III) . A fewOOOllLE'CRESTED CORMORANTS were sem .Iong thl South.rn Shorl!.nd .rol.lnd Gari:lo, but there Wlr. na rl!ports of CfltEAT CORMORANTS. BLACK GU ILl EMOTS .urted to .ppe.r off Cape Spe.r in Septl!ll'ber Ind others .... re .1In off Ilir COYI Point ard elsewherl i n OCtober , but t hl NhU'ldrtdsN reported frOll! 8elleYUe Beach in AUiUlt (Gil ) .... r . nat repelted el'lwherl . Two COIMltI HURliES fOU'lCl deed on Portugll Coye South beach on OCtober 20 ( 10M) .... re fotiOWld by good-II l ed flocks of IiYe THICK-llllEO IIJIIRES Ind DOYEKIE$ off Clpe Spe.r on OCtober 28 ( IMt) .

A wtlkened GIIEAT EGIIET WI. posltlYely ldentlfled.t logy lIy an OCtober 1' ,15 (MOb.), but I whit l! Illret or hlron It Port $~rl fre.. L.u OCtober to IIrly NOYe!llber (IT) Wit _t likely. CATTLE EGRET but possibly, j utlglng by the Itt colour , an l_tlJl'l LITTLE BLUE IIUON . \Ie had no rl!pl)rtl o f GllEAT ILUE HERONS .w.y f r_ t he Codroy Villey IorItlt NOYetItler 24 , when one flft! oYer Portug. 1 Cow 1I0id In St . John'. It 10 •••. (\oM )-·it WII likely. bird .Hncatchlng. tc.:od It flr.eu5e.t 3 p ••. (per lB). W •• 1'0 had • • Ightlt'lg of. Y£LtCl./·CIICMlED NIGHT MUON In August .fur Murrlc_lob (RN).

WATUfCM.

NlI!Iiberi of .ott .peel ... lIJIPe.red lower th~ U$lal on thl! I! •• t co.lt. UIIALIA COOSE rurber. wl!rl! r~rted •• low or no,...\ fro. _t .It .... but then were h i;her ruIOtri u the ASAReO uil it'lg. pond in iueh_ (08u) ... It M.rrlcott Pond with 200 on OCtober ] (lG). WI! did get. few S~ ~£SE this hlt: • blu@ phse bird was fn t h. Codroy V.lley on October 10 (IMt. ST) while otherl we rl! whit. b irds . two In thl! H.wkl! Hill . in .id October (per rei). 2 .o..lu end 4 j~ill!S It 11_. on OCtober 19 (liN), end 2 •• t Glenwood in I.u October (per SII) . WOOD DUCKS r_ln. p!"obl_ in st. John' • • with b irds turning up on ponds .t rlnOOII Ind thm &uying for I whH •• Thrl eppelr t o M It I ... t five dnkl!S end two cluck. It IlrlJl! thl. f.ll (MOb.).

GIIEEN- WINGED TEAL .t JIkrdy Pond in st. John'l pelked It 40 on S~tll'llblr 6 (118) .nd the ftock r _ined fllr ly constlnt thlrl WItH IIdy OCtober. Thl!'_ ruaber .... r. r~rted fro. long Pond on Octobe r 14 (101M) and 1I00000000r 15 (Clu). Th. only oth.r toculon IIIntloned WI. Ftr rytard, with 15 on OCtober 20 (101M). Only one Eur •• fan CCMQI TEAL w •• reported this fill •• drlh in pertl.1 IClyps. It Murdy Pond on S~ttri>er 1 (lIB). AMERICAN lLAC( DUCKS did not ~.r to be .it'lgling with other .peell!l II IllUCh II \./SUI I this hll, perhlp$ .n Indlc.tlon th.t food WI' r .. d lly IYIlL lbll!; the highest counu I know of Ire 78. It Ml.Indy Pond on Septerilt!r 10 end 62 .t Quldl Vldl llkl! on NoyBbi!r 9 (liB) .

MAllAROS preferred Kenny's Pond, where the high count. Wire 46 on October 27 Ind 43 on Noyerrber 22 (RB), IlthOUgh th.r. w.r •• few on oth.r frl!lhwlter bodies. Two QADWALL joined the Mundy Pond Hock f rOlll Sept~r 22. with _ bird pr ... nt WItH It lellt OCtober 6 (MOb . ). NOIITHEII~ PINTAIL con\lregltt'd first It Murdy Pond. with 47 on October] (118), M'or • .,yl"ll to Quldi vidi L.ke , with ]9 • IIIOrlth Ilur (RB). The drake MALLARD I(

NOIITHERII PINTAil w •• rl.ldent thrOUlJhout OCtober end NOYenDer It K~y' s Pond and hid at least three fe!llllles forcOfl1)WlY In OCtober (RI) .

