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Publicalion Mail Registration #8302 ISSN 0710-4847

NEWFOUNDLAND NATURAL mSTORY SOCIET'{ QUARTERLY

THE

OSPREY Volume 2S,Number 2 • September 1994

CONTEt'ITS Charlie Horwood 1925-1994 Wild Things Scholarship SpaWtl aDd Run!

Letten: Fellow Bird Lover Rose Blancbe Hydro Electric CeDlral EovironmcIllII Association Hydro Electric Debate

Articlcs:Hotching Success of Common Eider Eggs By Ltroy Mtlco/f Black BrarRestarcf!

54 55 56 57 58 60 62 ..

by Al4sdai, M. Veitch 71 Nrnfoundland Grass-ofPamassu.s lOS by Htnry Mann Naturalists DiLlry by Fyue Shuhood 112

Birding; Bird CountS 80 Spring MigntioQ (1994) 89 St. Pierre &. Miquclon Nesting Season (1994) 98 St. Piem: &. MiqueloD Common ChaffInch 109 Harlequin Duck 11S Sons Sparrow 122 Winlc r Waterbird IlSC of Spillway 123 Ravens & FoxC.l and Higbway TraffIC Victims 126 Atlantic Ayway Waterfowl &aDding 123

Published Quarterly by the Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

p,o , Box 101 3, St. John 's, Newfoundland Ale 5M3

THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

PO. Box 1013, St. John 's , Newfoundland , Ale 5M3

The Osprey is a journal of natural history for Newfoundland and Labrador and adjacent regions. It is published quarterly by the Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and distributed to society members. The subscription amount is included in membership fees.

Editorial Information: All items for publication should be sent to the Editor whose address appears below, or to the society address given above. Major articles, notes, anecdotal items, interesting observations, sketches, tables and graphs concerning all aspects of natural history will be accepted. Originals cannot be returned. Letters to the Editor and Correspondence on matters of environmental concern are welcome 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 printing and mailing costs, all items will be printed in such a way as to reduce the number of pages and weight of each issue. This a.lJows two alternativeII:

1. 1\.emS can be typed SINGLE SPACED on 8 1/2" X 11" paper for direc:t 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 INCH MARGIN should be left on both sidell of the page to allow for binding. Text should be of near letter quality with NO page numbers

2. Items can be supplied DOUBLE OR ONE--AND-A·HALF SPACED on foolscap 8 1/2" X 14" paper for reduction to the quarto 8 1/2" X II" size. A margin is not required in such Ca&e8. Type size should be selec:ted to ensure that reduction will not reduce readability Some typestyJeII do not reduce welL

Itema an welcomed from members and non-members. De:adlines for inclusion are February 15 (March), May 15 (June), August 15 (September), November 15 (December) .

Society Officers 1994-1995

President: Len Zedel Secretary: Don Steele Past President: Charlie Horwood Vice President: John Gibson Treuurer: Eli:tabeth Zedel Canaruan Nature Federation Director: Allan Stein Outdoor Programm.e CoorruDator: Greg Warbanski Indoor Procram.[lle Coorrunator: Ram Myers Membersrup: John \1cConnel Osprey Editor: Darlene Warbanski Members at Large

Tammo Bull Dave Fifidd Ken Hannaford Jane Powrer

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THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NEW ____ FOUNDLAND AND

P. O. 80, 1013 lABRADOR ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDlAND Ale 5M3

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From the Editor:

This edition of the Osprey is dedicated 10 the memory of ..,...,-----:;r.r---:,...-==1.z:::::-. Charlie Horwood.

This summer has passed all 100 quickJy. The endless summer days of our youth are a thing of the past. we have

. to catcb a few days here and there when we can. Taking time with your children outdoors can certainly bring back that summer feeling. I watched my young son in the brook al the eod of our garden trying to decide if we should rescue some small trout that had been stranded in some very shallow pools of water. a result of a summer of little rain. He thought we could get a bucket of water and PUt the trout into the bucket so he could lrarufer it into a deeper pool further along. He was upset that the trout would nOt survive. but then we watched a kjngfisber hop along the rocks at the edge of the brook and from the smorgaboard of stickJebaclts and trout be nabbed one. Easy feasting fu r the bird. He was amazed. hardship fur one species meant an easier time fo r another. A nature lesson perhaps. but for me it was time spent with my little guy along the river.

00 another nole Gordon Rioguis an environmental caosuhaot with a.s. Ringuis and Associau:s. is curently working on the goulds By·Pass environmental preview repon (EPR) and is seeking information on any rare. eDClangered or unusual plant species and habitats (sensi tive areas) that may by present in the srudy area. The srudy area is indicated on !.be accompanying map. If anyone bas any information they would like to pass on. please cootaCt Gordoo at S79...u13.

I always fee l that September is the month fur fresh starts. I guess it comes from having a new school bag. books. clothes and shoes for school. Why not be a kjd again and get a pair of new walking shoes a new back pack and join the Society on a few hikes this fal l to new areas. meet new friends. maybe get a new book and .

Charlie Horwood

1925-1994

At Charlie' s funeral , Society president, Leo Zedel prepared and read a eulogy. It is as follows ..

It's DOt liard to fiDel things to say about Charlie Horwood, it's JUSt bard to Ialow where to st2It. I've onJy known Cbarlie over the last three years since I became involved in the Natural History Society. In that time I became greatly impressed with the contribution Charlle bad mad towards the recognition and preservatioo of the narural c:nvironment of Newfoundland. Cbarlic: didn' t advertise his conaibunon, he wasn't that kind of person. be JUSt did it.

Over the years Charlie held the post of presideot three: times for the society. J gather be's also held BlOSt of the other posts on the executive at ODC time or aootber as well. But even when Charlie

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wasn't on the executive he was doing his pan writing anicles for the Evening Telegram on topics of oarur:a..I I history , dnfting letterS ro lobby politicians of all levels of government. Recently while going over some old records of the NHS 1 was wen with how often charlies's name came up, even in relation to projects be bad DOt

been directly iDVolved io. Charlie conaibutioo to the Society did DOt go unnoticed, he was awarded the Society's Tuck-Walters Award

for connibutions to the naruraJ environment of NewfouOOland. lbe Tuck-Walters Award had never been awarded to the same persou twice, but if it had been it wouJd have gone the Charlie because his name always came up at the Tuck-Walters Award commiu~ meetings. Charlie was also awarded a Canada 125 Medal by the Canadian Nature Federatiun on behalf of the Government of Canada for contributions to Canada in the area of the environmeOl . Charlie was very proud of these awards. be could DOt believe be really deserved such distinctions that are nomtally conferTed to academics. but be deserved them. Charlie's activities in the Society were not a passing iDter~t or product of the recent i1.:rease in environmental activism. Charlie had a passionate love for the n.atural heauty of Newfoundland. and one way lfe expressed this was through his participatioD in the NHS.

Charlie was DOt a follower. he had his OWJl well ddined interestS. I can recall oae discussion of some exotic flowers and Charlie declaring that be was not that concemed with exotic things, be was more of a "weed man" .

Charlie bad no formal academic aaiDiDg but he did know the names and life histOry of most native planr:s. It was a great pleasure 10 go on a forest walk wilh Charlie because be wouJd share his knowledge of the outdoors but also because of his ever inquisitive conversation which knew 00 boundaries. A favourite Nbs outing of charlie' s was the Lady Slipper Orchid walk wIDeb is held around this time every year. charlie didn't lead a fast paced walk. there was 00 hurry 10 get anywbere. he was already there: in the forest. With the Lady Slipper Orchids. moSt people would miss the first few outlying plants far from the larger groups, but DOt charlie. He Ialew where they were from last year and he was looking to see bow well they were doing this year.

1 know that I am DOt alone ill saying thal with Charlie' s passing I have lost a valued friend. The NHS has lost an imponant ally and memher: he will be sorel y nlissed.

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Wild Things Scholarship

In 1992. Wild Things made a commitment to provide the Newfoundland Natural History Society with an annual $500.00 scholarship. The society awards the scholarship to a university or post. secondary student who demonstrates a commitment to environmental conservation in Newfoundland or Labrador through academic or community activities. In 1992 the winner was lynn Hartery of Trepassy, she had a long record of activism in programs induding litter dean­ups and recycling campaigns.

In 1993 there were six comp{ete and two incomplete applications for the scholarship. From among these applicants, there were three outstanding individuals who deserve mention; StephanIe Barnes, Elaine Goudie, and Robyn Saunders. The committee chose Elaine Goudie as the winner of the 1993 scholarship. She is very active in seabird and waterfowl enhancement projects In Newfoundland. Stephanie Barnes and Robyn Saunde~ were both given a yea~ membe~hip to the society and encouraged to re-apply next year.

This yea~ committee had several specific recomendations for the scholarship application form:

1) The refferees address and phone number should be included on the applicants portion of the form .

2) A check list of requirements should be included for the applicant.

3) A clearer statement that it is the responsibility of the applicant to have all information submitted before the application deadline.

Joshua Squires, 9 entered the flfSl Spawn and Run competition of me NawraJ History society of Newfoundland and Labrador and at flISt did oot succeed He then went on to beccme living proof of wby you should always uy again. The oompetitioo which began October 1. 1993 promised piz.es to me tim boy « girl. 14 yean old or younger 10 spot a pair of brown trout spawuiDg in any of the tbrce river SyslemS in SL John' s; the Remrles. Virginia, and Waterford.

"At spawning time iII the fall. October is (be best time ill Sl Jobn' s. large troUt can be scc:o in sbalJow water, often in tiny linle brooks.· the contest trochure explained. ·So dlis is a good time to see bow big they can get! You migbr: see (be big ODe that gOf. away!"

Joshua lives just outside St JoOO's, and wben be saw a pair of trout spawning in a stream near his bouse. be paid 51.00 to get a Spawn and Run rompetition bUllOn, and cJaimcd vicuxy. "Sorry, contest officials said, "but your lrotlt was DOl inside the city limits," With his falbcr Derek, Joshua now went to the Rc:onies River, and sure enough. found spawning flSh. He soon learned, however, another 11 year old, Adam Pc:dWgrew. had beaten him to the rtdd{spawning area), and bad already won the prize fa the Rennies.

Inslead of quitting, Joshua now hustled over the Virginia River with his father, and became the very fmt contestant to fiDel spawning trout there. He too was now a winner and having found spawning trout in three: SIreaDl.S, certainly deserved his prize. Meanwhile Alan Snow, eight, and his faLber, q&.vid Snow prowled the Waterford River, and pretty soon Alan spoUed the spawner that earned him a prize.

At a ceremony in laleNovember the Natural History sociery of Newfoundland and Labrador weIcomedeacb boy as a member and gave him a handsome book about trout and salmon.

Spawn and Run 1994

The Spawn and Run competition for fall 1994 is being planned by Liz Zedel and lane Power. Buuons will be available again lhls year. Sooo posterS will be up announcing wbere to purchase the bUlI(JDS and bow to get in on lIIe fun.

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57 t-A:..:::.ndr=e"M".::Le"'S;,:n::·s_---=1::.3,:,:5:.:lh::.:A:.:v::.:e:.:n:::ue=---_..:A:::,y:.:lm=er.:.., Q::;u:::e:.:bec=-__ J:.:9.:.H:.:5C=5 L

Dear Fellow Bird Lover r If I were to ask you to tell me your favourite story about birds, chances are you

couldn t[ stop with just a single story. like most bird watchers you probably have many

interesting stories about these fascinating creatures.

Stories which span the entire range of bird life: humorous incidents. unusual sightings. weird, wacky or wonderful behaviours, or entertaining interactions with people, objects or other animals. The list of JX>SSibilities is endless.

After seventeen years of bird watching all across this country, J am convinced that there are many terrific bird stories just waiting to be shared with an appreciative audience. And that is what I propose to do: share your stories with the huge community of fellow bird lovers in Canada.

These stories can be from your early years as a birder or from recent experiences. For example, just last month J found myself standing at the edge of a cliff watching a raven sail by, a large piece of food in its mouth. When it saw me, it began a series of acrobatic loops and roll s, flying upside down, and giving a loud squawk as it finished each trick. After a few minutes it continued on its way, leaving me to wonder why I had been chosen for this private perfonnance. And believe me, performance is the only word to describe iL Yet, the raven seemed so nonchalant about it, as if it were no big deal.

I am inviting bird watchers from all across Canada to submit their bird stories to me for publication in a book about birds. It doesn't matter what the story is about or what kind of birds are involved. Nor do you have to be an accomplished writer or own a word processor. The length of the story is up to you, and you can send it in on perfect stationary or on the back of restaurant napkins.

All that is required of you is to think back to those moments when birds made you laugh, made you angry, caused you to shake your head in amazement, left you standing there wondering why, or just made you smile.

I have only one suggestion for you. Sometimes people have a tendency to skip over many of the small details of a story, thinking they are not important Well , let me assure you that they are. The context ofa story, with all of its details, will give your story more character and make it more memorable. Some of the details you may wish to include are: your activity allhe time, the time of day. the season, the prevailing weather conditions, your location, the habitat, and how you and others reacted to the bird(s).

Putting together a rook of stories and anecdotes about birds is certainly a worthwhile project but its success depends on your participation. And you will be able to judge for yourself just how worthwhile this project is when, in the near future, you will be able to enler a rookstore and see your published story with your name alongside it (unless you would rather not have your name mentioned. That's OK too).

I thank you in advance for your help in making this project a success and I am lOOking forward to hearing your stories.

Sincerely,

THE NEWFOUNDLAND N&RAL HISTORY SOCIETY

P. o. Box 1013

sr. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND

Ale 5M3

The Hon. Patricia A. Cowan, Minister, Dept. of Environment and Lands, P.O. Box 8700, St . John's, Nfld . AlB 4J6.

Dear Minister Cowan,

28/III / 9 4.

We have read the Environmental Preview Report for the proposed Rose Blanche hydroelectric devel opment , and would be pleased if you would consider the fol lowing comments from our Society.

As was admitted in the report, s ince barrier nets were not used, the electrofishing results cannot be considered as quantitative , but record the presence or possible absence of fish species. It could not be concluded whether the small salmon caught below the gorge area were the young of anadromous fish or were ouananiche, and at this small size if they were immature it is not possible to tell the difference. They could have been the young of anadromous fish if the fishway at the water supply dam at the mouth is functional, but if they were ouananiche they would probably occur also higher up through the system. Can s ome mitigation be suggested to ensure that the fi shway is functional? The fact that at least a salmon run used to exist suggests that the lower falls (B-1 - B-5, Fi g. l.2) are surmountable.

The proposed lOOha reservoir would inundate a large amount of potential Cor presently utilised, if ouananiche are present) spawning and rearing area for salmon . It is stated (p.122 ) that 2000 units of Type I and Type II habitat would remain , but according to Fig. 3.7 all Type I and most Type II upstream of the dam and below the upstream barriers would be lost. This would also present difficulties for recruitment of brook trout in the area. It appears from the photographs that a relatively sllal1 fishway in the gorge area would allow access upstream to anadromous salmon . Can some estimate be made of the potential of enhancing salmon r uns, by building such a fishway or annual transport of salmon above the falls? If the local economy could be better boosted by such a project than this small hydroelectric project i t would be a pity to lose the potential. About 2km of stream would be dewatered between the dam and the powerhouse, which is fairly significant, and presents another loss of potential salmon habitat.

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over if:hi~~b~;~i;;; ~:2 ~i)V:;;di;e:i~~rla;~~ei~ei~a~r~~; !~dP~~~:~ e reservoirs could be a hazard to hUman consumption, as well as to

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e pisciverous birds and mammals.

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Generally hydroelectric reservoirs have negative effects on the aquatic invertebrates and productivity of fish downstream. Can some prediction be made of changes to fish production downstream of ~he powerhouse?

It is stated (p.30, 2.2.5.1 . ) that the river is not a scheduled salmon river. However, salmon are present, and the potential exists for enhancement of salmon stocks.

Our society would be very grateful if these concerns could be included when your Department is considering approval of the project.

Y°'1:rrU1Y , {U~edel

President , Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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CENTRAL AVALON ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION P.O . Box 1 6

Conception Harbo ur , NE AOA 1Z0

June 4, 1994

Ms. Patricia Cowan Minister ot Environment &t Lands P.O. Box 8700 Confederation Building St. John's, Nf AlB 4J6

Dear Hs. Cowan:

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On May 25, 1994, I attended a briefing given by the Newfoundland Forest Service on the Adaptive Management Process, the proposed basis for future environmental assessment of logging pl ans for the province . The presentation by the Newfoundland Fo r est Service was well within the realm of understanding for most I laypersons with basic knowledge of forest environment . However , without explanation for the rationale to have District 20 logging plan on the same agenda as the adaptive management process , many people are left with the perception that the Department of Environment and Lands will accommodate the status quo in forestry operations requiring only minimum changes.

Based on the preliminary information , it appears that your department will, after some predetermined period regardless of concerns from other values, permit Newfoundland Forest Service to begin logging and when environmental negative impacts occur, adj ustments will be considered to ongoing logging operations.

This practice of environmental logging is no different than what has been carried out on the island tor over twenty years and it permitted in District 20 it will result in the same devastat ion ot the forest and it s environment as we now are experiencing on the island. However, considering the harsh climate and marginal terrain of Labrador, we can expect much greater negative environmental impacts.

Furthermore, how your department can expect to use this adaptive management process to assess district logging plans for the island, in particular District 1 and 2, is once again beyond t/Je rationale of most laypersons who have concerns for our forest environment. •

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The adaptive management process consists of four primary components for environmental assessment - expectation, reality, learning and adapting. To develop a logging plan for District 1 or 2 the Department of Environment and Lands will have to address not the expectation, reality or learning components, but adapting to a forest resource that has been exhausted without due

·consideration for values other than logging.

To even contemplate the notion that somehow a virgin forest can have the same environmental assessment process as a forest that is being logged at 100\ above its sustainable level is a classic demonstration of how a bureaucracy can tind ways and means of using smoke and mirrors to avoid confronting: 1. the inevitable serious forest environmental issues to be addressed in Labrador, 2. the reality of making the tough decisions that have to be made when a forest resource is being exploited 100% above the sustainable level set by Newfoundland Forest Service . Ironically, t h e same department that developed the adaptive management process .

At this time we are requesting a reassessment of the Environmental Preview Report, guidelines and also suggest that only a full environmental impact statement will ensure that the forest of Labrador will not only provide saw logs but also accommodate all other values and users.

Thank you,

~0.<-~""/ Eugene Conway CENTRAL AVALON ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION

cc: Premier Clyde Wells Graham Flight, Minister of Forestry [,. Agriculture Tom Green, Innu Nation Rick Maddigan, Salmon Association ot Eastern Ntld Gordon Cooper, Ntld [,. Labrador Wildlife Federation Pat Buchanan, Protected Areas Association Len Zedel, Natural History society Martin Von Mirbach, N.L.E.N .

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The Editor, The Evenl.nq Teleqram, Columbus Drive, P.O. Box 5970, St. Jonn ' s. A1C 5X7 .

Dear Sir,

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lb/VII/ Y4 .

Good tor Bill Power s't.atinq very clear..LY tne e!fects ot hyaro­electric dams on our rivers. If puolic opinion means anvt:hinq, it is important to qet tlle message across. Especially since we reaa that construction on four dams is scheduled to beqin next year. As a professional fisheries bioloqist with over thirty five years experience I would like to add my opinion on the s ubiect. It is a common misapprehension that because they don't qive off smoke tnat hydro-electric plants are less damaqing than other methods of power production, whereas in fact they are probably tlle most environmentally devastating method there is . I include nuclear energy. The Chernobyl disaster was due to shoddy and outdated construction. and incompetent management. A collapsed hydro­electric dam could also do a fair amount of damage. In the States as much enerqy is presently generated by nuclear energy as by hydro-electricity, and guess which me't.nod has done the most damage. We oresently have a Pacific salmon 'war' because the U.S. has destroyed most of its Pacific salmon, witn hydro- elect ric dams. Their Atlantic salmon were almost annihilated years ago. with I hydro-electric dams, with pitiful remnan't.s. some of which they are a"t.temp"t.ing to restore, by removing dams. Methods of thermally generated power also are less damaging than hydro-power, and improved treatment of emissions has resulted in declinin ing acid rain in recent years.

