ATLANTIC PROVINCES & ST. PIERRE ET MIQUELON 
Boat owners at Shediac, New Brunswick illegally attempted to displace a Common 
Tern colony next to a marina by covering it with a large net in early May 2009 before 
the birds returned (here shown 27 May). The colony of about 500 pairs was on a barge 
being used as a breakwater. After a great deal of effort by local conservationists, the 
netting was removed in early June, and the terns immediately settled back in. Photo- 
graph by Stuart Tingley. 
American Coots near Churchill Falls, Labrador 
4 Jul was most unexpected (FS, GP) and may 
indicate breeding. The species breeds in simi- 
lar habitat in the Yukon and Alaska. Observa- 
tions of a pair of Sandhill Cranes at Hampton 
Marsh, NB from early Jun through at least 5 Jul 
(Kevin Roy) raise the possibility of breeding in 
that province. 
American Oystercatcher has yet to expand 
its breeding range in the Region from C.S.I., 
but a prospector was found at the other end of 
the province, at Canso 24Jun-20Jul (TK). At 
the limit of their breeding range, nesting Pip- 
ing Plovers were found on the Isthmus of 
Miquelon, SPM 1 Jul (LJ) and at Gros Morne 
N.P, NF 23 Jul (DW) — to the delight of a him 
crew from Belgium at the latter site. An Up- 
land Sandpiper seen on a logging road near 
Mt. Mitchell, Northumberland, NB 4 Jun was 
certainly out of place (Kevin Fraser); the 
species has declined markedly as a breeder in 
the province over the past 20 years (M.B.B.A.). 
A few Willets breed in the Stephenville Cross- 
ing area of w. Newfoundland, but this sum- 
mer, the species made a great leap eastward in 
that province. A pair with 2 young was found 
at Frenchman’s Cove on the Burin Pen. in Jul 
(Allan Nolan), while a single bird was present 
throughout the period at Renews, NF (DS), 
about 80 km s. of St. John’s. A flock of 40 Rud- 
dy Turnstones at Big Wabush L., Labrador 
City 5 Jun (LS, GP) was an unprecedented 
number for spring in the Region. Long-billed 
Dowitcher made a few early appearances, with 
one at Harden’s Pt., H.R.M. 18 Jul (MK) and 2 
at Machias Seal L, NB 20 Jul (Ralph Eldridge). 
The highest count of Red Knot was 27 at 
Maisonette Dune, Gloucester, NB 2 Jun (RD), 
one of which had been banded in Tierra del 
Fuego, Argentina 10 Nov 2006. Amazingly, it 
had also been present at 
Maisonette 3 Jun 2008. A 
Wilson’s Phalarope was 
found near Churchill Falls, 
Labrador 3 Jul (FS, GP), at 
least 800 km n. of its near- 
est known breeding area in 
cen. New Brunswick, 
which raises the possibility 
of nesting in that area. 
GULLS THROUGH 
ALCIDS 
Fair numbers of second-cy- 
cle Bonaparte’s Gulls sum- 
mer annually in Chaleur 
Bay in n. New Brunswick, 
as indicated by a count of 
160 in Bathurst harbor 13 
Jun (ST). Two migrant 
Sabine’s Gulls, an ad. and a 
second-cycle bird, were noted in the Grand 
Manan Channel, NB 9 Jun (Roger Burrows). A 
fairly new colony of about 500 pairs of Com- 
mon Terns nesting at a marina in Shediac, NB 
caused quite a stir when the marina owners 
covered the nesting site (an old barge) with 
netting in late Apr before the birds returned in 
late May (ST). After much lobbying and nega- 
tive publicity, the marina owners relented and 
removed the netting in early Jun, before the 
birds abandoned the site. Efforts will be made 
to lure the birds to a nearby breakwater in the 
spring of 2010, where it is hoped they will not 
defecate on sailboats in the marina — the main 
reason given for the attempt to drive the 
colony off. Great and South Polar Skuas were 
said to be “present, but scarce” in the Orphan 
Basin, some 560 km e. of St. John’s, NF 27 Jul 
(BMt). Small numbers of Long-tailed Jaegers 
were migrating there on the same date, while 
one off Harden’s Pt., H.R.M. 18 Jul was much 
rarer (MK, CS). 