Thl only BLUIHoIlllGEO TEAL reported wa •• t MU'Idy Pond frCIII Septeri)er 3 (MOb.), but both wig('on species Wlrl .. en .rOU'lCl town . A .it'lgle AMEIlICAN WIGEON .t IU'Idy Pond on Septtf\t)tr 24 (~K) I.ter appeared in Bowering P.rk (IMt) end p!"obtbly I.ft In .id OCtober, • IIonth beforl .t IllSt three drakes appeared at Long Pond on NOVIIIIbIr UI (I(I(). A peir Wire It O)(m Pond on Noyl'lfber 22 (BJ), tncI • single bird It Burton'. Pond at the end of the ~th ( 10M , . A lone ElJItASIA~ WIGEON WIS wi th its cousin.t Mundy Pond on Sepleri>er 2' (KK) and thm _yed by WlY of Bowerlng Plrk ( IMt) to Quidi Vidi l.ke by I.te OCtober (liB, kK, 1011') . It May h.ye bem. fourth bird .een.t LOI'\II Pond on lIoYeeCJer 18 (I()::) end thl paired blrd.t OJIen Pond on lIoyeri)er 22 (IJ), although flye were .t Vlr,lnl. l.ke NoveaOi!r 28-29 (KK, MP) .

A perty of 12 RING-NECKED DUCKS were.t lIenews on SeptetOer 10 (IIB1, and odd birds were in Sf. Joi'In' s frOll Sept""r 23 to October 27 (MOb.), but the only GIIEATU SCAUP WIS • f_11 .t long Pond on 1I0yetOer 18 (KI:) , It Burton'l Pond on NoyetOer 21 (If'), .t Qu id i Vi d i L.ke the following day (Bp, MP), .nd I t Virginia la~1 lIo~r 28-]0 ( liB , U:, 1tP) . Thlrl WIS .t least Oft(' TUFTED DUCK It Virginia L.ke on ~oytll'lber 30 (BMt et .t.). A f_11 or I_tura lUCK SCOTEII chOie Quidi Vidi L.ke IS Its fishing hOle fro. Oc t ober 29 (loll') t o .t Illst ~oVlllblr 18 (Clu). Three OlDSQUAW Wlrt off C.pe Spe.r on OCtober 111 (RB) tncI the .pecies WIS COImIOI'I off V.I I..,.fllld In .Id 1I00('IIber (plr Clu), but ClM40II EIDERS werl 'Clrce, with just thr('l! off tlpe Speir on lIoyerill'r 17(.'.OP).

100+ COMfoDiI GOlDEIIUES .rrlyed bac~ in Inner IIe_n SOU'lCI, TNIIP, in IIrly h'oyftlOer. with at lust one drake end four f_l. BARROW'S GOlDE NETES repl.cil'l\l th_ on IIOYerilIr 10 (GS). A perty of 22 BUHLEHEALI had p!"lCtded t h_ , Irrlvlt'lg on OCtober 27 (GS).

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TII.r. were no report . of COMMON or RED - BREASTED MERGANSERS ' ''' '1' from the west cant wher, they wert lined ., (01IlII00 by . everll obs,tv.r. , but we did , et . dr.lt . HOODED MERGANSER in f ull pll.lllagelt Gull's Mlrsll, QUIP, on Novet!tler ZO (lID), .,v;!.potilibl. f_l. or i_ture .. I S . t Virgil'll. L.k. on lI oveR'Oer 28 (I(().

IIIDS OF PIEY

OSPREYS "'I' h.ve lingered I IoIftk or '0 . ft er t heI r nonna! aep.rtur. onu in tl'l. SL John'S .re., with I t t.lSt one bird . tlll It Virg il'l l . Like anactober 6 ( R8 ) . A few ... re uill heeding louth on the lIest COlst • WHk t.ter . BALD EAGLES IIer •• l .o~lte ", idrt.pr.ad tll i. fill. u pe<:l.l l y l);rds of the 'ftlr. Two ;lIfI\Itutn It St. PIU\" on Novl!llber 3 (lID) were U"tUSual , 11 1111 ' 1'1 .wIt feeding on. dead !!lOOse It Ramu on OCtober 10 (R tO. TII I , ,," .110 one of our bel t fill . for 1I000THERN HARR IERS with r~rts from .11 .round the island until .t t ... t October J .t H.rr lcott Pond (lG) . Th. only ROUGH-LEGGED IIAIJKS I know of were t hree It st. Paul'. on Novt!lllber 3 (lID), ~rt of a true raptor .f"ration .

IIORTHERN GOSIlAWlS wtlr •• 1'0 rl'i'\ll.rl.,. .Nn on t h. Av.lon PeniMul., incl uding. few birds around St. John'. (MOb . ). Most we,. I_turn but a few _In we,. .110 rtl'pOrted . A I. rll ilh I~ond-.,.ea r accipiter i n St. John'. on Novftbtr 15 10111 Ident ifi ed IS • f_ l . COOPER'S KAW (RI ), but .11 other .Ightlng, were of SHAlP- SMIIIIIED IlAWS_ Two birds .t luch_ In .art.,. Septlflber (Diu) could h.ve been local birds but other we,. obvlOUlly .'grant. , which wtlr •• f .. ture fra. •• rl.,. October to lIovlflber 3 ( II ). Any birds around .fter .i d- No"""r .r. lIk.l.,. wlntarlng bl rds_