Not only do dams reduce upstream miqra tion of salmon and other fish species, even with fishways, but downstream migrants are drastically reduced, by no"t. miqratinq, or qettinq killed or in;ured as they pass through the turbines. The upstream reservoir is less favourable habitat for juvenile salmon, and much of the spawninq and rearing habi t:.ats are destroyed. The ro"t.t:.inq vegetation in 'the reservoir, and associated increase in inverteorates , providing more fish food, can cause a temporary increase in trout and some other fish, if rearing areas are still present upstream, and this \trophic upsurge ' is sometimes given as evidence for the dam havinq improved the fishing. However on the down side is the leachinq and uptake of mercury through the food chain, the slumping of the banks, and the later reduction in production. Below the dam chanqes in hydrology reduce production for many kilometr es downstream. similarly, production in the estuary is reduced. No doubt 'the ex­fishermen at Bay d'Espoir could validat:.e that:. statement.

The aesthetic effects of dams, the presently proposed ones at beautiful falls, are worse than all the A'rv trails and qarbaqe in the Province.

Let us hope that by the time the Province makes the decision to add extra power, that alternate sources of enerqy production e than nydro-power will be commissioned, possibly anotner reason why New:rounaland Hydro should remain under puolic com:.rol. It:. woulo be

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a qreat shame to damaqe our salmon resource rurther, ror a rela't.l.vely small amoum: of extra power qenera"tl.on.

Sl.ncerely,

,,: ,! ,e ~;("'-L R. Jonn lil.oJ,n t t'none: ILb-L4~t:I J.

I offer the following response to R. John Gibson's letter of Sunday July 24, 1994 outli ning his contention that " Hydroelectric dams destroy salmon."

Mr. Gibson's suggestion that thennal generation (j.e. Holyrood ) does less environmental damage than hyd roelectric power generation has to be challenged. In addition, I am sure the suggestion that nuclear energy was cleaner than hydroelectric powcr was only made in jest. To even suggest that the possible collapse of any hydroelectric dam, particularly anyone in this province, would have effects equivalent to the Chernobyl disaster is ludicrous.

Let's face facts, we need energy and you don 't get something for nothing. There are no absolutely clean energy sources - unless you consider conservation as a source.

Energy supply options should be examined on a total svstems basis including an assessment of embodied envi ronmental costs. The use of oil to generate electricity requires drilling and production of crude, refining of the crude, transportation and storage. All these stages have env ironmenta l costs - some potentially devastating such as ta nker disasters. In addition, much of the world's oil comes from areas that are traditionally politically unstable and security of supply is not always assured -remember the Gulf War? People living in the vicinity of the Holyrood generating station, the Come By Chance oil refinery or anyone who has participated in cleaning up the mess left by a tanker brea;k up can attest to the hidden costs associated with the use of oil.

At present all our oil is imported into the province. Hydroerectric, on the other hand, is an indigenous source capa ble of providing employment and profits (nasty word "profits"L

The hidden costs associated with nuclear are legion. Chernobyl is just one of many such plants with "s ho ddy and o utdat ed

const ruction, and incompetent management" to use Mr. Gibson's words. Unfortunately, the West will by necessity be footing thc bill for the cleanup - likely diverting funds from huma nitarian aid to "il1l'h rhirrl w .... rlrl rt'llm lri",,, ::.e:;

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becoming dis illusioned with nuclear. The industry still does not know what to do with nuclear waste and has left Ihis problem to our children's ch ildren . The province has, in the new Electric Power Control Act, specifically rejected nuclear as an option and should be applauded for doing so.

Not all hydro projects are on salmon rivers as is inferred by Mr. Gibson's letter. In fact given our costl y and time consuming environmental assess ment process, developers would be wise to avoid such rivers like the plague.

The needs of envi ronmental pr otectio n and economic development are not mutually exclusive. Hydro projects , if planned and Ctlnstructed properly, can for example provide increased spawning areas and the ability to provide required water flows during periods of drought. Dams and reservoirs can also control flash floods , preventing destruction of spawning beds . There are appropriate, admittedly not always perfect, mechanisms for dealing with or mitigating against potential environmental damage .

With respect to the ex-rishennen of Bay d'Espoir, surely the benefits of the Bay d'Espoir power project, in providing a cheap source of e lec tr ic it y (or Newfoundland people and industry are obvious. It is still one of our cheapest sources of supply. Should we go back to using kerosene lamps.

Mr. Gibson argues against the "esthetics" of dams. Esthetics is a sc.bjective matter - being an engineer (for which I make no apologies ) I like the look of dams. Many of the major dams in the world have become tour ist attractions. Dams can create recreational boating areas or even white water rafting opportunities during scheduled water releases. I am told that Ducks Unlimited, a wetla nds e nv i r onmental protection group, builds more dams than anyone else in North America.

The reference to dams being far worse than garbage would likely be refuted by 5NAGG and others.

Mr. Gibson's comments result, in part, from the announcement In::.1 "rnn<:lrllrlinn .... r r ....... • rl,,",~ ;~

Assumi ng they were ' scheduled salmon rh·e a assuming that all dams creal obstructions to the presen t accessible spawning areas a that all projects did irreparab damage to lheenvironment (whi I'm sure won't be allowed happen under the Environment Assessment Act) what would t overall effect be? Since there a approximately 170 schedul salmon river systems (5ourc DFO) in the province we a talking about less than three cent of the salmon rivers a obviously a much smaller porti of the total rivers in the province.

The types of "small hyd projects presenUy being propos result in a distrib ute decentralized power supp system as opposed to me projects. As many townies w recall, a major sleet storm in I disconnected 5t. John's from Holyrood generation statiGn. Mu of the emergency power sl ' at that time was from th h ydr o plants own Newfoundland Power. Th hydro projects presently propos are to be built by the private sect at no cost to government and w create local employment.

Surely there is a balance to reached between the need f environmental protection a resource deyelopment. Th Holyr God generating statio provides approximately 500 MW ~ electrical generation capaci based on imported petroleu

There are many indigeno Isources of power that cou displace a significant portion this capacity and provide t province with desperately n employme nt . No ! I am n proposing we dam up every riv and stream in the province. Su developments should be guided sound engineering and econom principles with due regard f environmental prot~o

Potential developments shll' be summarily dismissed on t basis of a hodgepodge of imagin environmental consequences t mixes the legitimate with ludicrous.

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Dar .i.ene war OanSK.1 , usprey ~d i 1:0r , KKI .l , dox Ju u, J? a r a Cll.se . AiL .l L: .l.

Dear lJar l ene ,

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&4 L: i rCuia:r ita .• :::; "C. . ,-, ol1n's . A.ll': ..!;t. :;) .

':)/lX/~4 .

.1. was wonaer~nq it you m1qm: 't.n~nK 11: won:nwnile reprOauC1nq 't.nese le1:'t.ers in 't.ne Osprey ? 'fne firs't. one, ana a reoJ.Y oy a Jonn Drover, nave oeen pUO.l1Snea in 't.ne Bven1nq 'l'el.eqram, OU1: my response 't.o Mr Drover .r don'l: 't..nlnK was puol l snea . I aon'1: aC1:ual.ly qe't. 't.ne Even1nq 'releqram anymore, as I t1na 11: has deter10ra1:ea S l nce Steve Herder ' s days in't.o rather a 't.r1v1.al ana feCK l ess rag. 1 aeClaea 1:0 save botn time ana monev o y not qett1nq it anymore! I aSKea a 'friend 't.o look Out:. for my lasT. response, buT. ne dia noT. see 1't. s o 1 presume iT. was 't.oo in1:el.liqen't. tor 't.nem 1:0 puolisn . Anyway, .1. 't.nlnK i1: 1.S n01: a oac leT.ter, ana 1:ne 1:0P1.C 1S lmpOrtant:., so i nope vou 1:n1nK 11: sui 1:ao.le tor 1:ne Osprey. Prooaol y 1:ne t:nree .le't.'t.ers 1:oae1:ner maKe an im:eres't. i nq Q1scussion on wne1:ner 1:nese proposea oams WOU.lO maKe 'Cnl.nqs bet:t:er or worse,

SlnCerel.y,~

Jonn Glo~bn

Tne .l:::al.l:or. 'l'ne t:venlnq '!'el.eqram . ~'t.. Jonn's. Nrl.a. AH': 5xI.

uear Sir,

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tsq ~ircul.ar t<a .• ~'t.. ,Jonn's. AH": ..:::t.:> .

4/Vl.J.l/~4 .

In nis rePlY or JUlY Jls-c. -c.o mv commen-c.s on -c.ne proposal. -c.o conSl:ruc'C. more nyaroelec-c.ric aams 1n 'C.ne r'rovince. Jonn 'f. urover maKes some valia p01nt:s on t:ne aisaavan't.aqes ot 't.ne use Ot Oil tor enerqy product:10n. alt:houqn t:ne same arqument: is unliKelY t:o atteCl: our reliance on l:ne aUl:omooile: 1 nave 't.o respona. as he cont:rl.Dut:es t:o 'tne popUl.ar my'tn 'tna't nyaroelec'tricil:v is our cneapes'C. and leas't. aes 't.ruc'C.ive source Ot el.ect:ricit:y. By askinq it we snoul.d qo back 't.o usinq kerosene .lamps he l.S suqqes't i nq 'tnat: t:nere are no alt:ernat:ives -c.o nydropower. AS ne points OU't., enerqy supply oP'tions shoula be examined tor -cne -col:al syst:em, incluainq envl..ronmen-cal cos-cs. Tnere are l..numeraol.e scient:iric s'C.uaies snowlnq complicat:ea neqa't.ive environmen'tal. erfec'C.s followinq cons-cruc-cion of nydroelect:ric aams , wnicn are somewha-c. more l:nan 'a noacreoodqe or imaqinea environmen-cai conseauences', as conceivea oy Mr. Drover. Untor-cunat:e.lY in mos-c cases ' aue reqara ror envlronment:al prol:ecl:ion ' has not: worKed. I Know or onl.Y one case wnere it: was claimec t:na'C. a nyaroelecl:ric cam cnanqea t:he nyaroJ.oqy sucn as 'to improve salmon producl:ion aownSl:ream \ -cne River Or Kl.a in

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NOrway J. In o-c.ner cases it nas been very mucn tne opposite. I I seriously suqqestea 't.ha't. nydropower aoes mor e environmental

aamaqe -c.nan nuclear power. to illusl:ra-ce t:11al: i -c. is not always our oest source ot elecl:rici l:Y. In l:he U.S. nucl.ear power provides S. 2 percen-c. or enerqy production, comparea 'C.O 2.8 percenl: or nvaropower. wnicn lal:l:er nas wipea OUl: nwnerous previousl.Y maqnlricen'C. sal.mon runs. 'T'ne U.S. no ionaer buiJ.as nucJ.ear pl.an-c.s aue l:0 PUDl.ic percep'tion aI:l:er l:ne Chernoovl aisasl:er. no-c. because "t:ne t:.ecnnoJ.oqy does not exis'C. 't:o aeal. wi tn nUClear waSl:es. l-~rance ODl:al.nS more 'than 70 percen'C. ot i'ts el.ecl:rici -c.y trom nuclear power. Wltnout maior environrnen'C.al conseQuences. wnereas i'ts hyaropower nas messea UP a numoer ot its rivers , ana tnere is now puolic pressure l:0 remove some ot 'C.ne aams ana res'tore runs ot sal.mon ana sea trout:. I realise l:nal: a nuclear pJ.anl: Wll.l. nOl: oe ouiil: in 't:ne proVlnce. since i'C. wou.ld proauce e.1ecl:rici-c.y rar oeyona our neeas . ana consl:ruction is expensive. In adai l:ion mos't peopJ.e nave 't:..ne same norror ot nucl.ear pl.an'C.s as I nave or nyaroelectrlC dams.

I do nOl: aQree wi't:..n l1r Drover's arqume01:S in ravour Ot tnese nvaro oro;ec't.s. I ao not see wnv el.ec't.rici l:Y proaucea trom nvaropower would provide more empl.ovmenl: ana proril:s l:nan el.ecl:rici-c.v proauceCl ov o'C.ner means, aepenainQ on proril:s ror wnom. 'rhe arqumenl: 't.nal: consl:rucl:ion Ot 'tnese proposea . small nyaro' prOleCl:S wi.1 1 creat:e local. empl.oymenl: is a poor one. as arter 'tne snorl: consl:rucl:ion perioa 'tne pJ.anl:S woul.a oe remol:e i y conl:rol.l.ea. we ao no-c. neea aaai'tional. recreal: ionaJ. ooatinq areas. ana tnere Wll.l. De no scneaul.ea wal:er reJ.eases 'to provlae wnil:e wal:er rat'C.inq oppor't.ulill:ies . 'fnese smal.l. nvaro prOleCl:S will. no'C. oe enqineerinq wonaers l:0 al:l:raCl: l:ouris-c.s. aJ.l:nouqn l:ne proposea si 't.es are presentJ.V oeaul:.V SPOl:S wnicn al:l:raCl: a numoer or peoPJ.e. Tne aams •

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cons-cruc-cea DY DUCKS UnJ.imit:ea 'Co creat:e wet:J.anas are ent:l.reJ.v airrerent: tram nvaroeJ.ec1:.ric carns.

it is irresponslbJ.e 'Co say t:oat: we are onJ. Y 'CaJ.Klna aoou'C ..LOSS or a rew oercem: or our rivers wi t:n 't.ne proposea aeveJ.opment:.s . 'rne .lOSS or nat:uraJ. resources is not: oy a suaaen aisappearance. OU'C oy qraoually cnippina away a1:. 'Coem . 'i'he loss or salmon S1:0cks worlawide has been to the qraaual loss or naoitats, wlt:h reSUl1:1nq overrisninq or the diminishinq resource . In many parts or t:.he war 10. trOUl: ana salmon rivers and tisnlnq are no lonqer at int:eres't., as mos't. have been destroyed. We owe it to our children to at least:. alVe them t:.he choice at en;oyinq the unspoiled natural war l et. 'fne wor 10.' 5 natural resources are at a staqe now where the needs at Durqeoninq populations and associateCi tecnnoloqy are aestrovinq torever species and unique ecosystems. This province is tortunate in havinq a wealth at natural resources, Which will become more valuable as the world's population Cioubles over the next fon:.y years. The reason tor my earlier letter was to point out some at the generally unappreciated des'Cructive etfects at hYdrOelectric developments. a.nd that qenerally they should De tne last cnoice tor tur-cner enerqy qenera'Cion rather than 'Che first. conservation at enerqy and increaseC1 etticiency should be our tirst OPtion. Natural sources at enerqy are abundant. out we neea oriqinal ways at harnessinq them without turther deqradinq our environment. 1 bel~eve solar power is becominq cheaper anC1 more etficient. and evioentl y there are aC1vances in winC1 and wave power. qeothermal proauction ot enerqy. etc . 'rhe Province aoes not automat~cally demand a tUll Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) at all smaLL nydro proiects. out perhaps this discussion will st~mulate public interest that the EIS should be done tor a.ll such proposals .

Yours truly •

. '- . yk ~C"""" R. Jdhn GiO~n

TeL no . : 72b-c49H

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The Relation of Age and Hatching success of Common Eider Eggs

Prepared by Leroy Metcalf Project Foreman

Eider Duck Enhancement 1993

Abstract - for the past six years, the White Bay Central Development Association (WBCDA) of Main Brook, Newfoundland has operated a Common Eider captive rear and release program to contribute individuals to the nearby Hare Bay eider colony. as long tenn goas, the WBCDA hopes to increase the eider population to a point where it could sustain a local eiderdown gannent industry.

Since its initiation in 1988,2,934 Common Eiders have been released into Hare Bay. A survey conducted in 1993 by WBCDA biologists and Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) representatives indicated that 18.02% (+ or - 7.82%)of the female sector of the Hare Bay population was comprised of banded hens released by the project

During each season, Common Eider eggs were imported from Nova Scotia or Quebec to an incubation and rearing compound located in Main Brook, NF. Staff employed by the WBCDA under funding from Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission and the Environmental Partners Fund provided care to incubate the eggs and rear the ducklings to release age.

As pan of the negular project protocol, eggs of 16-18 days of age wene collected for incubation. In the 1993 season, eggs were collected from Pumpkin Island. Nova Scotia. However, the colony on that island had nested later than usual. Consequently. the 462 eggs collected were younger that desired. In addition the age range was much broader than usual. Most of the eggs collected were less that 10 days old and range in age from three days to 18 days. Although this age distribution was not desired. it allowed an experiment to be conducted to

detennine if age of eggs at collection was a factor influencing hatching success.

Methods

On May 31, 1993 the eggs were candled by the project biologis~ a CWS nepresentative and the author. each egg was placed in one of three age categories. arbitrarily defined as 4+, 12+ and 20+ days of age. Upon completion of the incubation period. the number of pipped eggs from each category was recorded. the overall percentage of eggs which failed to pip was determined. This value was then applied to all three categories to detennine the expected failure rate if age were not a factor. A Chi-square test was then employed to determine if there was a significant difference between pipping success of the three age categories.

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Results 69

table 1. Number of Eggs age Catee:ory

I Category I Number of Eggs I 4+ 148

12+ 219

20+ 94

Table 2. Pipping Success of each Catee:orv

category % Pipped % Unpipped

4+ 65.5 38.5

12+ 77.6 22.4

20+ 87.2 12.8

Overall 74.4 25.6

As can be seen from Table 2. 25.6% of the 461 eggs did not pip. [f age were not a factor affecting pipping success, one would expect that 37.88 of the 4+ eggs. 56.06 of the 12+ eggs and 24.06 of the 20+ eggs would not pip. these values are found by applying the overall percentages failure (25 .... %) to the initial number or eggs in each category.

Sample calculation: number of 4+ eggs which did not pip: .256 x 148 ( # of 4+ eggs) = 37.88

Table 3. Chi-square Calculation Table for Three Age Categories of Common Eider Eggs

category (0) Obs.# (E) Exp # O-E (O-E)' (O-E)'IE not pipped not pipped

4+ 57 37.88 19.12 365.57 9.65

12+ 49 56.06 -7.06 49.84 0.889

20+ 12 24.06 -12.06 145.44 6.04

Total 118 118 0 ---- X'=16.58

L.aJcu ate . L.m-square v ue: 10.'. Critical chi-square value: 5.99 at 95%, for n-l = 2 d.f.

As the calculated Chi-square value is greater than the critical value, the assumption that egg age is not a factor affecting pipping success is rejected .

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Discussion and Conclusion

In this experiment, the observed pipping failure rate for all eggs was determine to be e 25.6%. this rate was applied to the initial number of eggs in each defined category to determine the expected number of eggs which would not pip if age were not a factor. The expected numbers were then compared to the observed numbers suing a Chi·square test Inherently. pipping success is a major factor influencing hatching success; an egg must pip before hatching. consequently, a higher pipping success would lead to a higher hatching success. As a result, egg age at time of collection affects hatching success. More explicitly, the older the eggs at time of cOnCetiOD. the more likely they are to hatch successfully.

If a similar test were to be performed in the future it is suggested that more age categories be defined. For example. the categories could be set at four day intervals, a higher number of categories would produce a larger sample size. Consequently, a higher degree of freedom would be afforded to the test, allowing the results to be more conclusive.

Glossary

Candling:

Pipping:

A process which allows the age of an egg embryo to be estimated without affecting development. A black plastic tube is placed against the shell. Light diffusing through the shell allows the observer to view the inside of the egg. Age is estimated according to various stages of vascular development and air sac position and size.

The process in which a developed duckling begins hatching. A pip is the first extrusion of the shell made by the ducking within.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the WBCDA and the funding agencies for providing an environment where this test could be carried out. Without the relentless efforts of the WBCDA, this work would not have been possible. I would also like to that Dr. Bill Montevecchi for his encouragement to produce this report. Finally, I would like to \thank the staff at the rearing compound for their help in making the 1993 season a success.

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7 1

Black Bea r Res earch o n the Barr en-grounds of the Northeastern Labrador Peninsula ,

1 9 8 9 -19 93 .

Alasdair H. vei t ch

Department of Zoology university of Alberta Edmonton AS T6G 2E9

There are eight species of bears (Family Ursidae ) in the world, three of which occur in North America: the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) , the brown bear ( U. arctos). and the black bear CU. americanus). of these, only the black bear lives solely on our continent. Black bears currently occur in 23 states of the United States of America and all Canadian provinces. except Prince Edward Island (Pelton 1982); however, it formerly existed throughout continental U . S.A .• northern Mexico, and P.E.I. Habitat loss and conflict with human settlement have considerably reduced its range in recent years in many of the eastern states and provinces, as well as in the American midwest . people have long had a problem coexisting with bears; almost inevitably when there is a conflict between human society and bears - the bears l ose .