Unusually large numbers of Dovekies were 
found in Jul, with reports book-ended be- 
tween 10+ at Cape Anguille in w. Newfound- 
land 11 Jul (LG), and one to 3 birds at sever- 
al sites along the Atlantic cost of Nova Scotia 
and into the mouth of the Bay of Fundy 7-22 
Jul. This likely represents a flight of failed 
breeders from w. Greenland (EM) rather than 
winter holdovers. A thorough census of the 
Common Murre colony at Grand Columbier 
Island, SPM 1 Jul was encouraging, with 2753 
birds counted (RE). A single Razorbill was in- 
vestigating possible nesting sites at Pokeshaw 
L, Gloucester, NB 26 (BW) & 27 Jul (ST) but 
was not welcomed by the resident Double- 
crested Cormorants. The nearest nesting 
colonies are off the Gaspe coast of Quebec. A 
count of 3619 Razorbills at Grand Columbier, 
SPM 1 Jul (RE) was termed “an incredible 
number.” 
DOVES THROUGH FINCHES 
Single White-winged Doves were found at 
Clarenville, NF 27 Jun (Pauline Drove) and 
Woods Harbour, NS 8 Jul (Dorothy 
Cameron). Black-billed Cuckoos nested in 
good numbers in the Maritime provinces, 
while one was found dead far e. at Ferryland, 
NF 17 Jul (Jim Tuck). After last winter’s big 
flight of Snowy Owls, several young birds re- 
mained in the Region throughout the sum- 
mer, such as one at Bathurst, NB 7 Jun (ST) 
and another at Buctouche Dune, NB 15 Jun 
(Don & Dorca Pellerin). Several were also re- 
ported on the Magdalen Is. at the same time 
by a birding tour group (Tony Beck). Whip- 
poor-will is a bird of the past in the Region, 
seldom reported in recent years, so one call- 
ing near Charlottetown, PE 1 Jun was very 
unusual (Roberta Palmer). A Chimney Swift 
near Churchill Falls 3 Jul (FS, GP) was one of 
very few records for Labrador. A male Yellow- 
bellied Sapsucker excavating a nest hole at 
Goose Bay 4 Jun was a hrst for Labrador 
(BMt, CJ), while a female at Eddie Cove, 
G.N.P 10 Jun was the first in spring at that lo- 
cation in more than 20 years QG). 
A species listed as “Threatened” in Canada 
by COSEWIC, Olive-sided Flycatcher was 
found to be fairly common in suitable habitat 
near Bathurst, NB during the period, with den- 
sities of up to two pairs per square kilometer 
(ST). There was also a general increase in re- 
^ A The tour operators who visit the Bird Is., Victoria, C.B.I. report that the Black-iegged Kittiwakes there (1400 pairs) 
^ ilfailed to nest successfully this year and left the colony a month early. The culprits were 60+ Bald Eagles, as Blake May- 
bank related, "loitering about both islands, eyeing the young kittiwakes and cormorants. This concentration of eagles is most 
unusual and suggests that their regular fare, larger fish, were not available to them. The Razorbills did manage to get their 
young fledged and off the colonies, but as they nest within rock crevices and burrows, they were out of the reach of the ea- 
gles, who are now staking out the entrances to the puffin burrows, preventing the puffins from entering to feed their young. 
This unusual behavior of the eagles does indeed seem to have been due to lack offish: a fisheries biologist told me that her- 
ring and mackerel left the area of the Bird Islands early this year, herring into the Bras d'Or Lakes and mackerel into the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence, creating a food shortage." Elsewhere, a kittiwake colony with 214 nests at Cape Miquelon, SPM 12 Jul (RE) 
was said to be "dwindling." 
VOLUME 63 (2009) • NUMBER 4 
565 