IUOUINS were ext r emely COImIOn to early October (HOb.) .nd . t lelS t one N l e is II kelv wlnteri nll in st. John'. t h i s year . Two PEREGRIIiES were It M\.ftty Pond on SeptenOer 29 (RI) .nd three were .t led CLiff t he nex t daV (BMt), with an i_ ture thare on October 3 (RI) . An _It WIIS In the no r t heast par t o f St. John's in the fir s t week of NoYelibe r (RI ) . ",. .1 . 0 had .t 1.lIt l ilI GYRFALCOHS th is fall , the fi rst. dark phase bird It Mundy Pond on Septt!lllber 24 (RI, lCIC), th . lecond. dark I_ture . t Red ClH f on October 3 (Ill. the third 'lI"y phase bird It St . Paut' . on Nov~r 1 with another th.r. on lIovedxr 17.nd . dark phlle bird on Nov~r 23 (11), and • ~l. Ira.,. b i rd at FI_r ' . Cow I.l and on lIovtft!ber " (110) .

SNMOWlSweret.tearrlvlngth h fall,butth'YlpreadthMSe lvesarCM.n:lllOr e t h.nusual. Thefi r lt bi rd WlS .t L'AMe .UII Me.oow. on Novftltler 1 (BB ) , followed by two . t Port .u Choilll (per NO), one .t Sh.llow I.y on Novtriler 4 (ltD) .nd anothlr . t Wn tern Iroot Pond on Novtllber 6 (MO) , t he lame day IS one caused quite •• tl r on West St reet In Corner I rook. (MOb.) . On the ellt c~st , the fir st b ird wal r eported frDIII C.pe Spear arCM.n:l lIov 9 and 10111 Itll l present on 1I0vtflt)er 21 (MP). Fr Olll one bird a t White Hill l on NovR!ltla r 13 ·20 (01', &Mt), t he winds of late 1I0vlfl'btr brought It l ellt four IIOra to t he pol e l lna by Nove!lber 21 COP). Another 10111 .t Capa St . Francll (Doll) . Othlr owl. wer. eithlr Vir.,. scarl:e or vlry lecret l v. , with. IIORTME RN 1lA1JK-0J\. .t Gr. MOmt lI.t l ona l park In .I d OC:tober (lID) the onl.,. rltpOrt r~elvtd.

CAHflllOSAIIORA ILS

Whit. I rec.ivad no rltpOrti of WI LLOW PTARM IGAIIS, I can confi l'll the presence of ROCIC PTAIMIGAN on the pt ltellJ .bov. Western I root pond, CiMNP , on OC:tober 12 and 13 (MIl fide NO ). SPIUCE GIClJSE reports were also lacking , but RUF FEO GROUSE I ... to be recovering fre. the dec l ine of t wo years .go . This tillle of vur , I UlUII Il .,. h.va IIv.r .I ""'ERICAN COOTS to rltpOrt , but not this year--the only one w.s one .t Qul d l Vldi Leke on Noveftlbtr 27 (RB, ICIC ). Th. only othar r.U i d w.1 SORA, wlth .t l east one b i rd on t he lin l e isl.nd.t MI.'Idy Pond on Septllllbtr 6 (RB).

SMORU IROS

Th is Is the rltpOrt thlt usUlitty h.s DOdln of . hortbl rds, but , U"if or tl.nltely, I had car problems .nd few Ihoreblrd s urveys. Other obsarv.rs tend onl y to rltpOrt rariti es or out· of·se.son birds, 10 you'll have to let by with. lot tess t han USUIIL. Th. belt of the pl overs lollS • NOfItHERN LANING blown over the Atl.ntlc OC:ean t o Maddo~ Coy. on Nov 10 ( \0lil ). IlACIC- BELLlEO PLOVEIS were COllfl'lDn .nd widespread, with 80 .t St. PIUl'1 on OC:tober 26 (HO) wo r th. IIItfltlon . The bas t pl.l: . to s n LESSER GOLDE N·PLOVERS tllil fall 101 .1 HI.'Idy Pond. The hilhtlt COU"lt , 85, wes .t the end of September (RB , 10M, BHt); j us t one b i rd r emained on October 16 (RI). Other locstlons repor ted wert the RIby line pond, Ceppilh. yden I lrren, .nd flying over Kent'S Pond. I didn' t let any totall fro. C.pe R.ce·-St. Shott's thl . year- -dld the "Grllt ElkllnO Curlew KU"it" 90 the .. ev of the hkl_ Curlew thl l year? On t h. wtls t coalt , there were 12 It St. P.ul's In Isa Septtft!ber (HO). The usual ~rtles of ICI LLOEER were It Rt.Oy l ine pond in Augua t and September (MOb.) and .t least one bird was It Mundy pond on SeptetJCer 16 (Itl). Tile only IIWSOII IAIi CiOOVIT WIS .t St . paul's In I.te Septeaber (MOl.