Throughout its historic and cur rent range in North America the black bear is typically a forest-dweller, although the type of forest occupied may vary considerably, as the following clearly illustrates:

". [tbe black bear] does well in almost any temperate or boreal climate as long as there is vegetative cover in wbich to travel, escape, and den. Subarid tborn forest, evergreen chaparral, mesquite - greasewood thickets, beech-maple or oak-hickory hardwoods, juniper savannas, pine parklands, beavy conifer woods, rural countryside or village environs, swamp edges and wetland forests, subalpine a r eas, and coastal thickets are all bome to the black bear" (Shepard and Sanders 1985: 35).

Black bears in forest use trees to obtain virtually all they need to survive: concealment, escape cover for cubs when faced by a threat, food (leaves, nuts, and berries), den sites (within hollow trees or root systems ), and in scent and visual marking to communicate with other bears (Pelton 1982). This apparent reliance on trees seemed so complete to Stephen Herrero, a bear resea.rcher at the U. of Calgary, that he proposed black bear evolution has lead to a complete adaptation to some form of forest cover and open habitats cannot be exploited (Herrero 1972; 1977; 1978). In this series of papers he examined the evolu tion of t h e black bear , and compared it to the brown bear, which lives in both treel ess alpine and tundra environments. [Note: the brown bear may be called the grizzly bear, silvertip bear, Kodiak bear, and other names in v a rious geographic areas, but all are simply regional variants of a single species - U. arctos]. Among the arguments he made against the black bear's ability to exist in open habitats is the apparent reluctance of adult females to leave the protection and escape cover trees provide for them and their cubs. Many studies of black bear ecology and behaviour from both the USA and Canada in the 1960' s through the 1980' s validated Herrero's idea -forest-dwelling black bears did appear highly reluctant to enter large openings and clear ings and were rarely found in such habitats.

However, people familiar with the ways of the black bear know also that it is an intelligent, behaviourally flexible, and almost totally omnivorous animal (Pelton et al. in Stirling 1993; 110-117). These features provide the species an exceptional ability to adapt to local conditions and novel situations with surprising r apidity. [It also has lead to the popularity of trained bears for circuses and similar captiv~ situations ... ] Indeed, conventional wisdom about black bear habitat preferences notwithstanding, even huge tracts of treeless barrens hundreds of kilometers away from the n~arest forest can have black bears roaming around on them, as we shall soon see.

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Bot.h Ne ..... foundland and Labrador have healt.hy black bear populat.ions

~~~~l~;i~~~i~~~O a~~e °fs~~~~i~~r~t~o~~~~~~t. (~~~~:~i:!i~~O~~d~~il ~~~ifl:~~ e has become ..... ell known for t.he enormous size t.hat. some individuals at.t.ain -weights in excess of 300 kg for adult. males have been recorded (see Mahoney 1986). The black bear no longer roams t.he Avalon Peninsula or Burin Peninsula (Mahoney 1986) but does t.hrive elsewhere in Newfoundland; Mahoney (1986) est.imated t.he island population at 3000-6000 bears. The Newfoundland black bear is I!!asily differl!!nt.iat.ed from Nort.h America's ot.her 15 subspecies (Pelt.on 1982) by t.he high cranium and short. rostrum of t.he skull (Cameron 1956 ). After the Newfoundland wolf (Canis lupus terra-nova) ..... as ext.erminated early in this century (Mech 1970), the black bear remained as Newfoundland's only carnivore capable of killing adult caribou and moose. In fact, rl!!search by t.he Wildlife Division on the island of Ne ..... foundland has shown that black bear predation can be a significant. mortality factor for both ungulate species (Mahoney 1986; Mahoney ett al. 1989). although for moose it is primarily calves t.hat. are t.aken by bears. [Shane Mahoney'S (1986 ) art.icle in Osprey highlights some of the history, biology, and management of the Newfoundland black bear and is recommended to those who ..... ish to kno ..... more about. the island's largest terrest.rial carnivore. J

Northern LAbrado~ is one of the ..... ildest, most starkly beautiful, and undisturbed regions left in North America. Its coast features deep, narro ..... fiords ..... ith tantalizing Inuktitut names. Once onl!! masters the pronunciation , a recitation of t.hese names has an almost ml!!sml!!rizing effect; Nachvak, Kom.aktorvik, Sagll!!k, Kangalaksiorvik, Ramah, Kangerdluksoak. These spectacular fiords are ringed by thl!! towl!!ring cliffs and precipices of the Torngat Mountains - the highest peaks in eastern North Aml!!rica (appx. 1700 m above sea level) and the lair of TorngaK, or TorngaKsoak. It is TorngaK, the supreme Inuit deity, who reputedly is responsible for the ho ..... ling wl!!stl!!rly gales t.hat roar into the steep- ..... alled canyons. Winds for ..... hich the Torngats are justifiably famous. Inland from the coastal fiords are the int.erior I helght-of-land barrens - a rock-strewn, rolling platl!!au that stands as mute testimony to thl!! effects of glaciation , the mOst recent episode of ..... hich ended less than 7500 years ago (Clark and Fitzhugh 1990). During the peak of che Wisconsin glaciation (i.e., thl!! most recent period of extl!!nsive continl!!ncal glaciacion) even the highl!!st peaks of the Torngats ..... ere likely covered by che

"'~ ..... , Mapol:hestudyarea

sheecs of ice (Ives 1957). In addition to remnant montane glaciers in the high Torngats, othl!!r I!!vidence of the ice and of its massive force as it carvl!!d its way across the land is found in the sinuous eskers , gravel moraines, cirqul!!s, terraces, erratics, tumbling rivers, and thousands of small and shallo ..... ponds. The northernmost trees gro ..... along the shores and river valleys in t.he vicinity of Okak Bay (Fig. 1), except for one small and isolatl!!d grove of black spruce at the ..... est I!!nd of Napaktok Bay (Elliott and Short 1979). This then is the land that has been occupied at various times by the Maritime Archaic Indians, the Dorset Eskimos . the TUle Inuit (Fitzhugh in Brice­Bennett 1977; 1-40), ..... as visited by Viking longboats a thousand years ago - and is the land that the barren-ground black bears of northern Labrador call home. •

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Black bear distribution in Labrador extends north at least as far as Kangalaksiorvik Fiord, and bears may even periodically venture beyond towards Cape chidley at the extreme tip of the peninsula. However, the existence of this unique tundra-dwelling black bear population in northern Labrador .... as not well known to biologists until quite recently. For example. a wildlife specialist from Newfoundland informed a conference in 1977 on the status of the black bear in North America that black bears in Labrador occur only in the southern boreal forests, with no extension into the northern treeless barrens

. (Payne 1977). This misconception was likely the result of several factors: the species was rarely encountered on tundra until the early 1900' s (Jonkel and Miller 1970; Brice-Bennett 1977: 140, 194), little research had been done on northern Labrador's wildlife in the mid-1970's, and biologists were not in contact with the Inuit (Labradormiut) - the people who know northern Labrador best and could have told them much about the distribution of black bears on the north coast (and much ahout other wildlife populations as well) .

I first encountered black bears on the tundra in 1984-85 when I was a technician with the Wildlife Division in Labrador. We flew surveys over the George River caribou herd's calving grounds (which at that time were centred around the George River mainly between the Falcoz and Ford Rivers) with biologists and technicians from QUebec and would occasionally see black bears roaming the rocky, windswept hills and river valleys where female caribou congregate in huge numbers to deliver their calves in early June. I was intrigued by the bears and asked questions of the biologists to find out what they knew about tundra black bears. Few questions resulted in answers, which only increased my curiosity. However, as keen as I was then to know more about barren-ground black bears, it was not until 1988 that I could seriously consider a detailed study of how a black bear on the tundra survives.

In June 1988 I was involved in a caribou study with Fred Harrington (an animal behaviour specialist at Mount Saint Vincent u. in Halifax); as part of this research we travelled to Kangerdluksoak (Hebron Fiord) with Stuart Luttich, the Regional Wildlife Biologist for Labrador at the time. Stu had based his caribou studies at the Wildlife Division's primogenitor ("Primo") Mountain Research Station at the west end of Kangerdluksoak since 1976. Primo is doubtless one of the most scenic and remote wildlife field stations anywhere in North America - the nearest community (Nain) is over 200 km south . On our first day at Primo a black bear came by the cabin for a visit and I grabbed my camera. At almost the same instant I photographed that bear the decision to abandon a proposed ph.D. research project on caribou in favour of one on Labrador's northern black bears was made. Little did I know then that that spontaneous decision would shape the next five years of my life, involve a wonderful cast of characters and many adventures, and would see Primo become my home and my refuge for as long as seven uninterrupted months a year.

In 1988 I had five years experience with wildlife issues in Labrador and thus was quite familiar with the long and sometimes fierce debate among zoologists surrounding the possible existence, and subsequent disappearance (extirpation), of a brown bear population in the northeastern Labrador Peninsula (e.g., Strong 1930; Elton 1954; Banfield 1958; Harington 1962; Banfield 1964; Guilday 1968) _ The available evidence - one skull from an 18"" century Inuit sodhut at Okak (Speiss 1976; speiss and Cox 1977) and many anecdotal accounts - suggests an isolated brown bear population may have persisted in northern Labrador until as recently as 1927 (Elton 1954). [A review of the Labrador brown bear is underway by the author and a summary will appear in a future Osprey. The wolverine (Gulo gulo) was also apparently extirpated from the Labrador Peninsula at the same time as the brown bear] . The demise of the brown bear and increased sightings of black bears on tundra by Inuit hunters on the Labrador coast since the turn of the century lead me to wonder if the black bear has filled the role in that habitat (i.e., ecological niche) left vacant by the extirpation of the brown bear. It has been suggested that the black bear is very rarely found north of treeline west of Hudson Bay because of their inability to compete with the brown bear in such an open habitat (Jonkel and Miller 1970; Herrero 1978) .

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I drafted a preliminary research proposal in the fall of 1988 based on the

~~:h~!~8 t:~ ~~~~~n;~~~~:r~!~~k b~~:~~O~~~~, '~~~~i:~c;~~ :~i~~i~ical e differences from their fo r est-dwelling cousins as a result . I showed my proposal to Lynn Rogers and Oave Garshelis - two well-known black bear researchers in Minnesota where I was doing graduate studies at the time . Lynn and Dave agreed this unique black bear population in northern Labrador warranted .. detailed study. Thus encouraged, I submitted a formal project 'proposal with Fred Harrington that generated sufficient interest and research money to allow me to start my study at Kangerdlukeoak in t he spring of 1989. I alao convinCf!d Ian Stirl ing. the dean of Canada's polar bear scientists, to take me as a Ph.D. student at the university of Alberta; Ian's knowledge of bears and the Arctic is likely unrivaled in Canada. The study lasted from May 1989 through November 1993 and eventually encompassed bear movements from south of Okak to northwest of Nachvak and westward onto the height·of-Iand plateau towards the George River. As a result of the research we now hAve considerable insight into the ecological requirements of a truly unique population of large carnivores that have only recently moved into a h itherto unknown habitat for the species. As with the first human settlers in this beautiful and harsh environment • success of the colonization for the bears in the long· term will likely depend on their adaptability, physical toughness , resourcefulness, and ability to seize opportunity when it is presented; in essence - to live where few of their kin would wish to tread.

The study involved a combination of traditional field techniques (collections and observations) with a more 'high·tech' approach thAt relied on satellite and conventional ground and aerial radio· tracking of bears. Each year we primarily focused on bears that live in the vicinity of Kangerdluksoak, principally at the west end of the fiord; however, bears were also captured and collared in other parts of the northeastern Labrador Peninsula. Some black bears captured at Kangerdluksoak travelled either temporarily or permanently outside the core study area. In fact, the final study area I encompassed ·some 75,000 )anl - an area over half the size of the island of Newfoundland. Prior to the advent of satellite tracking in the mid-1980's, a . study of this extent and detail in such II. remote and vast northern area was virtually possible. However, since we began use of satellite tracking in Labrador in 1986 we have obtained details on the daily lives of wildlife populations that we previously knew little about, or could only guess at from the scanty data we had available: the migratory woodland caribou of the George River herd of northern Quebec and Labrador, more sedentary woodland caribou of the Red Wine Mountain and Mealy Mountain herds in central Labrador; polar bears along the coast; and black bears on the tundra.

We used two capture techniques (foot snares and tranquilizing darts fired from helicopters) to capture a total of 2B barren-ground black bears (21 males; B females) over 5 years. Once the bears were immobilized we weighed and measured them and put either convent.ional or satellite· tracked radio·collars on selected individuals, the type and number dependent on study requirements each year. The bears we captured were small to medium sized for the species in general; average weights for males and females were approximately 100 kg and 60 kg, respectively. This small body size likely results from the short active season bears have in northern Labrador, the relatively poor quality of the habitat, and the long distances bears have to travel to obtain all their requirements (see below). Similar small body sizes relative to southern conspecifics have been found for grizzly bears in extreme northern areas of the Yukon (Pearson 1975) and Northwest Territories (Miller et al. 1982) .

The diet of black bears on the tundra i. of particular interest, since there is no access to many of the foods black bears in the forests have been found to thrive on (acorns, hazlenuts, ants and termites, broad-leaf forbs, etc.). The principal procedure we used to determine the bears' seasonal and annual food choices was a quantitative analysis of the contents of their fecal material (scats). In 5 years we collected and analyzed B03 scats and found that there is considerable variation in what bears eat not only from season to •

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season but also from year to year. For example, in both 1989 and 1990 animal material comprised approximately 25t of the total scat volume for the entire year; whereas in 1992 and 1993 less than 5' of the volume was animal matter; the importance of berries in annual scat volume ranged from under 25t in 1990 to almost 75t in 1993. Scat data were pooled over 5 years to get seasonal food preferences and I found that in spring (den emergence to 15 Jun) mammals (primarily small rodents and caribou) were more prevalent (34' of total volume) than berries (27t) and graminoids (grasses and sedges; 23\"); in summer "(16 Jun to 15 Aug) graminoids dominated (60t) over berries (16\) and mammals (14t); in fall (16 Aug to den entry) berries are practically the sole food eaten and comprise almost 90t of the total volume. As has been found elsewhere, bears on tundra literally gorge themselves on berries (hyperphagia) in order to deposit as much fat as possible for the long denned period they undergo each winter. An extensive II-year study of grizzly bear food habits via scat analysis in Yellowstone National Park (Mattson et al. 1990) found that it took at least 5 years to begin to understand the bears' food habits in that environment because of the great annual variation that occurs; the results of my study support their conclusion and shows the neccessity for long-term studies of the ecology of large carnivores if we wish to truly understand their ecological requirements. Unfortunately, such long-term studies are relatively rare.

As a result of the patchy distribution of plant foods combined with the neccessity to hunt and scavenge animal foods, black bears on the tundra travel more extensively and have much larger home ranges than those reported for the species in forested habitats. I used daily locations of satellite-tracked collared bears to determine home range size based on the 'minimum convex polygon' (MCP) method (i .e. I the area inside the smallest polygon possible that connects the outside limits of the animal's movements). Based solely on satellite-collared bears for which I had more than one year of data (3 males; 4 females I mean number of locations. 172) I found that male home ranges averaged slightly over 7000 km2 and females over 900 Jcm2 • These are approximately BB times and 34 times la.rgl!r than thl! rl!ported aVl!ragl! MCP home rangl! sizl!s of adult mall!s and fl!mall!s, rl!spl!ctively, for the spl!cil!s in 10 different studies across North America (Stirling and Derocher 1990). The greater areas that these bears must cover to obtain all their annual requirements means that they have less energy available fo r growth (hence their relatively small body size) and tor production of young by females, since the energy intake of a bear has to be partitioned between 'normal' daily requireml!nts, growth, preparation for winter denning, and reproduction .

Winters in northern Labrador are long and harsh; black bears have responded to those conditions by an increase in the ll!mgth of time they spend in winter dens. Typically, adult female black bears enter their dens in early to mid­October and males within the first two weeks of November; however, in particularly harsh conditions, such as experienced in Oct 1993, all satellite­collared bears (3 M; 3 F) were denned by Oct 24. Den emergence for males normally occurs in the first two weeks of May, whereas some females may not emerge until early June - thus, females spend 1BO-220 days per year in their den, which is substantially more than the 90-180 days females spend in dens throughout much of the temperate and boreal forests of North America (Pelton 1982). Since bears do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate while in their dens (see Ramsay in Stirling 1993: 6B-69), black bears in northern Labrador stretch to the limit the amazing physiological ability that bears have to survive in a state of reduced metabolism (they are not 'true hibernators') for over half the year - living solely off accumulated reserves and their marvelous internal recycling system. It is likely the length of time that must be spent in winter dens that governs the northern climatic boundary of black bear distribution .

We radio-tracked bears to their dens in either early winter, late winter, or both to capture them within the den and change their radio-collars (our satellite-tracked radio-collars had a battery lifespan of only 8 months). We entered 2B dens and found two main structural types: excavated (64t) and rock

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cave (29'); the remainder were a combination of the two. All were lined with

~:~~~ ~~ ~:!~8: ~~a:~: ~:mi~:~S~~O;~ t~r:~~:8 t~~~ !~;~1:~~1fr~!~~1~mean e higher on slopes (appx. 240 m above sea level) than those of males (apprx. 160 m asl). This is likely to avoid detection by possible predators, such as wolves. which are known to kill denned females (Horejsi et al. 1984). Dens were rarely reused, only 2 incidences of reuse (l H; 1 F) were recorded . Males showed little fidelity to individual denning areas and the mean straight-line distance between dens in consecutive years for individual males (N_9) wa. approximately 32 km; females exhibited more fidelity with an average of approximately 5 km (N_16) between consecutive dens of individual females .

The barren-ground black bears of the northeastern Labrador Peninsula are at the northern climatic extreme for the species' range in North America. Even though there are black bears west of Hudson Bay well north of 60° in NWT, Yukon, and Alaska and all Labrador's bears are south of 60° - the northeastern Labrador Peninsula is the only place where black bears live in a truly Arctic ecoclimatic zone. In order for any population of mammals to survive it must have females with sufficient 'surplus energy' after growth and maintenance have been looked after to produce offspring and nourish them via lactation . Bears in general have a low reproductive output, which is normally the case for long-lived mammals that grow to large size and have a considerable period of learning by offspring before they can become independent. However, the reproductive output of bears can be enhanced or retarded by the quality of the habitat occupied. For instance, it has been fO\U1d for black bears in Mirmesota that those females that have access to .the richer food sources fO\U1d at garbage dumps breed at an earlier age and have larger litters on average than females that do not have access to this high quality food source (Rogers 1976). Studies of black bears that live in temperate decidious forests almost invariably find that the reproductive output is considerably higher than for populations living in northern boreal forests. Grizzly bears in the Yukon, NWT , and Alaska may not give birth for the first time until the age of 8 to 11 I and Mackenzie Mountain, NW'l' bears had the greatest inter-litter interval of seven studies surveyed at 3.8 years versus less than 3 years in more hospitable climes (Hiller et al. 1982: 57-60). Given such data, I had expected that black bear reproductive performance in northern Labrador would be lower than the rates reported elsewhere: however, I was surprised and concerned to find just how low reproductive rates are in this ecosystem. From 1989 to 1993 I had 8 females radio-collared for 1-5 years; of 25 female-years for which reproductive status is known only 3 had females either accompanied by cubs or yearlings. Further, 2 females that were accompanied by yearlings at the time of den emergence 'did not produce cubs the following year - the normal pattern elsewhere for females with yearlings at den emergence is to abandon them (usually by late June), breed again, and then produce cubs the following spring (i. e., 2-yr inter-litter interval). One female even retained her yearlings and they returned to the den with her to emerge the subsequent year with her as 2-yr-olds; such behaviour is rarely recorded for black bears but delayed departure of young has been noted for brown and polar bears in suboptimal habitats (Jonkel 1987; Kolenosky 1987; Kolenosky and Strathearn 19B7) .

This very low reproductive rate has serious implications for the success of this population. Given that natality rates are so depressed it follows that mortality must also be low in order for the population to have persisted at all. Indeed this does appear to be the case, for example . one radio-collared female in my study (incidentally, one of only two collared females to have had cubs) was 20 years-old when I removed her radio-collar in her den in November 1993 and only 3 males and 1 female died during the entire course of the study. As long as mortality rates are kept low and females produce successful litters after particularly good. food years this population may continue at low density for many generations . However, if human disturbance in the area causes direct

~~~~!~~y~~~t~~~o~e:~~~~l~~~~~~i~t!;~) t~~ i~~!:~~~ ~~~:!!~~s (~~i ' this e population may be poor. Taylor et al. (1987) modeled polar bear population

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dynamics and found that any annual mortality of adult females in excess of 1.6\ (of all adult females in the population) resulted in inevitable population decline. Because the reproductive performance of barren-ground black bears and brown bears is likely more comparable to that of polar bears this model may be quite applicable to northeastern Labrador as well . Excess mortality of adult females is perhaps a major fact.or that contributed to the demise of the Labrador brown bear and it is one that must be considered for the barren-ground black bear. Continued long-term studies of these bears'

'population dynamics is warranted in order to obtain such data and to implement management and land-use practices that will minimize mortality, particularly of adult females.

In almost all the previous discussion one feature of bears' lives that normally receives much attention in studies and from bear researchers around the world has been omitted - their relationship to humans. (See Stirling 1993: 150-231 for an excellent review of bears' interactions with humans in a variety of situations]. CUrrently northern Labrador is a relatively undisturbed and pristine environment in which bears and other wildlife are free to carry out their lives without disturbance and interference from humans. This is highly unlikely to continue - already there are proposals to establish a Torngat National Park north of Saglek Fiord; arctic char fisheries are being re-established by Inuit at Kangerdluksoak and saglek; and both consumptive and non-consumptive tourism are sure to increase given the exploding popularity of ecotourism and adventure tourism world-wide and the spectacular opportunities northern Labrador offers hunters, anglers, and ecotourists alike. This will mean increased numbers of aircraft, snowmobiles, powerboats, hikers, and potential for conflict between people and bears (black and polar) at camps and buildings or in back-country situations. It is therefore essential for us to gain as much understanding as possible about the basic ecology of these bears so that when this almost inevitable human intrusion occurs steps can be taken to ensure that the impact of any development on these unique and very special black bears can be minimized. The black bears of northern Labrador are ' living on the edge' and it would take relatively little negative human-related impact to send the population into ecological oblivion to join the Labrador grizzly and the wolverine. Good scientific information and a sense of reverence on the part of all interested human players for both the land and the animals are our best proactive measures to ensure this does not happen.

"Everything seems to be on the go more now, you see. Building up or one thing or another.. But, after theY're finished the work, will there be plenty of seals? No? Well, that's it . It's gone .... Dirty land, yes. Would they do anything for us after everything is over, and the land is spoiled? No . " (Torsten Andersen, Makkovik, Labrador in Brice-Bennett 1977: 346).

My sincere appreciation goes to the following" for funding; Natun"l Sciences and Engineering Research Couneil, Mount Saint Vincent 0., Arctic Institute at North America, Canadian Circumpolar Institute, Parks Canada, U. of A1berta, and Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). I had the great pleasure at sharing Kangerdlulc.soak and e nvirons with beat field asaiatanta a biologist eould po.sibley ask for: Wayne Barney, Rodney Barney, Kumar (Dilip) Biswaa, Cheryl Butler, Wendy Clark, Billy Duftett, Randy Earle, Kirsten Evans, John Gosse, Matthew Krizan, Peter Krizan, Erin Shanahan, and Susan Woodward. The a.sistance and cooperation of the Labrador Inuit Association (especially Willh .... Ba rbour and Judy Rowell) and the Wildlife Division (Goose Bay) are appreeiated - thanks to: the late Bob Baikie, Roxanne coles , Billy Duffett. and bndy Trask. Drs. Ian Stirling and Jan Hurie (0. of Alberta) are my academie eo-aupervisora and ... entors. Fred Harrington (Mount SainI; Vincent 0.) and Stu Luttieh (Regional Wildlife Biologist-Labrador) supported, advised, cajoled, aaai.ted, and provided adminilltration for the project. Dennill Andriashek (CWS) taught how to properly capture and handle bean (including big white oneal . Canadian Helicopters and oniveraal Helicopter" (Goose Bay) provided skillful flying, occasional amusement, and much needed radio communication. Prontec Logistics personnel at Goose Bay and Saglek radar station provided transport, a tenuous link with high-tech Civilization, and one or two much needed showers per year. The blaek bears, of course, deserve lIIOat of the thanks -without them I would not have had five wonderful and entertaining years in northern Labrador and I sincerely hope that I did not overly disrupt their otherwise tranquil live".

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Referenc.. e luUeld, A.W ••. 1958. Di.t~ibution of the barren ground grizzly bear in northern Can.~. N"t.

Mus. Can . 8ull. No . 166,47-59. luUeld, A.M.". 1964. Grizzly territory - .xact range of Arctic bear. ia obscured. by old

ifUIIIOUra . Natural History . 73 :22-27. Irlea-laJl.Datt, C. (ad.) 1977 . Ou.r footprints are everywhere : Inuit land u..e and. occupaney in

. Labrador . z..brador Inuit "-soc .• Nain, Lab . III pp . c...~II. A.II'. 1956, A new black bear from Newfoundland . J. Ma __ l. 37:531-5"0. Clark. P.U. and W. W. Fitzhugh. 1"0. LoIte deglaCiation of the central Labrador coaat and ita

i1l!plieationa for the 8g8 of glacial lak •• Ma.k.up! and McLean and for prehistory . auaternary Re .... : 296-305 .

• lliott, D.L . azul S .•. Short. 1979. The northarn lilllit of tree. in Labrador: " discus.ion . 32:201-206 ,

KltOD, c. 1954.. FUrther evidence about the t..rren-groW1d grizzly bear in northe •• tern Labr.dor and Quebec . J. ~1. 35,)45-35'.

Qui1<hy. J.It. 19'8. Grizzly be.r. from ea.tern North AIHIrica. Am . Midl . Nat . "9,2.7 - 250 . Ilaril:l.gtOD. c .•. • A.B. hePberaoa. _d J.P. Italaall. 19'2. The barren ground grizzly be.r in

northern Can.da. Arctic 15,294-291 . Harzaro. S. 1972. A8pect. at evolution and .d.ptation in American bl.ck be.r. (Ur.u. _ericanu.

Palla.) and brown and grizzly bear. (U. areto. Linne) of North Americ •. Int . Conf . Bear Ra •. and ~.ge. 2'221-231.

Harraro. s. 1977 . Black bear. , the grizzly'. replace_nt? pp. 1"9-195 i.a The black bear in IIOdoern North ~ric •. Boone and Crockett Club.

Harraro. s. 1971. A ea.pari.on of .cme fe.tura. of the .volution. ecolO'iY. and behavi01.U" at black and grizzly/ brown bear •. Carnivore 1,7-17.

Boraj.i. II.L .• a .•. HorDbaek. _d. •. 11 ••• illey. 1984 . Molve •• Canie 1upue. kill feTUle black bear. Ur.ua .-mericanua, in Albart. •. Can. Pi.ld N.t. 9. , 3'.·36,.

I ...... J.D. 1'57 . Glaciation at the Torng.t Mount.ins, no ... th.rn Labr.do .... Arctic 10,'7-'7 . Jollkal, C . J. 1"7 . Brown be.r . pp. 457-473 in M. Novak. J.A. Baker. M.B. Obbard. and. B. Malloch

(eda.) Nild furbe.rer .anage~t and con.ervat.lon in North -'-rica. ontario Tr.pper. A8aoc. Toront.o ON. 1150 pp.

Jollkel, C.J. aIId P.L. Kille .... 1970. Recent recorda at t.he bl.ck be.r. (areua americanua) on the barrt!n groundll of CAnada. J. Mammal . 51,126·82 •.

ltol_o.ky. G.II. 1"7. Polar bear. pp. 475-485 in M. Nov.k. J.A. Bilker, M. B . Obbard. and B. Malloch (ed •. ) Wild turbea ... er management. and conaerv.t.ion in Nort.h America . ontario Trapper. AIIaoc. Toronto ON. 1150 pp . I

EoleDo.ky. G.II. and. I.M. StraUearD . U17. Black be&.%" . pp. 442-454 i.a M. Novak. J.A. aakar, M.B. Obbard. and B . Malloch (eda.) Wild turbe.rer ..nagellle.nt. and conserv.t.ion in Nort.h America. ontario Trapper. AII.oc. Toronto ON. 1150 pp.

llabo:Dey. I. ltU. The black bear in Newfoundland. OSprey 16,10-21. llabo:Dey. I.P •• H. Abbott. L.H. IWI.all, and I.II. Portale. 1"9. Woodland c.ribou c.lt IIIOrtality in

inaular Newtoundland. Tran •. Int. union Game Biol. congrea. 19,592-5". llattaoo. D.J., II.M. IIlanehard, a:ad •.•. bight. 1990. pood habit. of Yellow.tone grizzly btlar.,

1977-1987. can. J. Z001. 1619-1629 . Mach, L .D. U70. The wolt . Nat. Hi.t. Pre ••. Garden City. NY. 384 pp. Killer. S.J • ••.• aricballo. and D. Tait. 1"2. The grizzly bear. ot the Mackenzi. Mount..in ••

North_.t Territor!' •. NWT Wild.! . Servo Cocap. Jt.p . No.1. 118 pp. Paya.a ••. P. 1977. Ileport f:n.. Newfoundland . pp. 163-164 in The Black Bear in Modern North

Americ •. Boone and Crockett Club. Pearsoll, A.II. 1'75. The northern interior grizzly be.r. areu. srctos L. Can. Wildl . Serv o Rep.

Sar. No . 34. 14 pp. PaltOll, M .•. 1982. Bl.ck bear. pp. 504-514 in J.A. Cb.apaan and G.A. Paldhammer (.da.) wild

--..ls of NOrth AIaIIrica. Johrul Hopkin. U. Pr •••• BaltilllOre. 1147 pp. aog.r •• L .L. 1!117&:. affects of ... t and berry crop f.ilures on survival. growth. anel reproductive

auccess of bl.ck bear • . Tran •. N. Am . Wi ldl. conf. 41,431-437. Shepard, P. a.ad •. SlIIIde ..... 19.5. The .acreel paw , the bear in nature. III)'th. and literature .

Viking Penguin. N_ York. 241 pp. Spaia •• A. 1!1176. Labrador grizzly (tIrsua .rctos L.): firet .keletal evidence. J. Mammal. 57,7,7-

790. Speia • • A. and. S. Cox. 1977. Ci.covery of the skull at a grizzly be.r in Labr.ctor. Arctic 10,194-

200. Stirl!.#g'. I. (ed .). 1993. "are, _je.tic creature. of trn. wild. Rodala Pre ••• ElmlaWi PA . 240 pp . Stirliq. t. aDd A .•. Derocher. 1!11!111. Pactora affecting trn. evolution and behavioral .cology at

the leOd.ern bears. Int. Conf. Bear Rea . and. Manage .• ,11'-204. Strollg. M.D. 1910. Note. on _lIltIUll. at the Labractor interior. J. MaDwna1. 11:110. Taylo ... , II.E., D.P . Deaa.tar. P.L. lIunnall. and •••• Scttwailleburg-. 1"7. Kode l l1ng the eustainable

harve.t of f._le pol.r bear •. J. wild-l. Manage. 51 1811-820.

Al •• tair Vei tch is from Marystown on the Burin Peninsula and received his BSc . (Biol~) at Memorial University in 1981. Since 1983 he has lived and worked

::'l~~:~~~. an~e h:t!1:d i:V~; V~~ ~~l~i~~!e;~ ~~r!~~i~!:~~a b1~r~99~:nd e hopes to complete his PhD in Zoology at the U. of Alberta in late 1994.

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Fer-ryland Christmas Bird Count - 1993

Ferry land, Newfoundland. 47000'N 52oSS'W. Center at a point 1.6 miles (2 .6

.km) N of the main wharf in Point Kirwin, to include Admiral's Cove and Bear

cove, as described in 1991. - Dec. 29: 7: lSa.m. to 4:45 p.m. Temp. SOF to 20°F

(-lS0C to -6.70e). Wind W 20 m.p.h. (32.2 kph). Snow cover 6 inches (15.2 em).

Still fresh water frozen; moving fresh water open. Clear. Eight observers in 3

parties. Total party-hours 29.5 (25 .5 on foot, 4 by car); total party-miles 61

(25 on foot, 36 by car).

Convnon Loon 3, Red-necked Grebe 1, American Black Duck I. Corrmon Eider 314,

Oldsquaw 79, White-winged Seoter 21.. Red-breasted Merganser 5, Bald Eagle I,

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Purple Sandpiper laO, Conmon Snipe Z. Herring Gull 454,

Iceland Gull 10, Glaucous Gull 1. Great Black-backed Gull 99, Dovekie 78, Thick­

billed Murre 11, murre sp. 4, Black Guillemot 147, Mourning Dove li, Belted

Kingfisher 1. Northern Fl icker 2, Gray Jay £. Blue Jay 3, American Crow 100,

Conwnon Raven !§, Black-capped Chickadee 38, Boreal Chickadee M, Red-breasted

Nuthatch 2" Golden-crowned Kinglet~, American Robin ill, Northern Mock i ngbird

~, American Pioit I, Bohemian Waxwing ill. Northern Shr ike ~, European Starling

98, American Tree Sparrow 1. Savannah Sparrow 6, Fox Sparrow 2, Song Sparrow 2,

lincoln's Sparrow 1, Swamp Sparrow 2, White-throated Sparrow 15, Dark-eyed Junco

ill, Pine Grosbeak 146. Purple Finch..11, Red Crossbi112,. White-winged Crossbill

ill. COIMlon Redpoll ill, Pine Siskin 10. American Goldfinch~, Evening Grosbeak

§Q, House Sparrow 11.

Total species: 52 (about 4072 individuals).

Chris Brown, John Chidley, Ken Knowles, Paul L1negar. Bruce Mactavish (compile r

- 37 Waterford Bridge Road, St. John's, Newfoundland, AlE lCS), John Pratt,

Pierre Ryan, Jytte Seln0, John Well s .

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Cape St. Mary's Christmas Bird Count - 1993

Cape St. Hary's, Newfoundland. 46oS2 ' N 54005'W. Center as described 1980, ..

miles N of Point Lance . - Dec. 18; 7:30 a . m. to 5:00 p.m. Temp. 21°F to 30°F

(-2 . aOC to -1.1 oe) . Wind NW 20 m.p.h. (32 . 2 kph) . Snow cover nl1. Still fresh

water partly open; mov1ng fresh water partly frozen. A.M. Cloudy. P.M . Partl y

c lear. Observers: seventeen 1n 7 parties . Total party-hours 49 (45 on foot, ..

1n car); total party-miles 132.5 (41.5 on foot, 91 by car).

Conmon Loon 17, Red-necked Grebe 2, Great Connorant 42. Great Blue Heron 1, Conmon Eider 854, Harlequin Duck 18, Oldsquaw 311, Black Seater 151, Surf Seoter

2, White-winged Seoter 2, Red-breasted Merganser 51, Bald Eagle.§. (6a, 21),

Northern Harrier,!. Rough-legged Hawk '. Golden Eagle l (11), Peregr1ne Falcon

1. Wil low ptarmigan 1. Herring Gull 105 , Iceland Gull 10, Glaucous Gull 1. Great

Black-backed Gull 62, Black-legged KittiWake 3, Dovekie 2, Thick-billed Murre

3, murre sp . 5, Black Gulllemot 99. Mourning Dove 10, Horned Lark ~, Gray Jay

1, American Crow li. Convnon Raven 115, Black-capped Chickadee 21, Boreal

Ch i ckadee 32. Red-breasted Nuthatch ~, Golden-crowned Kinglet 34, American Robin

1, American Pipit.§., Bohemian Waxwing ill, Northern Shrike 1, European Starling

94 , Palm Warbler 1, American Tree Sparrow ~I Savannah Sparrow~, SharEttalled

~ J,. Song Sparrow 1, White-throated Sparrow 1, Dark-eyed Junco 246. Snow

Bunting 66, Pine Grosbeak 3, Red Crossbill 3, White-winged Crossbill 15, carmon

Redpoll 17. Amer1can Goldfinch M. House Sparrow 20 .

Total species : 53 (about 2686 individuals ).

Chr1s Brown , Peter Ear le. Ian Goudie, Holly Hogan, Ken Hookey, Paul Linegar,

Bruce Mactavish, Dave Morrow, Mark Northcott, Tony Power. John Pratt, Pi erre

Ryan, Jytte Seln" , Stan Tobin, Marie Wadden, John Wells (compiler : Dept. of

Physics, Memorial UniverSity, St. John's, AlB 3X7), Kathleen Winter.

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Terra Nova National Park (North) Christmas Bird Count - 1993

Jerra Nova National Park (North), Newfoundland. 4803S ' N 50oS4'W. Center moved

about 5 miles N in 1987 to create T.N.N.P. (North) count, but is considered to

be the "same count" for record purposes. Newly designated center is 1 mile S of

center of the Eastport Causeway. 0.5 mi Wof Jay Pond, as described 1987. - Dec .

18 . Temp. 11.6oF to 26.6oF (-SOC to _3°C). Wind WSW 3.1 to 5 m.p.h. ( 5-8 kph).

Snow cover 0.8 inches (2 em). 5t111 fresh water frozen. Moving fresh water open .

A.M. Clear . P.M . Cloudy. light snow . Twenty-seven observers in 19 parties, plus

10 at feeders (42 hrs.) . Total party-hours 91 (52 on foot, 39 by car); total

party-miles 206 (80 on foot, 126 by car).

Conmon loon 1. American Black Duck 60 , White-winged Scoter~. Convnon Goldeneye

86 , Bufflehead 16, Corrrnon Merganser .2.§., Red-breasted Merganser ~. Bald Eagle

2 ( la, 11), Ring-necked Pheasant 1. Spruce Grouse ~, Herring Gull 467. Iceland

Gull il. Glaucous Gull lQ, Great Black-backed Gull .§Q. Thick-bill ed Murre 1.

Black Guillemot 1, Mourn i ng Dove 2. Downy Woodpecker 10 , Hairy Woodpecker 14,

Blac~:-b8cked Woodpecker 1, Gray Jay 9 , Blue Jay 72, American Crow 169 . Conmon

Raven 83 , Black-capped Chickadee 152, Boreal Chickadee 56, Brown Creeper 1,

Golden-crowned Kinglet 14 , Dark-eyed Junco ill, Pine Grosbeak 28, Purple Finch

3, White-winged Crossbill 1, Common Redpoll 322. Pine Siskin ill, Evening

Grosbeak lli, House Sparrow 50.

Tota l species: 36 (about 3006 individuals). Birds seen count week but not seen

coun". day: ~, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Goshawk, American Robin. Fox

Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, American Goldfinch.

Kevin Blackmore , Greg Bradley. Paul Brooking , Mark Carpenter, Hect.:r Chaulk,

Ruth Dyke, Ralph Genge, Paul Hansen , Gerald Janes , Barry linehan, John Lush,

Mac Moss, Nancy Moulton. Ed Noel , Clayton Oram, Eva Parsons, Hel Parsons, Ernest

Perry , Jim Pike, Ralph Pike, Attila Potter , Herb Ralph, Ivan Ral ph. Kevin

Robinson, Boyd Rowe, Hark Simpson, Patty Smith, Rod Smith. Nick Soper, Janet

Stewart , Greg Stroud, Kimberley Stroud (compner - General Delivery, Tray town •

Neloifoundland AOa 4KO , phone 532-2444), Clarence Sloieetapple, Jill Ti il e y, Dave

Wagener , Ro~ert Walsh.

83

Corner Brook Christmas 81rd Count - 1993

Corner Brook, Newfoundland. 4SoS7'N 57oS0'W . Center at Ballam Bridge, at mouth

of Humber River, within city limits of Corner Brook. - Dec. 28; 8:00 a.m. to

4:30 p.m. Temp. lSoF to 22°F (-7.SoC to -5.6oC). Wind W 10 m.p.h. (16.1 kph).

Snow cover 12 inches (30. 5 em). Still fresh water open. Moving fresh water open.

A.M. Cloudy. P.M. Cloudy, light snow. Twenty observers in 6-7 parties , plus 10

at feeders (18 hrs .). Total party-hours 32 (21.5 on foot, 6.5 by car, 4 on skis);

total party-miles 69 (34.5 on foot, 26 by car, 8.5 on skis).