GREATER YELLOWlEGS .ppeared t o be lell p lent iful than usual, .l t hough I h.ve to base...,. Comner\U on this and other conrmon I horebi rds on personal uperienc. II few people lent l1li r eports. The grutest I1I..I'l'bers were in Auguat, and the _~i_I:OU"It fo r til. reU of the fa ll was 22 I t MU"idy Pond on Septeri:ler 9--there were still t hree birds present on Or;tober 21 (II ). There were only three birds It Renews on SeptenOer 10 (RI) end OC:tober 20 (11M ) . L.te bi rds were . t Ou ld l Vld l L.ke, lurton' s Pond .nd Kenny ' s Pond t o August 10 (~I). At leest four LESSER YELLOWlEGS vi s ited Mundy pond U"itit Sept""r 9 with .nothe r bird on Septellber 29 (Itll, .nd there lollS ana bird .t Renews on Sept~r 10 (II) . SPOTTED SANDPIPERS lel ve our shores r el.tively early. so one It ML.A"dV pond on Septl!l\'btr 6 is the onty r~ord I lI.ve for the peri od.

Noteworthyeasterne" Included . juvenile .. Ie RUFF .t MI.'Idy pond from Septelfber 4 (lMt) to Septe«ber 10 (OP); wh.t was pres l.IIIably the s_ bi rd lollS .Iso present Septtllber 22·30 (II). Even IIIOre exciting !.las whet Ippelrtd to be • juvenile SKARp · TA ILEO SANDPiPER .t the s _ l oc:ltlon on Septentler 24 (II)--this would be the fi rs t provlnc ' ll r~ord. The wes t responded wi th s BUFF · BREASTED SANOPIPER.t Kelligre>ls on Septe!lber 2-3 (GB., MP) and .nother .t Mundy pond on Septlll'ber 22 (II) . There were . l so two different STIlT SANDPIPERS .t HI.'Idy pond, an adu l t to Septtft!be r 1 (MOb. ) .nd • juvenil e t o I t least Septe!lbe r 30 (RI)' PECTORAL SANDPIPERS wert also r elular t y seen.t MU"idy pond frOll I.te August t o . t lelSt OC:tober 21--the h ighest I:ount lollS 5. (RI). Our usual lupply of tlJ)OY TURNSTOHES were It Riverhead, but. COU"l t of 40.t Kelli\lrews in early Septen-ber COP) was l,ftISuaL. There were. few.t lenews In Septelfber , and f our It i ll t here on OCtober 22 (RI) . on the other hend, lED ICIIOT wer. I carce th is f.lI, or perh.ps pr esent IS usua l but U"ireported, with t wo at Kelligrews on SeptenOer 3 and ana .t Cape I royte on Septmbar 10 (RI).

158

on hPt:~II~~~~ "::Jef~hr=:~rn!°~I~t=r ~eil(~~:S .~.f)~\I~r~:~fr~I:~I:t fR-:;.;...·St~~f! f:~f!.!Zr.!~~~ e ".r Cow on Sept..oer 10 (liB) proved th.t they were el.~ere. too. tile oolY -..cIdcty ... "gins It Ko.rdy Pond were perfeet for CC»I4C* SIIIPE, 10 Ccx.lU 11'1 the low ttens In Srpleaber (MOb.) were not surprising··two lite birds r_lned on Oetober " (ItB). JolnlOi tile.- wert I t~ SHOIIT-BILLEO O~ITCHERS IrItii Septerrber 10 (ItB). OUMLIN were .110 coru.plcl.lOUl thll ye.r Nlth ,Ingles .t 11-.. •• nd Bur Cove on Srpteneer 10 (R8), end • veritable Invilion .t MUI'Idy Pond where II IIIIIllY II , ix birds were IftfI on vl,ln frOM Septeriler 16 to October 16 (RB). our OI'Ily ph.l.rope of the period 10111 • REO PIlAL .... OPE IHldng sllilar fro. the winds .t C.pt Spur on October 28(,"0.

Till "PH9" .'grltton d idn't reid, epic: proportl_ but the -..d .t Mundy Pond attracted .t leut ]] SEMIPALMATED SANOPIPfRS on Septl!fl't)er 29, with. few Lingering ~tll October 16 (RB). lCeltigrews had two on Sept.cer 22 (II), end there were 17 .t ._ end 11 .t ne.rby 8ur Cove on S~tll!!lbll!r 10 (R8). LUST SAIIOPIPERS t ......... rli.r WId in t"l •• dtetlle flockl. but • few w.r •• t MIrody Pond """tit Septitfnber 2] (II). Th. COllflOntIt of our l.ur·I ...... lng Ihorebirds. the wttITE·RI..W'EO SAIIOPIPER. Ippured.t M1.rdy Pond on Septll!laber 4, pe.k..:! to 20 birdt on October 9 end there wer. Itill 11 bir. pr •• ent on OCtober 21 (RB). A #tw were .1.0 It._ end Betr Co ..... on Septll!llbtr 10 (RI). with one It lCelllgrewt on SepteriM!r 22 (RB). On the welt coast. 40 It St. Paul'l In l.t. Sept"'r ~I. belide 160 th.re on OCtober 26 (HO).

QJlLSAIIDTE.IIS

A regul.r f"tur. of the fill .nd eerly winter II the buildup of the CClMI«)N BLAcr'HEAOEO GUll flock in St. Jonn'l. FrOlll three It OtJidi Vldl L.ke on Septtft'ber ~ (RB), rurber. increased to 45 Of! OCtober ]0 (II) Ind 101 on lIo"""'r 19 (iMt). fl ..... Mk.ilu and fl .... e i_hlr" Joined the shorebirds .t -..ddy Mindy Pond Of! October 21 (RI). Joining thl birds fHeling .t st. John" h.rbour on lIo .... taDer 17 10111 .n i_ture BOtIAPA.1E·S GULL (ltB), rod flying by Middle Cewe on wOYeIIber 151M' IWI IliJlt LITTLE Wll (1CiC).