American Black Duck 3, Conmon Goldeneye 51, Conmon Merganser 2, Bald Eagle 1

(ia), Ring-billed Gull jl, Herring Gull 827, Iceland Gull 588, Glaucous Gull

123, Great Black-backed Gull 1392. Rock Dove H, Downy Woodpecker 3. Hairy

Woodpecker 3, Gray Jay 1, Blue Jay 23, American Crow 405, Ccmnon Raven 158,

Black-capped Chickadee 74, Boreal Chickadee 9, Golden-crowned Kinglet 2, Bohemian

Waxwing 15, European Starling 187. Fox Sparrow I, Dark- eyed Junco ~. Pine

Grosbeak 14, Purple Finch 7, Pine Siskin 147, American Goldfinch 10, Evening

Grosbeak 102 , House Sparrow 298 .

Total species: 29 (about 4566 individuals). Birds seen count week but not seen

count day: White-throated Sparrow.

Julie Briffett (compiler - 53 Birchvlew Ave., Pasadena, Nfld. AOL 1KO, phone

686-5149) [list of additional observers not available).

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Bonne Bay Christmas Bird Count - 1993

Bonne Bay. Newfoundland . 49031'N 57oS3'W. Center as described 1972, at Gadd 's

.Point light. - Dec. 27; 8 : 00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Temp. 14°F to 23°F (- lOoe to -

SoC). Wind N, light. Snow 3.9-11.8 inches (10-30 em). Still fresh water frozen.

Moving fresh water open. Salt water open. High overcast, a few sunny breaks.

Cone crop poor, with little wild fruit. Fifteen observers in 9 parties, plus 6

at feeders. Total party-hours 42.25 (21.5 on foot, 1 on snowmobile, 19.75 by

car) . Total party-miles 195.5 (30.5 on foot, 5 by snowmobl1e, 160 by car).

Herring Gull 85, Iceland Gull 50 , Glaucous Gull 50, Great Black-backed Gull 19,

Downy Woodpecker 2, Gray Jay 4, Blue Jay 6, American Crow 86, COIIII1On Raven 117,

Black-capped Chickadee 41, Boreal Chickadee 22, chickadee sp . 8, Golden-crowned

Kinglet 10, Ruby-crowned Kinglet !, American Robin 1, European Starling 22.

Dark-eyed Junco 12. Conmon Redpoll 134, Evening Grosbeak 2. House Sparrow 22.

Total species: 19 (about 698 individuals). Additional species seen count week

but not seen count day : Black Guillemot. Pine Siskin.

Mar; l yn Anions , Doug Anions, Brian Bonnell, Mrs. Terry Burden, Blaine Burdette,

George Case , Pat Dawe, Ivan Dawe, Geoff Hancock. Darlene Laing. Donald Learmonth,

Isabel Learmonth (compiler: c/o Gras Horne National Park , Rocky Harbour, Nfld.

AOK 4NO), Janet Learmonth, Katie Learmonth , Wendy Martin, Chris McCarthy, Clem

Reid, Fred Shears, Geraldine Shears , Norm Stolle, Rex Young .

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St. Payl's Inlet [St. Paul's-Cow Head] Christmas Bird Count - 1993

St. Paul's-Cow Head, Newfoundland. 49053'N 57048'W. Center, bridge at St .

Paul ' s , as described 1981. - Dec. 18; 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Temp. 17.SoF

(-8°C) . Wind W. moderate. Overcast, light flurries. Fresh water open. Salt water

open. Snow depth 2 inches (5.1 em). Seven observers in 4 parties. Total party

hours 19.5 ( 16 on foot, 3. 5 by car); total party-miles 88.3 (19.9 on foot , 68.4 by car ).

Common Goldeneye 18, Coomon Merganser 9, Red-breasted Merganser 2. duck sp. 1,

Herring Gull 5, Iceland Gull 11, Glaucous Gull 1, Great Black-backed Gull 8 ,

Thick-billed Murre I, Downy Woodpecker 1, Hal ry Woodpecker ~, American Crow 23,

Conrnon Raven 10, Black-capped Chickadee 12, Boreal Chickadee 6, Golden-crowned

Ki nglet 10, Snow Bunting J.!.

Tota l species : 17 (about 134 individuals) .

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Stephen Anderson (co-compiler: c/o Gros Morne Nat10nal Park, Rocky Harbour, I ; Nfld . AOK 4NO ) , Greg Kenny, Donald Learmonth, Isobel Leannonth, Janet leannonth,

Katie Leannonth, Monica MacPherson.

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The Newfoundland Region Christmas Bird Counts - 1993

Eight Christmas Bird Counts were carried out in the Newfoundland Region this year.

'St. John's remained the early winter warbler capital with seven count day species plus one count period species. Cape St. Mary's also had one species . Ferryland claimed the sparrow prize with seven species, but Cape St. Mary's had five species, St . John's had four, and Corner Brook had one on count day plus another during the count period. In addition, Terra Nova National Park had two count period species, and St.-Pierre et Hiquelon had one. All in all, not a bad haul! Dabbling ducks continue to increase in the St. John' s area, where remarkable numbers of American Black Duck [553], Mallard (161), and Northern Pi ntail (59] were recorded. American Goldfinch were particularly in evidence i n several places - Ferryland (67], St. John's [111] , Cape St. Mary 's [28], Terra Nova Natiional Park [count period], Corner Brook [10] .

Two species were new to Canadian and Newfoundland counts this year: ~ Warbler - St. John's (1]. Prairie Warbler - St. John's [1].

Five additional species were new to Newfoundland counts: Great Blue Heron - Cape St. Mary's [1], Ring-necked Duck - St. John's [21, Golden Eagle - Cape St. Mary's [1], Townsend 's Warbler - St . John ' s [1], Sharp-tailed Sparrow - Cape St. Mary ' s [1].

A Canadian record was set for numbers of Black-and-white Warbler - 4 at St. John's.

John E. Maunder

The underlined sections of the counts listed below are expla i ned by the following key:

- a sing le underlining of a species name means that the bird is new for that count

- a single underl ining of a number means that the number equal s or exceeds the previous highest count of that species on that count

- a double underlining of a species name means that the bird is new for Newfoundland counts

- a double underl lning of a number means that the number equal s or exceeds the previous highest count of that speci es on a Newfoundland count

- a triple underl ining of a species name means that the bird is new for Canadian counts

- • tr1ple under11n1ng of a number means that the number equals or exceeds I 'M ._,_ ",M" ,00", "'~, '."" 00 • ""'00 00'", ~

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St -Pi erre et Hiouelon Christmas Bird Count - 1993

.Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. France. 47001 'N 56018'W. Center as described 1979,

at Etang aux Outardes on Grande Hiquelon. - Dec . 18; 8:00 a.m . to 5: 00 p.m .

remp . 27°F to 32°F (-2.8oC to OOC) . Wind N 30-15 m.p.h. (48.3-24.1 kph). Snow

cover nil. Still fresh water partly frozen; moving fresh water open; salt water

open. Partly cloudy. Eight observers in 5 parties. Total party-hours 38.75 (30.25

on foot, 8.5 by car); total party-miles 100 (51.5 on foot, 48.5 by car) .

Conmon loon 13, Red-necked Grebe 1, Great Cormorant li, Double-crested COrmorant

~, American Black Duck 118, Conrnon Eider 233, Oldsquaw 92, Black Scoter 4, White­

winged Scoter 5, Conmon Goldeneye 50, Red-breasted Merganser 6, Bald Eagle 1

(la), Sanderling ~, Purple Sandpiper 11, sandpiper sp. 2, Conmon Black-headed

Gull 1, Herring Gull 228, Iceland Gull 155, Great Black-backed Gull 15 , Dovekie

4, Black Guillemot 18 , murre sp. 1, Horned lark ~, American Crow 18 , Carmon

Raven 42, Boreal Chickadee la, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1. Golden-crowned Kinglet

15. Eurasian Starling 4, lapland Longspur ~, Snow Bunting 131, Conrnon Redpoll

U, House Sparrow 11.

Total species : 33 (about 1410 individuals ). Additional species seen count week

but not seen count day : Mourning Dove, Savannah Sparrow, Hoary Redpoll.

Jean-Paul Apesteguy, Michel Borotra, Christine Calbrix, [Roger Etcheberry

(compiler, but not participant) - B.P . 328, St.-Pierre, St.-Pierre et Hiquelon,

France], L~on Gaspard, Jacky Herbert, Laurent Jackman, Bruno Letournel , Jean­

louis Mounier .

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St . John's Christmas Bird Count - 1993

St. John's, Newfoundland. 47033'N 52042 ' W. Center 8S descr ibed 1972. at

.Confederation Building. St. John 's. - Dec. 26; 7:15 8.rn . to 4:45 p. m. Temp.

30°F to 3SoF (-101°C to 3.30C). Wi nd SW, 25 m.p.h. (40.2 kph) Snow cover 6

inches (15.2 em). Still fresh water partly frozen . Hov i ng fresh water open.

Partly clear. Nineteen observers in 9-1' parties , plus 2 feeders . Total party­

hours 60 (44 on foot, 16 by car) ; total party-miles 291 (42 on foot, 249 by

car).

Canada Goose 1, Green-winged Teal (American) 7. American Black Duck W . Mallard

l§1. Northern Pintail £,2. Eurasian Wigeon ,l . American Wigeon ~ . Ring-necked Duck

~. Lesser Scaup ~ . Conmon Eider 107, Oldsquaw 11, Bald Eagle ~ ( la, 11), Sharp­

shinned Hawk 6, Northern Goshawk 8, Rough-legged Hawk 1, Ruffed Grouse 1,

American Coot J" Purple Sandpiper 33, Conmon Snipe 1, COfM'IOn Black-headed Gull

9, Ring-billed Gull 4 , Herring Gull 5408, Iceland Gull .ll.1l, Lesser Bl ack-backed

Gull 1, Glaucous Gull 98 , Great Black-backed Gull 1129 , Black-legged Kittiwake

1, Dovekie 4 , Thick-billed Murre 5, Black Guillemot 31, Rock Dove 646, Mournin9

Dove 6, Belted Kingfisher 1, Northern Flicker 14, Blue Jay 24, American Crow

1180, Corrmon Raven 92, Black-capped Chickadee 110 , Boreal Chickadee 44, Brown

Creeper 1, Golden-crowned Kinglet 73, American Robin 257, American Pipit 1,

Bohemian Waxwing 212. Cedar Waxwing 6, Northern Shrike 1. European Starl1ng

2203, Cape May warbler~, Yellow-rumped Warbler 3, Townsend 's Warbler 1, Yellow­

throated Warbler J" Pine Warbler 2, Prairie Warbler J' Black-and-white Warbler

~, Savannah Sparrow 3, Fox Sparrow 1, Song Sparrow 1, White- throated Sparrow 1,

Dark-eyed Junco 147. Snow Bunting 1, Northern Or101e 3, Pi ne Grosbeak 72, Purple

Finch 23, Corrmon Redpoll 8 , Pine Siskin 62, American Goldfinch 111, Evening

Grosbeak 481 , House Sparrow 142.

Total species: 68 (about 18 090 indi vi duals) . Additional species seen count week

but not seen count day : Palm Warb l er (1] , White-winged Crossbill.

Joe Brazil, Chris Brown , Clarence Burry, Howard Clase, David Graham, Ron Hoffe ,

Ken Knowles, Paul Linegar (Compiler: 21 Osbourne Street, St. John 's,

Newfoundland, AlB lX6. Phone : 753-1712 ), Andrea MacCharles, Bruce MactaVish ,

John Maunde: , Ruth Maunder , John McConnell, Bi 11 Montevecch i , Doug Phelan, John

Pratt, Pierre Ryan , Jytte Se1n0, Greg Warbansk i , John Well s , Stuart Wells.

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THE SPRING MIGRATION (1994) IN ST-PIERRE & MIOUELON

Another cold and wet spring. One new speCies of Eagle; passerines birds . chiefly Swallows and Warblers were once again seen in extremely low num­bers. Two species of European vagrants one of which a Fieldfare ... as a new species.

Red-throated Loon: Two days later than average, the first one was heard singing in Kique lon May 6 (RE ). One pair W'as seen by LJ at Langlade May 14, and only one (same site) by BL 3 da ys later. I had one at sea on the West coas t of Langlade Hay 19 (RE) .

Common Loon : Data i s probably incomplete as I was unable to go to Hiquelon in April. A few seen troughout the season (m. ab , ; highest count : 22 in Hiquelon May 5 (RE).

Red-necked Grebe : Relatively few in Miquelon this spring, there was a maximum of 38 only off the east coast and only 8 off the wes t coast on Ap r il 10 (JCH). Conversely they were more numerous than usual in St-Pierre, we had a maximum of 83 birds April 13 (RE/DL). The last one seen off the cape of MiQuelon May 13 (JL Rabotti n ) was 5 days later than average.

Northern Fulmar : One at sea April 1 (RE); One taki ng off from a cliff in St-Pierre April 23 (JPA). then two nea r Colombier i sland May 5 (JCH) . They have been prospecting around our cliffs for several years and wi ll probably nest soon.

Greater Shearwate r One only seen by JCH between St-Pierre and Fortune May 15.

Manx Shearwater : One off the west coast of St-Pierre April 27 (RE/ DL) was six days la ter than last year. Only one other sighting: one at sea Hay I (RE) •

Northe r n Gannet : Two off St-Pierre April 13 were just one day later than last year. Severa l othe r sightings since, maximum 7 birds at a t ime May 14 (RE/DL) •

Great Cormorant: Two nests were occupied in St-Pierre May 12 ( RE/DL ) .

Double-crested Cormorant: Four in St-Pierre harbour by March 31 (LJ) were quite early, average date being Ma y 8 and earliest date on record April 21. A few seen regularly since, for a maximum of 11 in MiQuelon May 21 (RE).

American Bittern : One on the southern part of t he Isthmus May 27 (RE).

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Ca nada Goose : None overwintered; the first migrants appeared on the lsth- e MUS April 9 (BL) There was a maxi mum of only 14 birds April 10 and 14 (SL and MJB respectively) on the isthmus. One nest with 5 eggs at Langlade May 12, seef.l also by BL May 21 whom said they ve re on the site used 2 years ago .

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Wood duck : One female in St-Pierre April 13 (RE/DL); one male also in St­Pierre May 6 (JPA fide BLI. One male in Miquelon around May 23 (Denis Det­cheverry) .

Green W"inged Teal: One pair in St-Pierre April 19 (RE / DL) and 6 teals sp seen briefly by Henri Salomon the previous day \iere about on average date. Seen regularly then in rather low numbers . 10 were reported for St-Pierre and Miquelon May 7 (RE / DL).

American Black duck : About 15 in St-Pierre March 3 (DL); 5 at Langlade March 9, ten at Grand Barachois March 16 ,",ere certainly ovecvinterers (BL) . As a resolt migrants vere difficult to notice once again. They were 33 at Grand Barachois and 27 on the Isthmus April 10 (JCH / BL ) I ,",hile I had 7 in St-Pierre; MJB had 55 on the Isthmus April 14. Seen regularly throughout the rest of the season as usual (RE/LJ/BL/JCH).

Mallard: One pair on the east coast of MiQuelon May 6 and 7, only the male was seen May 24 and 30 (RE). The female is possibly incubating.

Northern Pintail : Three on the Isthmus April 10 (JCH) were close to ave­rage (April 10). Common thereafter throughout the season as usual. One brood of 9 ducklings was seen May 23 (JPA fide JCH) and May 26 (RE) .

Blue-winged Teal One pair in St-Pierre April 25 to May 5 (RE / DL/ LJ). One male in MiQuelon May 13 (LJ). I Eurasian Wigeon, One male on the south part of the Isthmus May 2 (LJ/JPA) .

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American Wigeon : One male in Miquelon May 6 (RE). At least three pairs W'ere present in Miquelon and on the Isthmus on the second fortnight of May (RE/LJ) .

Ri ng-necked Duck: Rather scarce so far , S pairs on the I sthmus May 6 . fiv e males and two females, same area, May 15 ILJ). Average arrival date is April 23.

Greater Scaup : An early male first spotted by DL March 29 in St-Pierre harbour was seen there until April 1 (MJB/ LJ / RE / DL / BL) . There was a female on the Isthmus April 18 ILJ), one pair May 2 ILJ) and three males and two females May 28 (RE).

Common Eider : Common as usual throughout the season off St-Pierre, up to 7 or 800 and off Miquelon where there were about 5000 individuals April 1. It is more than usual, it would be interesting to compare with Ne .. foundland and see if this is indeed an increase in the population or birds displaced from the big island ? BL had 300 birds mostly you ng at St-Pierre May 4. Last seen about 200 off the West coast of Miquelon May 19 which is right the average departing date 1m. ob . J

Harlequin duck One pair in St-Pierre March 30 (LJ) .

Oldsquaw- About 300 off the east coast of Miquelon March 15 (BLI , about 150 same area April I (RE) and about 15 May 1. One pair seen by MJB on a pond of .the Isthmus April 14. Last seen, five off Langlade's east coast May 16 (LJ) w-ere 9 days later t han average.

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Surf Seater : Two males. two immatures and tvo females off the West coast of Miquelon May 1 (JCH/DL).

White-.... inged Seater : Fe .... reports : ten off the east coast of the Isthmus April 1, one off St-Pierre April 30 (RE). Two off the West coast of Mique­Ion May 1 (JCH/DLI and 50, probably more off the east coast of the Isthmus MayS (RE).

Common Goldeneye: A few, up to 45, around the coasts of Miquelon and Lan­glade in early Harch (SL/LJ). Then, they were 30 at Grand Barachois March 16 (BL). about 100 April 2 (RE) I 80 April 10 (BL). and 56 April 14 (MJB). 18 were still present May 1 (JCH/DL) . Last seen, 2 on the Isthmus May 6 (LJ), just the average departing date.

Bufflehead : One female in St-Pierre harbour April" and 5 (RE/DL/LJ/BL1, this is the earliest date on record.

Red~breasted Merganser : Common as usual around Miquelon and Langlade and Grand Barachois and fairly scarce in St~Pierre also as usual (m.ob.).

~ : ONE ONLY. at Langlade May 21 (BL).

Bald Eagle : Several observations of adults and immatures from March 2 to I May 22 in the three islands. The pair is present as usual in Cape Miquelon (BL/JCH/RE/DL/MJB) .

GOLDEN EAGLE : On adult at Langlade around the last week of May was well observed and described by Marc Derible : no white in the wings I a golden nape and neck making the head appearing to be detached from a brownish black body. This is a new species for us. There were a few unsubs tant ied reports in the past.

Northern Harrier : All but one record for Langlade : one female April 23 (BL) was fairly early (record is April 13 and ave rage May 5); one male was on the Isthmus the next day (BL). One female May 7 (LJ ) and one ma le Hay 17 (BL). Then one individual May 21 (BL).

Sharp-shinned Hawk : One only in Hiquelon Hay 22 (RE).

Northern Gos hawk : One only at Langlade Harch 1(8L).

American Kest re l : An unseasonab le individual was in St-pierre April I (NB). Four other reports between May I and 18 (LJ/RE/AG).

HUlin : One in Miquelon April 29 (LJ) was fairly early. Regular ly from April 29 (JA) on in rather low numbers .

Black-bellied Plover: One near Grand Barachois Hay 24 and 26 (RE) .

Greater Golden Plover: 7 near the West coas t of Hiquelon May 2 of which 4 were il1 breeding dress and 3 in molting plumage (JL/JPA/BL). BL had 5 birds also on the Isthmus May 21; none were seen i n the meantime.

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Semipalmated Plover : One at St-Pierre airport May 4 (AE) was 5 days ear­lier than average. Only 5 other reports from May 10 to 16 (LJ/RE) .

Piping Plover: One with a Sanderling! May 16, one alone, same area May 26 (RE), then J, one pair in courtship plus 1 bird May 29 (RE/DL) all on the southern part of the Isthmus where a pair have bred a couple of times.

Killdeer : Becoming quite regular every spring : one on the East coast of Miquelon April 19 (Jeff) and 20 (LJ). 4 in flight near the village of Mique­Ion May 8 (JeH); one at Langlade May 19 (RE). Heard also near the village between May 16 and 26 (JeH).

Greater Yellowlegs : One seen at a distance by YD on the Isthmus April 13 is the best date ever (record was April 20) . One in flight near the village April 21 (LJ) and 22 (BL). Numerous and regular reports of few individuals at at time between April 27 and May 26 (RE/DL/LJ/BL) .