At lust three MEW QJLLS -» it to st. Jonn'l this flit. A t_ adult, dcM.btless • returllH, .rrived .rOl.l"ld Sept..oer 29 end tl ItlLl 1t0l.l"ld. A flrst-wlnt.r bird WI' pr .. ent It OtJldl Vldl lIke October 10'16 (.B), end •• econd·wlnter bird followed it free lIovtriJlr 14 (INt). .IIIG-8ILLED CUll I'IUIOer. apptlred lower th.., usu-I--th. Quldi Vldl Hock rose fr0fll54 on Septe!!btr 7 to 7101'1 Septtri>er 29, fell to the low thirties in early OCtober, r •• ched 56 on OCtober 16 and then quickly dropped to 7 on lIo .... et!tler 9 .rod .utled It .n adult •• lecond-wlnt.r bird end It I ... t two l_turH in I.te lIo .... .txr (II).

Our larger IUIlI wert .1 "' .... 1 w.ll repr .. ."ted. The highest reported cOU'\t of MERRING GULLS It Quldl Vldl Like IMI 800+ on OCtober 13 (.1), with 212. GREAT ILAtt-IACICED GUllS there on OCtober ]0 (RB). An tdult LUSER .ua-.... cuo GUll 10111 It PI ....... t .... l\le on 1I00000000r 17 (1:', OP). one of four wintering thil yelt--th. other thr_ wert on the ICllbrlde fI.lds .round the 1_ til.e (INt). An adult at st. John" h.rbour Of! No .... lI!IIber

~~i~:· c!S~~::.~ 25·~to~:g~ be~kl=t~~! =i:,!~,~~ ~~:i'~~~·~l .... ~·~y. ~:~:~':R~;~UC~:L~~L~~~;Ww~eS!t • both locnlor. with th_, .Ithough, dolln or 10 IMtI off CIpI SpI,r on OCt~r 26 (8Mt). IIYlbetS.t st. JoI\n'l h.rbo!.lr r.lChed four dolenOr 10 by IIOYlllbtr 24 (.'. liS) .

Th. only t.rn rlJllOrtl _r. of f_lty gr~ of CCMOI TERN.t lCelllgrNS \&"Itlt Se-ptll!llber] endn Capt Broyl. on SepttfltJer 10, plus tllO.t lCeltlgrews on Sept..cer 22 (I'), end. ,ingle fllllity group of AICTIC TE.NS It CIpt 'royl. on Sept""r 10 (R').

DOVES TO CREEPERS

MClJIlilNG DOVES were not .. COllt!lOl'l II us .... l. but th")' wert widespread wit h records of small nullbers in Deteber end 1I0000000r frOli GInder (liS), GIOYtrtown (GS), M.r. lIy (DC). Musgtl .... e ".rbour (DC) .nd Buthans (OBu), plus I count of 11 .t lurgeo on NOYlllbtr 24 (Ill, JO). In st. John". eivnt n Fei Idian Ground$ on No .... edloer l (R') WlS the high cOU'\t I"I'1tll I flock of 11+ IMI seen It M\rIdy Pond on No .... lI!IIber 22 (MOb.). Kount Petri ~r~ll<l th.t wlth.t I ... t 45 tog.ther on the Lester Ln f.,.. on No .... etCer 24 (RB). The firu breeding record fo r SOlIe tl_ w.a It Gander in tlrty Septet!tler (NS). The only BlACIC-BILLED CUC~OOS were.t "OI.I"It Pearl in early OCtober (per Wtt) ,rod It KIIldy Pond on OCtober 9 (RB). but YELLOIJ'BIUEO CUCKOOS were conmon around St. John's .nd.t ... r Coye Point frOlll IIrty Septll!ll'ber to .Id OCtober (MOb.) ... lite bird WII .1000g the Virginia RI .... er on OCtober 27 (RI).

A CHIMNEY SWIfT It C~ $pt.r on Septe.ber 10 (RI) pro .... ldId I r.tI hll record. but swallow. were KIth bett.r reported. A few T.EE SVALLlM were in ICltbl'iOe on Septll!ll'ber 21 (HOb.) ,nd It KIIldy Pond on Se-pufloer 21 (101.). end IIIrl joined by It t ... t one CLIff SIIALLOII It both loc.tions. In addition. ,i .. Cliff Swallows flew o ..... r Long Pond on Detober ] ( •• ). BARN S~ALlM ItlO Ippeared.t both lCilbrlde Ind M~ Pond (KOb. ), end thtr. were .110 BAIlIC S~ALLOIoIS It lCilbride .nd I PURPLE MARTIN It KIIldy Pond (MOb.). Other ;nsecti .... orlS wert . r.r. GaUT CRESTED fLYCATCHER .t Bur Co ..... Point Of! October 17 (BKt) end.t least one EASTERII 1C11I(j81RD in the IIhlu Hills on Sept""r 7 (III). Slnglt 8ELTED ICIIIGFISME.S were noted It ~elligrews on Septenber 3 (RI), It BMllint E .. t on Sept""'r 5 (JC , WII), Ind It lCenny" Pond and Long Pond Of! October 6 (RB). plus the usual birds .Iong R.,.,I .. , Vlrglnl. 1M W.urford .i .... er. (MOb.).

IIIOItTKE.1I FlICICUS tppt.red In good I'IUIbtrl In Septeeber end urty October .nd a 5Kond w ..... e .ppeilred titer In October. SI. were leen togethtr in the White Mill' on No .... tllber 9 (RB), .fter which IIIOst reports were frOll St. John" iU.If. The but woodpecker lollS our flrlt COf!firlllll!d REO'HEADED IoIClOOPECKER .t a feeder in the W.t.rford V.lley on October 21 (SW)--lt IUyed tong enough to be Iten by most st. John's birGers the s_ day. A pl.rcing Ihrlek heltd In the .r .. the week befort Will likely this bird (liB). OUr only BlACIC-SACICED and TIUlEE-10ED WOCOPEttER reports wert frc. the M.rten Pond .ret of weltern Nellfoo.n:llind i" August (HH, iKt).

.LOE JAYS IMr. widely reported. il'lCtuding .. ytt.1 .i9r'"t floch. but there were no IIItntiOfl$ of GRAY JAYS In the St. John'l .rel this fllt. Both 80IIEAL AIID BLACIC'CAPPED CMICICAOEES Ippelr to ha .... e had good breeding

~=~ l~lfr:t It; t~~:: ::::'t~e: 1C~~~I!h:ltihl~~in !:~[: s':;t~'ro (~:;:r~!1 ~:~R~S~ i~~~~~: e Co ..... I" .id IIOI'Ith (U). Ind singte birds in OCtober .t Portugll Cove (\.1M) .nd lIhite Hill, (liB) . TMere were .Iso BlOWN CJlEEPERS It Grllt 111.nd. Witle .. by. Of! SepttllOer 5 (Wtt) •• t Kiddie Cove In lIIid Septtlltler CU) .nd .10f!1I the .ennl ... i .... er on October 6 (RI).

15 9

e WRENS TO VIREOS

•

•

llle only WINTER WIlEN WI . It long Pond on OCtober l (RB), but BLUE-GRAY GNU CATCHERS wert .. ioely r eported from Red ctlff In Septer!ber (IQ).) .ndAtder Al ley ~tll OCtober 4 (B"t et al.). COtOEN-CROInIED ([IICtEfS seemed to be tOlfrllOOer thin U$u.t, but few RUBY -CROI.IIrIED (INGlETS ~lIed thrOUgh, perl'leps indi Citil'lg tI'lt our poor urly I lmII8r welther dec:INte-d the breeding popo,Iletion. A lite HERMIT tHRUSH .. 85 at Bear Cove Point on October 2~ (II), but the only other thrushtt wert AMERICAN ROBINS whIch ~ned through in OCtober .nd tllM r •• ppeared In St. John'. in good r'IUI'ber . In llUllovenber (MOb.). The only GRAY CATBIRD .. as the bird that ._r ed It Ramel­·It w • • l.st seen on Septtl!ber 19 (RII), but there wert WORTNERII MOCKINGBIRDS along the Vir"in;. River on OCtober 27 (III) and aLong Remit. liver on lIove!lber 10 (BMt). AMERICAN PIPITS remaine-d in St. Jonn" ....,tll It lelst t.te 5epte!ItJer, but the only NORTHERN SHRIKES llerl! I hllf·donn birds leM on the Nor thl!rn PMlnsul1 frOll .id Octot.r to elrly Nov"'r (lID). A few CEDAR WAX'oIINGS ~rl r'POrted In October, I!nd I f .. lly group of 5 llere In the Clrpl!li." ROoId Ir .. on lIov __ r 2 (DB).

Vireos Bet I pl!rlgrlph to th_Ilvn thll t l_ , .. Inly beuuse of the uptoi n of Brucl! H.tt lvi,h I!nd nu Tingley on the WHt toalt. on October 9'10, they hMf "vlr.l SOlIlARY A.WO RED - EYED VIREOS, • PHILADELPHIA VIREO and our flrlt provlrclll WHIlE · nED VIREO et Che,,~ Prov lndl t Perk on October 9. AI.ou es good wes ourthlrdYELLOIJ'TIIR~TEOVIREDetWhlteHllllonOctober10(Ri), whith Bru::euw twodaYI liter f or h is fifth vlr.o of the yeer, .llIing only the \lMBLlNG VIREO which ,.iled to 'PJlI!er thll fill. There ~re 1110 sevl!rli ReOeyl!l .t Red Cliff .nd B .. r Cove Point (MOb.), • Sollury .t Bowering Pl rk on SepttfltJer 14 (8HO, .nd Phildlphlas It Belr Cove Point on SepttfltJer 14 (JP, JW) .nd Alder Alley on SepttfltJer 16 (RB).