Lesser Yellowlegs : One on the southern part of the Isthmus May 25 (RE).

Soli tary Sandpiper : 1 photographed in St-Pierre by Patrick Boez May 8.

Spotted Sandpiper : One in St-Pierre May 17 (LJ) was right on average. The next one was seen in Miquelon May 23 (RE), then a few regularly (RE/DL/JCHj.

Ruddy Turnstone: One near the village of Miquelon May 17 (RE).

Red Knot : 3 near Grand Barachois May 24 (RE).

Sanderling: One with a Piping Plover on the isthmus May 16 (RE).

Least Sandpiper One in Miquelon May 14 was late by two days (RE). Several reports then regularly (RE/BL).

Purple Sandpiper: About 20 at Langlade March 3 (BL); 25 and 24 near the village of Miquelon March 6 and 8 respectively; 5 in St-Pierre March 21 (LJ) and about 30 in flight also in St-Pierre May 5 (AE).

Common Snipe: One in Miquelon March 5 could well be an overwinterer (BL). First migrants noted in St-Pierre (RE/DL/LJ) April 25. Regularly then in relatively low numbers from May 1 on (RE/DL/LJ/BL/JCH).

Ring-billed Gull : One only in St-Pierre harbour April 1 (MDl . Regularly only from Apr. 9 on (RE/DL/JCH/BL). About 180 were on the Isthmus Apr. 10 (JCH). Common in St-Pierre, Miquelon & the Isthmus for the rest of season.

Iceland Gull : Numerous, only reported for St-Pierre, the last adults were seen April 20 and the last immatures up to May 5 (average May 2) (RE).

Black-legged Kittiwake : Common as usual around colonies. Some gathering nesting material near Cape Mique10n May 6. (RE) .

Arctic/Common Terns : Two Tern sp in flight at sea between Miquelon and Langlade (RE) and 2 also off Miquelon May 15 (JCH). The first ones seen on

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land were about 40 on the isthmus May 25 (JA). There were hundreds there e the next day (RE), then more or less as usual (RE).

Razorbill : 3 birds were seen near the St-Pierre colony April 22 (RE), ten in five pairs May 1 (AG) and only one May 12 (RE/DL). About ten birds were near Colombier island May 21 and 12 \iere near Cape Miquelon May 29 (JCH) .

Black Guillemot : Common as usual. The first one in breeding plumage was noticed only April 9 as compacted to March 25, 1992 and March 20, 1993. There were still numerous in vinter dress by April 20 and 24 (RE/DLJ.

Atlantic Puffin : Numerous reported by Captain Joe Admond and its crew on Grand Colombier by April 23. There were at least 1000 birds there by May 1 (RE/OL).

Mourning Dove : Three early reports for a species that apparently was not noticed during the winter : one in St-Pierre March 26 (BL) and 27 (RE) i then one in Miquelon April 14 (LJ).

Snowy Owl : One in Miquelon March 3 (BL), at least one in St-Pierre between April I and May 5 (BL/MD/RE/DL/AE/NB).

Short-eared Owl : Regular and breeder a few years ago it is rather scarce these last years. One owl seen in St-Pierre by a non-birder April 10 was possibly this species.

Bel ted Kingfisher : A very early one was well described by a non-bi rder to MD at Langlade March 20. Three other sightings in St-Pierre May 4 (AE), May 5 (RE/DL) and 16 (AG). One on southern Langlade May 12 (LJ) and 22 (BL) .

Northern Flicker : One well described by a non-birder in St-Pierre April 19 was fairly close to average (April 24). Regularly seen, more or less as usual from May 1 on (NB/LJ/RE/DL) mostly on Langlade and St-Pierre.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: One only in St-Pierre May 31 (LJ).

Eastern Kingbird : Scarce so far, One at Langlade May 30 and one i n St­Pierre the next day (LJ). NONE so far in Miquelon, average arrival date is May 20, earHest April 28 and latest May 31 (20 year data).

Horned Lark : One in the village of Miquelon March 2 was an overwinterer (JeH). First migrants reported from April 1 (YO) on and fairly common as usual (JCH/RE/DL/BL/M.JB).

Tree Swallow: One only at Langlade May 15 (LJ) was close to latest date on record (May 19). The next ones were seen only from May 25 on. They are VERY SCARCE.

Barn Swallow : One bird at Langlade May 6 (LJ). Three birds only at Lan­glade near the Isthmus were seen several times between May 6 and 25 (LJ/RE). Then a few on the Isthmus May 25. None reported for the other is­lands.

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Black-capped Chickadee : 7 reports between between March 25 and April 15 (RE/DL/LJ/JCH/MJ8) of very few birds at a time. HB had 8 birds together in St-Pierre May 1.

Boreal Chickadee: More or less as usual; feW'mentions but apparently under reported.

Red-breasted Nuthatch : At least two birds overwintered at Guy Fouchard's feeder. There were 4 in the wild in St-Pierre March 25 (LJ). Several re­ports in April and May mostly in St-Pierre and Langlade (LJ/RE/DL/HJB/BL/AG) .

Winter Wren : VERY SCARCE one at Langlade May 11 and 12 (LJ), and one heard from a distance also in Langlade May 29 (RE)! As compared to 13 reports las t year and 20 I two years ago .

Ruby-crowned Kinglet : Arrival noticed May 1 in St-Pierre : one heard (RE/DL); Langlade : 6 seen by NB. Regularly Since. more or less a usual (LJ/RE/DL) .

Golden-crowed Kinglet : NONE REPORTED. I have now personally a problem to hear their call, but I haven't seen any throughout the season .

Grey-cheeked Thrush : An outstanding record about 10 in St-Pierre May 5 (LJ) and two same area and date (NB), this is exceptionally EARLY, as ave­rage date is May 26, earliest May 21 and latest June 3. Then, a few were calling i n the woods of Miquelon May 28 (RE) . One or two were singing at Langlade May 29 (RE/DL) and only one heard in MiQuelon May 30 (RE). Another species becoming quite scarce?

Swainson's Thrush : One was seen last spring and none so far this year ! . . .

Hermit Thrush: A very early one was seen in St-Pierre April 20 (earliest was April 26). The next ones were seen from May 7 on, singing here and there in low numbers as usual (LJ/RE/DL/JCH).

FIELDFARE One, well described by LJ at Langlade. seen several times from May 7 to 13 is A NEW SPECIES for us.

American Robin : The first one was spotted by Jacky Hacala in St-Pierre March 26 and several were seen by 8ernard Beloir on the same island two days later. JCH had about 100 birds in the Cape MiQuelon April 3; common thereafter. One adult was carrying food at Langlade by May 29 (RE).

American Pipit : 1 only heard near the East coast of MiQuelon May 22 (RE).

Cedar Waxwing 5 at Langlade May 30 and I in St-Pierre the next day (LJ) .

Northern Shrike : One in St-Pierre March 30 (LJ), One in Cape Miquelon April 3 (JCH), One in St-Pierre April 10 and 16 (RE/DL) .

Solitary Vireo: One silent bird (? female) in MiQuelon May 24 and 2 males singing at Langlade May 29 (RE) .

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Tennessee Warbler 2 males singing at Langlade May 29 and one seen in Mi- e quelon May 30 (RE).

Yellow Warbler : One in St-Pierre May 28 (DL) was 3 days later than ave­rage; one singing at Langlade May 29 and 2 or 3 birds singing near the east coast of Miquelon May 30 (RE) ARE THE ONLY RECORDS SO FAR!

Magnolia Warbler One at Langlade May 26 (MJB) was right on average . One other sigthing only: 2 males also at Langlade Hay 29 (RE).

Cape-May Warbler: One male at Langlade May 25 (RE).

Yellowrumped Warbler : One female alone in St-Pierre rather early : April 18 (RE). Only a few here and there from May 2 on (LJ/RE/DL/JCH). Where are the hundreds upon hundreds ve used to see ?

Black-throated green Warbler : One male singing in Miquelon and one female May 22 (RE) were one day earlier than average, one in St-Pierre Hay 25 (LJ) and one female in Hiquelon May 30 (RE).

Palm Warbler: One in the village of Miquelon May 3 (LJ) were 2 days ear­lier than average. Several other reports between May 6 and 22, about as usual (LJ/RE/DLI.

8lackpoll Warbler : A record early male was seen in St-Pierre Hay 11 (RE), average is May 18 and earliest May 14. Regular from May 22 on (LJ/DL/RE).

Black & White Warbler: A few in Miquelon May 22 (RE) were four days later than average. A few here and there then, more or less as usual.

American Redstart : One in St-Pierre May 25 (LJ) (average 26) . One in St­Pierre Hay 27 (OL) and one in Langlade May 29 (RE/OL).

Ovenbird: ONE ONLY , heard once at Langlade May 25 (RE).

Northern Waterthrush : One singing in St-Pierre May 11 (RE) was 5 days ear­lier than average. Uncommon from May 16 to 22, then common as usual.

Common Yellowthroat : One singing in Miquelon May 22 (RE) was right on ave­rage, One male was singing at Langlade May 29 (RE/OL) and one in Miquelon "ay 30 (REI.

Wilson ' s Warbler Several in St-Pierre May 25 (DL/LJ) were 3 days later than average. LJ had another one in St-Pierre the next day . The first one for Langlade was noted May 29 and in Hiquelon May 30 (RE). Few so far.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak : Two at Langlade May 28 and 29 (Claude Poirier fide NBI·

Savannah Sparrow : One in St-Pierre April 18 was fairly early (RE). A few s i nging ·in St-Pierre by April 27. relatively few until May 10 (RE/ DL/ LJ/NB/ JCH). Very common in the morning of May 11 (RE/DL).

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Fox Sparrow One in St-Pierre April 3 (NB) was one day later than average. One briefly heard singing (RE) and one seen by NB the next day. Common and singing everywhere (RE/DL) from April 10 on. One flying yo ung adult size seen i n Miquelon May 30.

Song Sparrow: Two in St-Pierre April 1 (LJ) 'Jere possibly overwinterers. A few males regularly heard singing, only in St-Pierre, from April 10 to May 25 (RE/DL/NB).

Lincoln' 5 Sparrow : Two heard singing in MiQuelon and one seen in the vil­lage May 22 (RE). average is May 17. One singing in Miquelon May 24 and in Langlade May 25 (RE); one in St-Pierre May 25 (LJ).

Swamp Sparrow Two in the village of Miquelon May 10 (LJ/JCH) were about on average. One or two singing i n St-Pierre the next day (RE / DL). Regular and singing from May 16 on.

White-throated Sparro .... : The first one .... as spotted by LJ Hay 3 in St­Pierre. One also in St-Pierre the next day (DL). Regular but relatively un­common throughout the month. Numerous birds seemed to have arrived during the night of 10 to 11 Hay (seen under Savannah sparro\o').

White-cro\o'ned Sparro .... : One report, two in MJB's backyard May 26 and 27.

Dark-eyed J unco : One or two overwintered. Two birds in South-Western St­Pierre seemed to be just arriving by April 18. Fe .... r eports of few birds i n the three islands from May 1 to 22 (NB/JCH/RE) .

Snow Bunting ; About 30 in flight in the to .... n of St-Pierre March 2 (RE) and about 50 the same day in the village of Miquelon (JCH). Last seen, two April 10 (JCH).

Red-winged Blackbird One female in the village May 29 (JCH) and two brie-fly seen by BL and LJ at Lang1ade the next day .

Rusty Blackbird ! This bird is becoming rather rare here in recent years. St-Pierre : one April 24 (LJ). t\o'O May 5 (AE) one May 17 (LJ) . Miquelon one only May 22 (RE). Langlade 1 May 22 (BL) are the only records.

Common Grackle: Two in the village of Miquelon May 7 (RE).

Pine Grosbeak Scarce as compared to last year. 6 in Miquelon March 7; one i n St-Pierre April 3 (LJ). One male singing in Miquelon May 17 and 22 (RE).

Purple finch T\o'o in St-Pierre April 4 (NBl. 5 other sightings of few birds from May 10 to 23 (RE/DL/LJ). JCH had 3 or 4 birds at their feeder bet\o'een May 23 and 31.

Common Redpoll : Very common last winter, most seemed to have disappeared in March. Three i n the village March 2 (JCH) 5 or 6 in St-Pierre March 25 e (LJ); One in Miquelon April 3 and two April 10 (JCH).

Pine Siskin 6 reports of few birds bet .... een May 12 and 29 (RE/DL/LJ/JCHl in St-Pierr e and Miquelon.

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American Goldfinch : Several birds overwintered. St-Pierre : 11 reports e between March 25 and May 31 of up to 8 birds (LJ/NB/DL/RE/SL) . One female only seen at Langlade May 18 (BL); MJB had two, then three pairs between May 25 and 31 at his feeder.

Evening Grosbeak : One at Langlade May 1 and one in St-Pierre May 12 (NB). One in St-Pierre the next day (OL). One heard and three seen at a distance in Miquelon May 28 (RE).

CONTRIBUTORS : Jean-Paul Apesteguy (JPA); Jerry Arrossamena (JA) . Nicole Berthier (NB); Marc Derible (MOl; Yvon Detcheverry (YO); Alain Eudot (AE); Alexis Gloaguen (GA ) Jackie and Christine Hebert (JCH); Laurent Jackman (LJ) i Danielle Lebollocq (OL); Bruno Letournel (BL).

Saint-Pierre June 11 , 1994

Roger ETCHEBERRY

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THE NESTING SEASON (1994) IN ST-PIERRE & KIQUELON

The .... eather was exceptionally beautiful in June and the first fortnight of July. but the last two weeks of the period brought in some rain an'd a lot of fog. We had another neW' species . The loW' number of passerine birds did not induce much observer activity in the woods .

Red-throated Loon : Three birds in northern Miquelon June 9 (BL) and June 23 (REI I no nest or chicks found and site not revisited. BL had a pair wi th two young almost adult size at Langlade July 23 . Are ve still the southern breeding limit of t he species in North America ?

Common Loon : One bird in breeding plumage was still off the Isthmus June 3; one seen in flight at sea June 12 (RE). Three, one seen at close range i n breeding plumage. off the Isthmus July 8 were almost exceptional in this season (RE/DL). Heard (number unknown) , off the Isthmus again July 31, these were probably fall migrants (RE).

Northern Fulmar : Two pairs were on Colombier island July 13 (RE/ LJ), only one July 17 and none since (RE). They have been prospecting for some years now, they'll nest one of these days.

Greater Shearvater : Capelin have been late and somewhat scarce this year, so no concentration reported whatsoever. They are usually more numerous between Green island and Danuic (Buri n peninsula) they have been reported June 17 as being numerous [Shearwater sp], there since the first days of June (JA); around t he island, numerous reports of few individuals at a time throughout the season (RE/DL/JCH/DD/LJ).

Sooty Shean/ater : Very few, 5 reports only, of few individuals bet .... een St­Pierre and Miquelon from June 28 to July 19 (RE/DD/LJ).

Manx Shearwater : No visit to Colombier island yet. Relatively few birds were seen in the area throughout the season, maximum 10 to 15 July 22 (RE) .

Northern Gannet : A few birds regularly from June 1 to 28 (LJ/RE/ JCH/DL) . Only one report for July: 6 or 7 off east coast of Miquelon July 13 (DOl .

Great Cormorant : No systematic survey, about 46 nests, in four sites. one in St-Pierre, one on Colombier island and two at Langlade (RE/JCH/ DL).

Double-crested Cormorant : Apparently nesting only in the "Eastern rocks" off t he east coast of Miquelon (site not visited). One taking off from Mi­rande lake (about two miles from nesting site) with nesting material June 4 and 24 (RE). Few birds. fewer than in recent years, seen in June and July.

American Bittern : One only, where the species have nested at least once- on the Isthmus, June 3 (RE) . '

Canada Goose ; One brood of 6 in northern Miquelon June 6 were about teal size (BLl. they were still 6 June 23 and about duck size (RE). LJ had three

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~~~~~~g~n:g:~e a~~~~h:r:e:~:e J~~e t~:. I~~~:u~ii~!~~ ~::~~~t~~~IYbr~~d 5 o~n~w~ e (for the firs t time !) on his marsh on the southern part of the Isthmus . With also one brood at Langlade seen earlier in the season, i t is a total of 6 known nesting pairs for this year.

Green-winged Teal Very few reports all on the Isthmus : one pair June 7 (BL); 5 males , June 24 (RE); one alarmed female July 18 IRE); six flying individuals July 31 (DL/RE).

American Black duck : Reported only in St-Pierre where 3 or 4 broods were reported. one with ten young June 8 (LJ).

Mallard : One pair seen on Mirande lake in May, then the male was seen alone June I, the female was alone June 2 and 3 (RE). Finally, BL found the female with two ducklings, same site, June 30. This is the t hird or fourth nesting report for this species.

Northern Pintail : As usual, the commonest breeding duck on the Isthmus where several broods were located , apparently a bit earlier than usual. Se­veral birds were already flying by July 31 (m.ob) .

American Wigeon : All reports for the Isthmus : 2 pairs June 1, one pair June 3 (RE) , one male June 7 (BL), one pair June 12 (RE) and one individual July 5. Not nest or brood found so far. We had one nesting evidence a few years ago.

Ring-necked Duck : Three males and one female near the east coast of Mique­Ion June 4 (RE) is the only report.

Greater Scaup A few birds (more females than males) were reported several times , mostly in June (BL/RE). One nest with 5 eggs was found on the Isth­mus by LJ June 27 . A female duck found with four ducklings aged about 2 weeks on another pond of the Isthmus July 31 (RE/DL/LJ) was not identified on the site. The behavior observed was identical with details given by Bent for this species. the young resemble closely the picture on Kortright, the female had no white visible on the head! This is the second and third confirmed breeding record for our islands and the first for the Isthmus.

White-winged Seater : About 30 off the East coast of Miquelon June 5 (JCH) and about the same number, same area July 8 (RE/DL/JCH).

Red-breasted Merganser : Fairly common as usual throughout the season. 22 individuals in one group on a pond of the Isthmus were certainly non-bree­ders June 12 IRE). The first brood, of 10 young aged about a week, was found on Mirande lake July 15. another one with 5 young aged 3 or 4 days \o'as near the village of Miquelon the same day. LJ had a brood of 8 aged about 3 weeks on the northern part of the Isthmus July 28.

Osprey: One in flight harrassed by two croW's in St-Pierre June 20 (RE/DL) .

Bald Eagle: The pair in Cape Miquelon was present but. did'nt lay any egg for the second year i n a row, senile ? if it is the same pair nesting there. they did so since 1979 at l east . The pair at Langlade had two young almost adult size by July 8 (REjJCH/DL).

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Northern Harrier One individual in Miquelon July 10 lias quite unusual (DO). No nesting is known for Miq ue lon, although t he species had nested, a nd possibly s t ill nest at Langlade.

Northern Goshawk: Very few reports, one individual in bad light vas impos­sible to identifty to sex July 4 (RE). One alarmed adult attacked Marc Oe­rihle July 19, no t far from a known nesting site i n Miq uelon.

Roug h-legged Ha .... k Not a single report. al though we thought that one dark phase individual was resident. This is the first time for years t ha t the species did' nt nest on Co l ombier island .

Merlin Less reports than usual. No nest or you ng seen; one alarmed pair in St-Pierre June 9 (RE). one pair possibly nesting on southern Langlade (B L) . one alarmed pair in Miquelon July 31 (RE/DL) .

Sor a A couple of hours spent nea r a marsh of the isthmus (where males were heard singing a few years ago) was totally unproductive.

Black-bellied Plover One bird J une 1 and two bi rds June 3 on the Isthmus. There was only one June 12 while the next day it was in company with a Gol­den Plover, not seen closely enough for good identification (RE). The first fall migrants 30 to 40 birds were present a t Grand Barachois July 31 (RE/DL/LJ) .

Semipalmated Plover Seen as us ua l, in low numbers in June and July. Seven br oods seen from June 26 to July 18 (JCH/RE) most of them near the village of Miq uelon .

Piping Plover : One pair had 4 young about a .... eek old on the southern part of the Isthmus J uly 5 and 8 {RE/DL} . Two birds , behaving like a pair , pre­sent about a mile to the north J uly 5 where not seen July 8.

Killdeer Four reports between June 20 and J uly 15 (REjJCH) of one to two birds. No br eeding evidence so far t his year. This species is becomi ng qui te regular here in spring and summer.