WARBlERS

Thi,WIIS ar'IOther good fill forwlrbll!rI, with.toul of 26 species reported int hethreelllOf'lth, . S~I!rIL .rrived .. rlllr or Il!ft t.ter th."usUiI. AIIIong the r .. t rlrities , lie hid • BlUE , WIN GEO IoIARBtER.t Be.r Coy. Po int on Sept __ r 14 (JP, JIoI), I PRDTMONDTART IWtBlER In the White Hills on Septeft)er 6 ( IMt), , ... Ie TCMlSENO'S WARBlElt 110t'III the Rem\" River fro. No'lftbtr 9 (Ii) to .t Il!ast Novl!llllber 30 (IMt), Ind In i_ture ICEtnUCU WARBtER It Chine. coy. Provlrclll Plrk on Septl!llllber 2 (KK, IMt, JW). AI_st I' good llerl! I NASHVillE IWtIlER Ilong thl! RIfY\I" River and by Reeves PIKe Nov""r 9 ' 30 (MOb.), thrl!e NOftTHERN PARUliS et Alder AILI!Y on hptellbl!r 16 (R8), Iingi. b lra. In October and then et I .. ,t three ORANGE-CRCMlED WARBLERS frOli Itovl!llber 10 (MOb.), I BLACK'THROATEO Itue IoIARIlER It R .... SeptMbtr 29-30 (RN), I totll of It 1.lIt 12 PRAIRIE WARBLERS ercx.n:l St. John'l and 110t'III the Southern Shore fro. Sept"'r 2 to .Id October (MOb.) I!nd I Iingi. INle ItOl\i the Reml .. River on Noveft)er 10 (Ri), I problbte PINE WARBLER .t Hobill! in urly SeptttrOer (If f ide RB) I!nd 16.J1l I_turl! 110t'III thl! Reml .. River frOll! Movl!llber 2J (IMt), CAMADA WARB LERS It Alder Alley on Septen*>er 1 (IXt.t .1.), B .. r Cov. Point on Septl!llber 2 (KK, IMt, JIoI) Ind Red Cliff on SeptenCi!r 13 (RB), and YElLOIJ-BREASTED CHATS It Bl!lr Coy. Point on Septeri)er 2 (KK, IMt, JW), thl! Cadroy VII ley Ottober 9'10 (8"t, "'t), BI.ekhl!ld in .id OCtober (lMt) and lOl'l8 Pond on NovttrOer 15 (tctc).

tit. detH for our brHdlng .peel .. Wlr. poorly reported, but those I know of erl lENNESSEE WARBLER Septtlllber 10 (RB); YELLOIJ WARBlER October 11 (RB); MA<>NOlIA WARBLER Septl!llber 16 (RB); YELLCW'RlJfI!PED WARBLER NOVI!IIber 24 (MOb.); BlAC('THR~TED GREEN WARBLER Novl!llber]O (MOb.); PALH IoIARBlER Movt!\lber 20 (DP); IlACKPOLl WARBtER Septl!lltler 16 (R8); BLAC(-AII(HIHlTE IIAlI.ILER Novll!bcr 29 (IMt)"'lh; birds were "en Novl!ftt)er 24 (MOb.); AMERICAN REDSTART October 17 (Mt); OVENBIRD Novl!llber 29 (IMt); NORllIERN VATERTHRUSH Septl!ftt)er 30 (NM); HWIINING WAlBLER (141) Septellbl!r 14 (JP, oN); CCMION YElLMMROAT October 17 (RB, IMt); .nd WILSON 'S WARBLER Nove!lDl!r 17 (JW) . SOlIe of thneblrds .. y.tt~t to overwinter.

lAHACERSlOICTEItiOS

We hid tllll SCARlet lAMAGERS this flit, thl! flrU It Red Cliff on Septt!rOer ]0 (8)lt) Ind thl! ,I!tand.t G.llow'l Cove on the Iltl! datI! of Movl!ftt)er 2 (CB, JP). A ROSE 'BREASTE D GROS8EAK was .t \/tIlte Hills October 4-10 (RI, "'t) .nd w.s joined the flrU day by. BLUE CROSBEAK gorging itself on blackberri es (BM). There were also IIv.r.t INtlIGO BUNTINGS .t Clpe Spear and .101'18 the Southern Shorl It Bl!ar COile Point ("Ob.) Ind " obite (TF). A lingle CLAY-COLORED SPARRCW WII below the \/tIlte Hltl' on October 27 (RB), but th l!rl! were no reports of CHIPPING SPARROIIS. Crill IperrOllll were repruentld by the lblqultous SAYA NN "H SPARROW .nd by I colorful SHARP'TAltED SPARROIJ It HI.W'Idy Pond frOlll October 11 (11.t 11.). A fl!w WHITE · t HROATED, SONG AHD SWA"P SPARROIIS lingered into IIU NOVlllCl!r In St. John' t, .10I\i with the usUlI rox SPARRCWS wh ich took Idvantl!ill! of .. ltd .... ther to ling to .. rly Novflriler (1M). A flock of nine LAPLAND LONGSPURS at Hundy Pond on SeptenCi!r 29 (RB) WIre I l kl!ly thl! 10 II!I!I'I It Clpe Speir on October 4 ("'t) .. tvo were there on Ottobl!r 111 (RB). SNOW BUNTINGS wl!r. widely reported in October, with 64 It Cepe Speir on October 111 (R8) thl! highest count, but they were sClrce IrO!.ndSt. Jonn' s in Novl!ftt)er .

The only DICKClSSElS were .t Red Cliff October 11 - 12 (R8, KK ) .nd at RI!nI!~ In «lid Oc:tober (JP) . A Ilngll! 8080LIMK It MIrdy Pond on OCtober 16 (RB) WII I.u, an::! I juvenile BRCMI-HEADED CC70/9IRO in Cander was • rlrl! breeding rKord (NS), but only OI'II! CCI'IMON GRACKLE It tupper Street, St. John" on Sl!ptl!llbl!r 22 (RB) represented I low count for b llCkbirds. Orioles werl! ft,ICh better reprl!sented, with our first eonfirllll!d OftCHARD OItIOl.EIt Reactlff in LateSl!ptenber(IMtl!t.t.)poss iblyrtmlining~tectedl6'ltil October 17 when a bird with I !ijl'l!l!!'II!r back, ponlbly If tel' IIIOUlting, WIS ieI!!'! In the same location (R8). NORTHERN ORJOLES were widelprl!ld 1r0l.ftl St. JoI'ln' I , though not COImIOfl, in Septl!llber.nd OCtober. and scattered in NovenCi!r, with I i'll! IllttwoItHa~rILlneonNovenCi!r2'(RB).

fiNCHES

PINE GROSBEAKS flilid to Nke.,.. .. nult on St. JoI'ln'l thil flit, althou!ijh I f ell were seen throughoul the period, but there wer. -are cron bllli reported with conel Irl! abundant for thl! winl er. REO CROSSBILLS wl!re In Pippy Park on October 6 (18) an::! In thl! White Hili, October-Movl!llber (RB, OP), with 11 Ilong thl! Bear Cove Point rold on October 22 (RI). Floch of IoIHItE,WINGED CROSSiILLS ,,*re .ore widesprl!ld. with ]~ •• Iongside Larry'l BOIl on October 6 (RI) I!nd 15 In two floch ne.r Renews on Oc:tober 22 (RB).

160

PU!tPLE FINCH flocks r_ined .... y frcn feeders for the MOst ~rt. illthOU!lh there were Hocks st.tttre-d .rco..ndthec:ltyinNovelllber.~thes_"lStrUl!forPIIiESISCIIIS··thet"intflockwas 150 inche\ltlite

~~I~t:"~id(:;~r A(D~II:::r=:I~~,e ~;~N~~i~~$in.~~=r s-;;!e~t ;"~o!=r'~!1 B~:;)~o~tOti;et :~ _ detil'lite ,Igtltlne .. II one It II feeder in Gander OJril'lSl Novelber (lIS). fell COHHOII AEOPOLLS had COIW south by tau lIov...c.r •• 1 though. flock of 10 at i(efV'ly's Pond on N~r 15 ron to IS Ollil" the ne~t few cU.ys (R8). EVENING GROSIUICS fOlorld plMty of wild seeds this hll , with the only flock r~rte-d frOlll Pippy hrlc fr.,. NovHlber 15 (Clu).

Ceorllil " .. nel (Gil), Don Ilrton (01), Bruce 8rMllory (8.), Chris Brown (C8), R09er Burrows (R8 ), Ct ... eree Burry (Clu) , 01_ lurtort (08u), Mike Burzinslci (M8), Dome lutler (008), Don Collins (DC), Hank Oeich"","" (HO), JNI'V'Ioe Oeic:n-.n (JO), Tor fosneu OF), la" Coudie (Ie ), Holly Hall .... (MM), BtrMrd Jackson (8J), lCen ICnowles (!CICl, Paul L1rtwllar (Pll, .ruce "activist! ('"t), J_t "ontll~eeh i (Jill, 111111.,. "onleYlllceh i (lIMl, Richard Northcott (RII), .rlf'da P'rMntllr UP), Miklll Pa,--"ur (MP), DOU!iI Phllian (DP), Sylvia Phllian (SPl, John Pratt (JP), Nick Soper (NS), Crllil Stroud (CS), Stu Tingley (ST), lorM Torraville (IT), and John !Jells (J1J). MOb •• _ny obser .... rs.

After last season I s request for records, Roger reports that he is

getting lots of telephone calls to advise him of rare species which

are being seen. This is very welcome information, of course. We

are still not getting much insight into the occurrances of the

moderately unusual species , however. Species like Cedar Waxwing

and Brown Creeper, and ALL the Woodpeckers, Swallows , Flycatchers,

Hawks I Shorebirds, and Owls , should be reported at least in the

form of regular written summaries. Also , late dates for otherwise e COIMlOner species are of inter est. For instance, when did you last

see a Fox Sparrow or Osprey this Fall? Without information like this,

the records are incomplete and maybe even misleading.

The Christmas Counts are now upon us, and depending on the

printing schedule at the University they may be over when you get

this issue. If not, I hope you have a good time and see lots of

birds. If so, I hope they were fun. In any case, here I swishing

all of you a happy, healthy, and safe Holiday Season. Merry

Christmas , and Happy New Year!

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