Greater Yellowlegs : One bird in Miq uelon J uly 2, 3 and 8 (RE / DD), a very noisy birds .... as present on the is thmus J ul y 18 (RE) . First migrants seen from July 22 on 8 birds near the village of Miquelon (DO); they were 25 on the northern side of the Isthmus J uly 28 (LJ).

Lesser Yellowlegs : A fe .... (less than ten) birds near Gr and Barachois July 31 (RE/DL/LJ).

Willet One near Grand Barachois J une 1 and 12 {REI.

Spotted Sandpiper : Fairly common throughout t he season . One nest contai­ning 4 eggs on southern Langlade June 10 (LJ). One nest wi th 4 eggs June 24 on east coast of Miquelon (U); one nest 4 eggs on west coast of Miquelon July 2 (DO); 1 adult and one you ng 3/4 adult size on east coast of Miquelon July 23 (RE) ; I flying young near Grand Barachois J ul y 31 (RE/DL).

Io,thimbrel All records for the Isthmus. Twelve birds .... ere seen on t he re­~e of Ju ne 26 (earliest was June 27, 1985). Four were also seen by

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Bt June 29 (BL) and about one hundred by July 4 (JCH). DO had about 150 July 8 while LJ had 250 July 31.

Ruddy Turnstone : The first migrant was seen near Grand Barachois July 24 (RE); there were 5 or 6 birds there July 31 while tJ had about 15 a couple of miles to the south.

Red Knot : One near Mirande lake (east coast of Mique1on) July 23 (RE) and 1 only with White rumps and Turnstones at Grand Barachois July 31 (RE/DL).

Semipalmated Sandoiper : A few, with more numerous ",hite r umps near Grand Barachois July 31 (REIDt).

Least Sandpiper : More or less as usual, no nest or brood found. Ho r e nume­rous from July 12 on (RE/LJ).

White Rumped Sandpiper: A few at Grand Barachois July 24 (RE). At least one hundred there July 31 (RE/DL).

Short-Billed Dowitcher : 15 near Grand 8srachois July 31 (RE/DL/LJ) were late (average date July 17) . This possibly reflect no enough field work.

Common Snipe : Rather uncommon, or not reported? It was quite common and noisy on Brunette Island June 18, the contrast bet""een this island and ours was striking. No nest or young seen here.

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~ One near Hiquelon June 28; T .... o birds briefly seen bet""een St- I Pierre and Langlade July 8 ""ere thought to be parasitic (RE/DL/ JCH ).

Common Black-headed Gull : One only near the East coast of Langlade July 8 (RE/DL/JCH) .

Ring billed Gull : As reported last year, following disturbance they have moved to nest near a rich marsh ""here between 200 and 300 pairs nested this year again; Numerous young lihere 3/4 to 4/5 adult size July 31 (RE/LJ).

Black-legged Kitti .... ake : About as usual in all the colonies, breeding suc­cess appeared quite 10 .... in Cape Miquelon where about one nest out of 10 or 15 had young July 4 (RE).

Common/Arctic Terns :_It is quite difficult to treat them apart, they are always mixed up here ! ... About 150 (mostly arctic) nea r the gulley of Grand Barachois where they are disturbed by cars didn't nest, only one nest .... as found there. One group (mostly common) 100+ birds nested on an island of Mirande lake ; and a large group 300+ nested of the marsh men t ionned for Ring billed Gulls. A fe .... young were flying by July 31 while there lias still some eggs and t .... o chicks aged about 2 or 3 days (RE/DL/LJ).

Black Tern: One pair was nest i ng for the third consecutive year, LJ found a nest .... ith 2 eggs June 27, just a fe .... meters from last yea r ' s on the isth-

~~~;. T:~~:d:ne:eS:~::sisblrs t~~t p:~~:~. adten~~as:Og3 i~dutlht: S:~~~dsefeOnrn~~~~~: e July limited the observations .

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Razorbill 33 birds were counted around Colombier island July 8 (RE/DL/JeH) and about 23 on the north coast of St-Pierre. They !Jere nume­rous on the south coast of Langlade July 17 (RE) .

Black Guillemot Common as usual , They were between 150 and 200 adults on the east coast of Langlade July 8 (REjDL/JCH1.

Atlantic Puffin : No visit to Colombier island this year so far. The colony appear to be in very good health and apparently i ncrease from year to year.

Belted Kingfisher : Five sightings between June 3 and July 8 (RE/LJ) in Langlade and Miquelon, no nesting evidence.

Northern Flicker : Nesting only at Langlade as usual, LJ had tva breeding pairs on eastern Langlade and one on southern Langlade July 5.

Eastern Wood-Pewee : One only in Miquelon June 11 (JCH) .

yello .... -bellied Flycatcher: Seemed relatively common throughout the season, no breeding evidence reported (NB/RE/ JCH/LJ ) .

Alder Flycatcher: Two males (possibly 3) singing near the East coast of Miquelon Ju ne 24 and one (possibly 2) July 9 (RE).

Eastern Kingbird : 5 reports of one bird at a time (except 2, June 13 at Langlade) between June 8 and July 6 (BL/RE/MJB/OD/LJ) in the three islands .

Horned Lark : Common as usual. One flying young was seen on the Isthmus June 13 (RE); One nest with 3 young aged 5 or 6 days was found near Mirande lake June 14 (RE) and LJ had one nest with 3 eggs on the west coast of t he Isthmus June 23.

Bank 5wa110 .... : The first one of t he year was seen on the Isthmus June 12, t hey were t .... o the next day (RE). Two birds. possibly a pair, appeared more or less territorial also on the isthmus J uly 31 (RE/Dt).

Barn S .... a11o.... Very scarce. 6 reports from J une 1 t o 14 (NB/ JCH/RE/LJ) of very few birds except about 12 June 3 on the Isthmus CRE). Not a single Tree swallow was reported.

American Crow One flying young in Cape Miquelon July 18 (RE).

Common Raven Two flying young July 4, one family, June 18 on Cape Mique­Ion; one pair with two noisy flyi ng young near the village of Miquelon July 23 (RE).

Black-capped Chickadee One (only) heard in Miquelon July 4 ! (RE).

Boreal Chickadee more or less as usual, probably underreported. Several birds in Langlade, one carrying food July 12 (RE) .

Winter Wren Quite scarce, one si nging near Langlade's west coast July 12 (RE) .

Rubv-crolJned Kinglet Very fe .... reports. possibly less common than usual .

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Golden-crowned Kinglet : None reported !

Grey-cheeked Thrush : Scarce, 9 reports of only one bird at a time, frolll June 3 to July 12 (JCH/RE/DL) in the three islands.

Hermit Thrush: One calling in the .. oads of Eastern Hiquelon July 4 (RE). One alarmed pair, same area, July 12 (MOl.

American Robin: T..,o (of different pairs) carrying food in MiQuelon June 1; Several birds carrying food in St-Pierre June 9 (RE). One pair building a nest in St-Pierre June 13 (LJ). One nest .... ith one egg in St-Pierre June 17. had 1 young a feW' hours old and 2 eggs July 1 (LJ). One carrying food in Miquelon June 23 (RE) and July 23 (RE).

BROWN THRASHER : Long overdue ! ... 1 bird spent at least 8 da ys in St­Pierre in early June. identified (and well described) by He nri Salomon whom did'nt kno\i it \ias a ne\i species for us and didn't pass the message along to other birders .

Gray Catbird; One only in St-Pierre June 5 (LJ).

Cedar Waxwing: 1\10 in St-Pierre J une 21 (BL) is the only report.

Yello\i Warbler : Fairly common, one carrying food in Miquelon July 4, one nest with 3 young aged 6 or 7 days also in Miquelon July 9 (RE).

Chestnut-sided Warbler: One female on the Isthmus June 1 (RE).

Magnolia Warbler : One or two males singing i n Hiquelon from June 1 to " (RE) •

Yellowrumped Warbler : A few individuals on the Isthmus June 1 \iere the last spring migrants to be seen (RE).

Black-throated green Warbler; One male and two females near the east coast of MiQuelon June 3, one bird also in MiQuelon June" (RE).

Blackburnian Warbler : One male in Langlade June" (LJ).

Blackpoll Warbler : 8 reports from June 1 to July 12 (REjJCH). One nest with" chicks aged 5 or 6 days in MiQuelon July 4 (RE).

Black & White Warbler : Fairly scarce I at least much less common than in migration. 4 reports only from June 7 to July" (REjLJ).

American Redstart : Very scarce, one female June 3 in HiQuelon (RE ) and one individual in Cape HiQuelon June 12 (JCH).

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Northern Waterthrush : The commonest .... arbler as usual, appa rently still ~~i~e l~u~:~~~s (JCH/NBjREjDL) One adult feeding a flying young at Langlade e Common Yellowthroat : More or less as usual, 11 reports from June 1 to July 14 (REjLJ). One male singing "WITCHY WITCHY WITCHY" in MiQuelon July 9 was

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r eally unusua l, the usual song here being "witchitity .... itchitity W'itchi­tity". (RE) .

I,Hlson's Warbler : Only 4 sightings bet\Jeen June 1 and July 9 (RE) .

Savannah Soarrow Quite common as usual. One adult carrying food in St­Pierre June 23 . Two nests, each one IJith 4 eggs in northern Miquelon June 23 (RE); one carrying food near the village of Miquelon J uly 8 (RE/DL); one nest with 3 young aged 3 or 4 days on the Isthmus July 12 (RE); one young barely flying also on the Isthmus July 31 (LJ).

Fox Sparro.... Quite common as usual; one or tvo flying young in St-Pierre June 20 (RE/DL).

Lincoln' 5 Sparrow One singing i n Miquelon June 3 (RE) I no other report.

Slolamp Sparrow Common. more or less as usual. one adult carrying food i n Miquelon July'.

White-throated Sparrow Rather scarce, one only singing near the east coast of Miquelon June 2' and July 9 (RE).

Bobolink: One pair, the male singing near east coast of Miquelon June 2. only the male seen (singing) two days later (RE).

Common Grackle One in flight in Miquelon June 2' is t he only report (RE). Not a si ngle Rusty reported, a regular and breeding species in the past.

Pine Grosbeak : Six reports . of fe ... birds at a time between June 3 and July 26 (RE/LJ).

Red Crossbill One pair in flight in Miquelon July 9 (RE).

Common Redpoll One male alone in Miquelon July 9 (RE).

American Goldfi nch : All report s for St-Pierre MJB had two, then 3 pairs at his feeder from late May to J une 8; two males singing June 20 (RE/DLI; two males and one pair July 26 (LJ). The species is becoming qu i te regular and possibly breeds here no .... but there is no evidence yet.

Contributors Joseph Admond (JA); Nicole Berthier (NB); Michel Borotra (MJB); Marc Derible (MD); David Detcheverry (DD); Roger Etcheberry (RE); Jackie and Christine Hebert (JCH); Laurent Jackman (LJ) i Danielle Lebollocq (DL); Bruno Letournel (BL) .

Saint-Pierre August 7 199'

Roger EtCHEBERRY

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Newfoundland Grass-of-Parnassus

certain plants just seem to draw more attention t han others , for what reason I really don' t know. Our species of Grass-of­Parnassus always seem to catch my eye tempting me to t ake yet another photograph. Perhaps it is their "clean lines" and uncomplicated display, their simple yet interesting flower, their small but sturdy stature , or perhaps it is simply the abundance when their chosen habitat is encountered. Whatever the reason, I enjoy these little "grasses" which are not grasses at all!

Grass-of-Parnassus or "Bog-stars" are dicotyledons of the fam i ly Saxifragaceae, the Saxifrages, which includes over a dozen Newfoundland species, many of them small showy arctic/alpine plants. Some authorities split the genus Parnassia from the Saxifrages into a family of its own, Family Parnassiaceae. The name Grass-of-Parnassus comes from a plant (probably.f. pplustris) described from Mount Parnassus in Greece by Dioscorides, military physician of the Emperor Nero in the first century A. D. Somehow in the translation the term "grass" became associated with the plant and has "stuck" ever since.

We have four species of pprnassia in Newfoundland, three of them also being found in Labrador. These include the following:

1-2.

3 . 4.

Bluish Grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia ~ Raf.) Kotzebue's Grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia kotzebuei Cham.) Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus (parnassia palustris L.) Small-flowered Grass-of-Parnas5us (Parnassia parviflora DC.)

Bluish Grass-of-Parnassus is not recorded for Labrador. Two species are considered to be rare in Newfoundland, f. qlauca and f. kotzebuei. All four species are recorded only from the west coast of the Island preferring calcareous substrate which is common here. They are found in wet areas, from rocky gravely sites to rich fens over limestone.

In general, the plants are usually small especially in exposed and nutrient poor sites, usually less than thirty centimeters in height, often less than half of this. .f. ~ is the largest species, up to sixty centimeters in height, but again, in many poor sites often much less than this. From the clustered basal leaves arise one or more long scapes (flowering stems) each with a single white flower at the summit . The scapes are either naked (leafless) or in some species exhibit a single sessile leaf usually above the level of the basal leaves. Flowers have five petals, five sepals, and fiVe stamens .

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the staminodia can be used to distinguish our species from one another along with several other features as indicted in Table l. Figure 2 illustrates the four Newfoundland species.

Wildflower enthusiasts travelling the west coast of the Island should be on the 1I1ookout" for these beauties. Depending on the location, latitude and altitude, they are usually in bloom from late July to early September. Our two rare species and Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus have thus far only been recorded north of the Bay of Islands - Deer Lake area, whereas the more common Small-flowered Grass-of-Parnassus appears to inhabit the entire west coast. It is not difficult to tell the species apart, but a ten-powered hand lens will definitely help to clearly see the staminodia in the field. Perhaps you can extend the known ranges of these species, especially reporting any finds of our two rare species.

Happy Botanizing! Henry Mann

Figure 1. (above): Parnassia palustris L.

a. A flower face view showing the veined petals, the stamens , the staminodia and the central four-lobed pistil. b. Enlarged single petal, sepal, stamen and 12-parted staminodium. Illustrations by W. Hewitt.

Figure 2. (opposite page) ; The four species of Newfoundland Parnassia

a. E. parviflora DC. (Small-flowered -); b. f. ~ Rat. (Bluish -); c. f.. palustris L. (Marsh -); d. f. kotzebuei Cham. (Kotzebue's -). The illustrations were prepared by W. Hewitt and are not drawn to the same scale.

L-__________________ _____ ----

107

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Table 1. Comparison of Newfoundland ~ species.

f·~ f.~ e. R8[yif12[A 1'. 9.illI£A sepals ascending or ascending ascending reflexed at

sl ightly spread ing maturity

petal 1" to twice as shorter to as longer than sepals 3 or more length long as sepals long as sepa Is but less than 2 times

times sepal length sepal length

petal 5 to 9 veins 3 veins 5 to 13 veins 5 to 17 veins veins

staminodia 9 to 17 3 to 5 5 to 1 3 divisions divisions a Imost to base

00

'" stami nodia

" ~~~ 1 ~V diagrams

\t~c/ ~~~. ,

scape borne near or no scape leaf borne near or no 6cape leaf leaf below middle of or scape l eaf below middle of or scape leaf

scape, clasping near base. not scape , not near base, clasping clasping clasping

ba sa l blades often blades rounded blades distinctly blade rounded leaf cordate at base at base and tapering to base at base

tapering to pe tiole

basal ~ ~~ ~ )ffJ leaf ?! diagrams

- -

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109

Common Chaffinch in Middle Cove, Newfoundland

At 9:00 am on May 21 an unusual finch-like bird made a brief appearance with a small flock of juncos at my feeder on Middle Cove Road, just north of St. John' s. My initial view of the bird was fleeting and when it flew off I saw white edges to the tail and convinced myself I had merely seen an odd-looking junco, although I retained a strong suggestion of wing bars. At 10:00 am the bird returned and, with excellent views, my wife and I were sure we had a "good" bird at our feeder, but what was it? We qu ickly eliminated all of the North American possibilities and I realized that the bird had a vaguely familiar appearance, based on our first trip to England last summer. This took me t o my European guides which confirmed that it had all of the diagnostic features of a fema le chaffinch. When the bird returned for a confirming third view I started the informal rare bird network phone calls.

Several St. John 's birders were able to make the short trip out to see th e bird, including many who were familiar with chaffinches from Europe. It appeared at approximately half hour intervals all day, although it

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continued to be fairly skittish and took shelter if movement occured in the I living room overlooking the feeder. When undisturbed it fed happily on sunflower seeds.

Birders who saw the bird on May 21 st included Paul Linnegar, Chris Brown, Marie Wadden, John Pratt, Mike Parmenter, Howard Clace, Kathy Knowles and myself. It remained until nightfall but was not seen again the following day.

This bird was part of an unprecedented pattern this spring of European vagrants that began on April 27 with an invasion of at least 175 greater golden plovers, followed on May 2 with two adult tufted ducks, on May 18 wi th the appearance of a black- tailed godwit, and ended om May 22 with the f irst North American record for Eurasian oystercatcher (in Tors Cove). It IS believed that these birds are brought to us courtesy of north-east winds during their spring migration north to their breeding grounds. There have been several previous North American sightings of chaffinch, including one from Newfoundland in 1969 but none of these have been accepted by the ABA checklist committee as confirmed wild birds due to the possibility of their being escaped caged birds. The circumstances of this sighting suggest that it could in fact become the first accepted North •

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lIO

American record .

Description

Size:

Slightly larger than a purple finch with a more rounded body shape and a more square back to the head.

Head

Dark eye with no eye ring but a slight buffy lightening of colour both above and below the eye. The darkness of the crown combined with the overall gray face gave the bird an alert look, due largely to a broad grey supercilliary that extended to the sides of the head. There was a slightly browner look to the auricular patch and a dark line that extended back a centimeter or more from the eye. The crown itself was dark brown/ grey with three indistinct blackish lines running from the front of the crown down to the back of the neck causing what my wife called a " Mohawk haircut" look to the head. The bill was finch shaped, tlark in colour but not jet-black.

Upperpa rts

The back was a medium brownish/ gray colour but viewed in good light had a definite greenish tinge that was quite attractive. The mantle had some indistinct narrow streaking. The same colour continued onto the rump but without the streaking. Whitish sides to the tail were evident in flight. The wings were the most contrasty feature, a rich, dark brown colour with two wing bars. The upper was white and appeared quite short when the bird was perched. The lower wing bar was slightly yellowish and fairly broad. In flight both wing bars became prominent.

Underparts

The breast was an unmarked light buff colour. When viewed front-on an almost circular lightening of colour could be seen forming a lighter whitish centre to the upper breast. The unmarked light buff colour continued on the belly and lightened again on the undertail coverts . The legs appeared dark in poor light but could be seen to contain some dark

III

orangey/ brown tones in sunlight.

This description was written on May 22 from notes taken while looking at the bird on May 21. Excellent views were obtained through both binoculars and a Kowa telescope from about eight meters distance through the living room window. Photographs were also taken with a 400 mm lens through the window.

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112

NOTES FROI1 A NATURALI ST S DIARY AT CAPE ST. MARY' S BY FYZEE SHUHOOD

I l;Jas fortunate to be at Cape St. Mary's ,one of the most spectacular seabird reserves in NewfOL!ndland and in the \;Jor-ld. Over the years, I had the opportunity to ohser-ve, experience. collect, reccl-d and ponder the vast number of avifauna within the Ecological Reserve. During a discussion with Dr. Montevecchi of Memo:-ial University, he suggested that I put my observations and experlenCes onto paper and what follows is a summary of my per-sonal observati cns of bi rd si ghti ngs and other i nt.erest i n g anima l behaviour at the nature r-eser"ve during 1993 . 1 hope that this account of confirmed sightings will spark the interest among the readers and stimulate a v i sit to the Cape.

As i n any natural wonders, the ems'-gence of birds at the sanctuat· y follows a certain predictable patter n . With some kncl"ledge of the seast:lOal climat.ic variations and the subsequent timing of the blooming of marsh berries and fledging of yOLmg chicks, one can predict the type o'f bird species that are a t tracted to the Reserve . For instance , sightings of bir'ds of prey are most ear 1 y and I ate fall when the juveni i e seabirds are fledging. Shorebirds are most common duri n g the later days of September' when the vast. numbers of ben-iE's are still in bloom.

J ULY 2nd : By this time the capelin run was in full bloom. Judging by

repor'ts from local fishermen a nd birds/whale activities, the capelin seem to be plentiful this season. The whale sight ings a nd their visible activities such as breaching, fiipper'i ng ! I obtai 1 i ng frequerlt: i es were hi gher than prt~vi ous years. The Gannets would plunge dive for food among the feeding whales close to the s ea cliffs, creating a spectacular sight for visit,ors.

Among visiting seabirds from more northerly colonies. wers about ~ifty puffins and a large number of shearwaters. All of whi .: h coul d easi I y be observed from 1 and. These observat i on!S :,H;ually last. period of 2-3 weeks .

JULY 27 nd : A pa ir of sMo:--t-eared owls observed along the cape

r'oad. They are most commonl y observed near the <1r-ea known Lears Cove Hill where the only bridge is located. During this day and many subsequent days to follow, a gr-oup of red fo:<es wer~ seerl near the vicinity of the Cape compound, Bird Rock and False Cape. Then~ have always been red fa x es breeding in the viclni'Cy. In 1989, durlng t he breeding season, I had seer. one descending the st.;ep cliffs probably looking for do ;neal among kitti wa kes bree{1iflg close to the cliff-tOD and dol so in late Octocer i:1 1993 just after ttle end of the breed ing ~,-;ea30n .

113

AUG 2nd : Was a beautiful sunny day. was st.:mding at the

observation point with three other' birders from the U.S. when suddenly observ ed a dark silhouette with rapid wingbeats ~lyinQ towards us fr om the Murre colony . The rapid wingbeats and the flight height. above the cliffs indicated to LIS that it was not a seabird. Underneath its body we could clearly see a murre chick held in its t alons. It was a peregrine falcon that was !luccessf Ltl in gr a bb i ng an unfortunate murre chick f or its meal. peregrines and other birds of prey start appearing in early AUQust reaching a peak in the month of September and October.

SEPT . 15th . Mid-september brought the vast number of migratinQ

shorebirds to the Cape barrens. A total of 212 shorebirds we,e observed during the season . The species included Whi mbrels (50), the earliest mi9rants usually appearing in late Aug ust; Golden Plovers (30) ; Pectoral Sandpipers (SO); Willets (2); s e mipalmated Plovers (20); Black-bellied Plovers (30); White-rumped Sandpipers (3(l) . During the peak shoreb ird pel-iod, the presence of the birds of prey increased.

SEPT. 16th And th~ days to follow the following birds of prey were

observed along the bar ren and n e ar the cliff5. two merlins; adult arid immat ure bald eagles ; male Northern Harrier s and rough legged hawk. It is a treat to see the Northern Harriers oli d ing close to the ground, chasing after shorebirds.

OCT. 12th T!ie highlight of the season undoubtably occurred on October

12th. It was a beautifully clear fall day. All the Mur'res and c.he Kitti wakes had left the steep sea cliffs now g h ostl y empt y. The empty mud packed nests of thE! Kit tiwakes, a few lost murre eggs and the unmistakable white Quano sprayed over the rock sur-{ilce are the only reminders of their presence .

Over half of the gannets had left the colony by now.

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L.ookin/J dm"n towa:",ds the murre breeding led;e on the mainl and overlooking bird rock was a majestic immature bald eagle. It was 9ittin~ motionless almost camouflaged against the cliff surveyi ng the peri pher y of the gannetry. About 30 minutes passed when suddenly it took flight from beneath me, heading toward an unsLt!;pec:ting chick that was alone . The few neighbouring adults nesting around the site crouched their bodies, spreading their wings and stretching the nec k s made a few jabbing threats towards the eagle which was now landing on top of the hapless chick. In an instant , the eagle was in flight carrying the c h ick by its tal::ms. It took a while for- the remaining birds to settle down. and life was back to normal again. e

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114

Cape St . Mary's Seabird Ecological Reserve, in my opinion, is a haven for anyone who enjoys nat.ure . It is the only place on the Island that offers a combination of seabirds, shor€birds, landbirds, landmammals, mal-ine mammals and a spectacular isolated natural scenery with no cost and easy land accessibllity. The Qrive down the beautiful "capeshore" area also offers a I'Jide r ,u1ge of scenic a.ttractions . If you haven ' t visited Cape St. Mary's, ttH!'n it is worthwhile to make a trip during the SLlmmer- ,

IlARLEQUIN DUCK (Bistrionl.l:is bistrionicus)

Sightings for the year 1992 by B.anlt Deichaann t Park Bco1ogist, Gros Korne

National Park, 22 February 1994

INTRODUCTION

In 1990, eastern Canadian population of the har lequin duck 81strionicus

histrionicus vas designated by COSEVIC* as "endangered". The population in

question is estimated at less than 1,000 birds (Goudie, 1991 and Hontevecchi et

al, 1993), unlike the Pacific coast vhere this species is in relatively good

shape .

There are thought to be stable populations in Iceland and Greenland

(Hontevecchi et aI, 1993).

RESULTS

In Hay, 1992, Chief Park. Varden Al Gibbs located a courting pair of harlequins

at the outlet of Vestern Brook Pond (see Table 1 for details of this

observation and others). Subsequent observat ions confirmed breeding (female and

brood) (Table 1 and Figure 1). This is the first documented breeding on these

waters since 1979 (Table 2), although Deichmann and Clarke located a "broody"

feu Ie on the Upper Candlestick vaters of the Bumber drainage in July, 1991.

It ' s possible then, that at least two areas of Gros Horne National Park are

traditional nesting sites. (See Table 2; See Table 3 for extra-limital

observations. )

DISCUSSION

The observations that are cited herein are significant. and as such could form

a basis for more systematic York in subsequent seasons.

* COSEVIC - Committee on the status of Endangned Vildlife in Canada.

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RECOPfKKNDATIONS 116

(1) Tha t Resource

Harlequin Duck

Conservation Staff make a dedicated effort to monitor

utilization of Vestern Brook in 1993 , this topic is

recommended for inclusion in the P.C .P .

(2) That the helicopter survey ini tiated in 1991 be repeated in 1993 (Alpine

and Upland areas only). Actually, this survey didn't occur.

(3) That the Resource Conservation Staff at Gros Morne National Park share

observations with the Canadian Vildlife Service, here in Newfoundland,

especially on the Great Northern Peninsula; and that Cooperative surveys be

carried out whenever and wherever possible and feasible.

(4) That the Resource Conservation section made input to and be kept apprised

of the direction of the Harlequin Duck Recovery Team, which is chaired by

V.A . Montevecchi, of the Department of Biopsychology, Memorial University

of Newfoundland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[)eichmann, 8. and D. Clarke, 1991. "Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus

Survey, Gros Morne National Park", Internal report .

Gilliland, S., 1993 . Personal Communication - staff member Canadian lIildlife

Service, St. John 's, NUd.

Goudie, R.I., 1993. "Barlequin Duck Status Report - Eastern Canada". Canadian

Vildlife Service, Delta, B.C .

Maybank. B. , 1990. Avifauna Section of the R.D. & A. Gros Morne National Park.

Caines, P. and H. Deichmann editors . CPS internal

publication.

Hontevecchi. V. A., Bourget, A., Brazil , J., Goudie, R.I ., Hutchinson, A.E.,

Johnson, B.C. , Kehoe, P., La Porte, P., McCollough , H.,

Hilton, R., N. Seymour, 1993. National Recovery Plan for

the Harlequi n Duck Histrionicus histrionicus in eastern

North America. RENEVS Ottawa.

117

Ryan, P.. 1992. Personal communications froll a staff member of the

Newfoundland office of the CVS (24 October, 1992).

Valker, R., 1979. Colour photos of Harlequin ducks taken near the mouth of

Vestern Brook in the spring of year shown. A uximua of

five (5) birds are shown. Source - Library at the Vis! tor

Reception Center, Gros Morne National Park .

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• LOCAUTY

Outlet of Vestern

Brook Pond

Outlet of Vestern

Brook Pond

Houth of Stag Bk.

Vestern Bk. Pd .

118

TABLE 1

SUI04ARr OP IlARLBQUlN DUO<

SIGBTIIIGS IN THE IlBSTKRN DROOl<: AREA 1992

DATE NO. COHl!BNrS OBSKRVKR( S)

19 Hay Courting pair A. Gibbs

25 Hay Copulating P. Ryan-C.V.S . Nr. Office

19 June Pair T. Potter

a Vestern Brook 30 July F+6 Brood Beniot, fide Janet Ste .... art

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Off Vestern Bk. 30 Aug. B.Y • • Batch B. Deichmann, et al

Beach adjacent year(immatures)

fishing prelDises

Note: The only observation reported in 1993 vas for a female at the head of Baker's

Brook at Black Cliff Pond on August 13 (A. Horeland) .

DATE

12 Hay 73

13 Hay 73

mid-July 73

Hay 74

10 Hay 75

12 Hay 75

13 June 75

August 75

3 Hay 76

5 Hay 76

8 Hay 76

24 /30 Hay 76

8 July 76

28 Apr . 78

14 June 78

7 Aug . 79

28 Dec . 79

Hay 84

30 Dec . 86

TAi!U92

A SUllMARY OF IlARLBQUIN OUCI: SIGBTIliGS

SlNCB 1973 AS BITRACTBD PROII THE

RESOURCE OBSCRIPTIOII & ANALYSIS

IIUlIBBR LOCATION

Outlet of Vestern Brook Pond

Outlet of Vestern Brook Pond

female wi th brood Round Steady (Vestern Brook)

Outlet of Vestern Brook Pond

3 males, 2 females Outlet of Vestern Brook Pond

4 pairs Outlet of Vestern Brook Pond

19 Off COY Bead

females v 4 young Upper Bumber (pond no . 243-245)

3 pairs Vestern Brook Pond Outlet

Vestern Brook Pond Outlet

3 pairs plus Long Steady (Vestern Brook)

1 feaale

1 pair Lake above Bardin&,s Pond

(Bead vater of Croy Gulch)

2 females Vestern Brook Pond

3 males I 2 females Long Steady (Vestern Brook)

1 pair Long Steady (Vestern Brook)

female with brood Houth of Vestern Brook

1 feule Bonne Bay

1 pair Above Southeast Brook Falls

1 female Parsons Pond

The few spring sightings in r ecent years may suggest that the local breeding

popula tion is decreasing, but thorough surveys of the traditional spring staging

areas and potent i al breeding habitat are lacking. This species should be the

nUlDber one priority in any fu ture avifauna I surveys or studies.

Note: In most cases the observations were by Park staff - unfortunately the

individual names were not preserved .

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120

TABU 3

EXTRATERRITORIAL OBSERVATIONS OF

IlARLBQUIN OU<%S ON THE GREAT NORTIIBRII PBllINSULA IN 1992

(ALL PER PIERRE RTAN*)

DATE LOCATION DETAILS

26 Hay Doctor's Brook Female - beloW" bridge on 8vy 430 N

(north of Port au Choix)

09 June ditto ditto

* Staff member Canadian Vildlife Service, St. John's, Nevfoundland

NOTE : During the field season of 1993 breeding confirmed on the Torrent River at

Bavkes Bay (Canadian Vildlife Service - Scott Gilliland, Staff, St. John's)

121

F i gure 1; '" portion of the Western Brook drainage in Gros Morne National Park. i~dicatin9 recent Harlequin Duck sightinqs (see Table 1).

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A Range Extension of the SOOf2Tparrow in western Newfoundland

In the late 1940's the Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia was reported as being locally corruno:l in the southwest part of the Province, with records as far north as tr.e Bay of Islands/ Corner Brook ( Peters and Burleigh, 1951 ) . Lambertcn ( 1976 ), reported in his avifauna study of Gros Horne National Park that Song Sparrows occurred at least as far north as Parson ' s Pond, a consider­able extension from that given by Peters and Burleigh. In 1994, this species is well established within the Gros Morne national Park area; there ' ve been at least seven territorial males in the last few swnmers at Rocky Harbour, and the Canadian Wildlife Service Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), run by this author and others from St. Paul's south to Rocky Harbour, has consistently reported modest numbers since 1981 .

In late June 1992 , this author and Brian Dalzell, located several singing males shortly after dawn along the coastal fringe of the community of Hawkes Bay . This represents a range extension of approximately 90 Ion . north of Lamberton ' s 1976 report . Checking around the community of Port Saunders further out the bay and as a result more exposed produced no positive observations (this author and Dalzell) .

On June 19, 1994 , this author travelled north of Hawke's Bay to the Plum Point area in the hopes of locating Song Sparrows in the community . Although a number of sparrow species were heard in song ( in descending order of abundance; Lincoln's, Fox, Savannah. swamp and White- throated), no Song Sparro .... s were seen or heard. Specifics of the survey were; a four mile walk around the community on a b r ight clear morning with moderate winds , from 0430 to approximately 0615 hours. It 's interesting to note that during the winter of 1993-94 , a Song Sparro .... attempted to winter in the St. Anthony area, at the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland ( Bruce Bradbury . personal communication).

Bibliography Bradbury, Bruce 1994 Personal Communication, Mr . Bradbury is a resident of St .

Anthony and the Superintendent of L' anse aux Meadows National Historic Park.

Oalzell. Brian 1993 Avifauna Inventory of Gros Morne National Park . for Jacques - Whitford Environment , under contract to Parks Canada.

Lamberton , Robert 1976 Avifauna Study of Gros Horne National Park ( contract to the Canadian parks service 1.

Peters, H.S . and T. Burleigh 1951 The Birds of Newfoundland, published by the the Province of Newfoundland.

submitted by: Henrik Deichmann, c/o Gros Marne National Park, Rocky Harbour, NF AOK 4NO

24 June 1994

123

WINTER WATERBIRD USE OF rHE SPILLWAY. at the DEER LAKE POWER PLANT

DEER LAKE. NEWFOUNDLAND • by Henrik Deichmann, Rocky Harbour.

NEW'FOUNDLA..'W •

INTRODUCTION

During the winter of 1993-1994 it was possible to carry out periodic

surveys of the spillway at the Deer ~ke Power Plant at Deer Lake. Newfound­

land. The spillway section referred to, 1s that section of turbulent water

from. immediately below the present T. C. H. crossing and where the water joins

the main lake, for a total length of about .Skm. The complete section 1s easily

visible from one viewpoint. l'\ielve surveys were completed in all.

SURVEY TIMING and METHODS

As can be seen from the Table. surveys were possible from December 29.

1993 to the end of April. 1994. In the December survey. the main body of

water known as Deer Lake was completely open, and the spillway open and flow­

ing in an umimpeded manner. On April 29, 1994 ( the last survey), beavy ice

blocks rested on both sides of the spillway channel and were drifting about the

open lake in close proximity to the spillway. Earlier in April, ice encroached

on both sides of the outer spillway, probably hampering the swimming and feeding

potential for waterfowl.

There was nothing particularly sophistocated about the individual surveys.

They were simply of the "stop and count and go variety."

DISCUSSION

Feeding conditions were assumed to be acceptable for both waterfowl and

gulls as both or one . group were consistently present on all twelve surveys.

American Crows and Common Ravens were present as peripheral feeders on many of

the surveys, being recorded;seven of the 12 surveys, either one species or both

with each one being present on four surveys each.

Slightly over 1/2 of all the possible birds recorded; or 273 were Common

Golden-eyes (137). As is characteristic with this species, males out-number

females markedly at most freshwater wintering sites. The number of females

didn I t become a significant proportion of the flock until March 29 when they

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represented approximately 16% of the totaL ( See the table ). By April 12 e both species were present in about equal numbers.

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124

Table WATERBIRD USE of the SPILLWAY at the DEER LAKE

( December. 1993 to April.

DATE CoGcE CoMS W-W G

1 290

2" IlJ 11

14J

4 21J 22 1 * 2 **

5 26F

6 1 M 12

7 2 M

12M 22

9 29M 17

10 5A 24

11 12A 26

12 29A

137 22

Abbreviations:

CoGaE- Common Golden-eye

GoMg - Common Merganser

H.G. G.B.B.G. RBG

30

20

18

67 23 21

1994

CoL Tot.

16

12

25

12

22

32

60

49

26

273

W-W G- White-einged Gulls. all Iceland. except one Glaucous

H.G. - Herring Gull

G.B . B.G.- Great Black-backed Gull

&BG- Ring-billed Gull

CoL- Common Loon

Cr. - American Crow

Rav./ R. - Common Raven

*- a male. **- one was a Glaucous Gull

POWER PLANT

Comments

CoGaE all males. 6 Rav .

Many Cr.

CoGcE all males

CoGaE was a female. 2 Rav.

CoGaE m: f. 10:2

CoGcE m: f. 5:4

CoGcE m: f. 20:2

CoGaE m:f. 12:5, 1 Cr.

CoGaE m: f. 18:6, 45Cr.lZR .

CoGcE m: f. -. 20er .• 20Rav.

no corv1ds

125

It seeMS the golden-eyes left the area sometime after mid- April as

o waterfowl were recorded on April 29.

It was beyond the scope of this study to investigate food types . or even

if the COlllmon Golden- eyes or large gulls are even consuming the same foods.

• Two possible forage suggestions are upstream bound smelt and immaturl!: salmonids

and possibly sticklebacks. and the same species plus Arctic chart passing through

the power plant turbines in a healthy or somewhat mutilated state and headed

downstream.

CONCLUSION

It seems that in this region of western Newfoundland. it appeaL's that the

spillway at the Deer Lake power plant is a relatively important wintering site for

waterfowl and large gulls. Further monitoring is recommended to confirm the suggeSI

ed importance of this site in the long term. Investigation into t he foods being

utilized by these birds could also be embarked upon.

I

02 May 1994

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OF RAVENS AND FOXES and HIGliWAY TRAFFIC VICTIMS 126

by Henrik. Deichmann

c/o Gras Marne National Park NEWFOUNDLAND

ABSTRACT: A preliminary study on two sections of highway in western Newfoundland indicates that the scavenging efficiency of Ravens. Crows and Red Foxes ;s very high. and may mask the seriousness of the mortality that is occurring .

STUDY DESCRIPTION and BACKGROUND

A prel iminary study was carried out in the spring and early sUlJIller of 1993

on two 1.0 km. sections of highway on route 430 north within Gras Morne National

Park reserve. It was hypothesized that the Raven Corvus corax and the Crow h bracnyrhynchos and the Red Fox Vu 1 pes ve 1 ox are eff; c; ent sea vengers of road-k; 11-

ed wildlife. In order to test this theory dead ilJl1lature broiler chicks ( "Shaver"

variety), in the 500gm or less range were placed along the road shoulder at

measured intervals and at specified times.

In the literature there are only sparse reports of the wildlife road mortalities.

( Woods and Harris, 1987 and Adams and Geis, 1983). There are a number of anecdotal

accounts however, (personal conmunication; M. Burzynski and monitoring files,

Gros Morne National Park ) .

A SUMMARY of RESULTS in brief)

Surveys were conducted on six dates from April 20 to July 5, 1993 . On two

sets of dates two so-called "saturation experiments II were conducted (the first

was on May 18-19 and the second on June 3 and 4 ). In the course of the first session

27 kg . of rna teri a 1 was scavenged ( di sappeared), represent i ng 67 subjects ( ch i cks ).

In the second session the figures were 19 and 48 respectively. What the relative

rates of scavenging were ;s shown below.

RAVEN

CROW

RED FOX

BALD EAGLE

GRAY JAY

Other/ unknown

27 %

22

10 ( estimated, may be high

37

100

127 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adams. L.W. and A. O. Geis 1983 "Effects of Roads on Sma ll Manrnals - Journal Of. Applied Ecology 20: 403-415.

Burzynsk i, M and A. Marceau 1993 "Personal corrmunication" in respect to two

road killed warblers? or other small birds bei ng scavenged by two crows at the

Mill Brook area of Gras Morne Nat iona l Park on May 29, 1993.

Heinrich. Brend 1989 IIRavens in Wi nter".Surrmi t Books ( describes the scavenging

abi 1 i ty of Ravens on hunter abandoned moose in New Hamps hi re

Monitoring Files- Gras Morne National Park 1988 +

1. 1988-89 (winter) numbers of Wh ite-winged Crossbills were found killed by

traffic on the s lopes of the S. L Hills especially when salt. and sand was

being heavily applied.

2. 1992 and 1993 (la te May) during II green-up" many Snowshoe Hares were found

along the highway in the Green Point area. (dead! )

3. 1993 ( February) The author noted a Raven very qu ick ly scavenging a road

kil l ed mink on the highway in the Bake r ls Brook area.

4. 1993 ( SUlTlT1e r ) The following species of passerine birds were turned into

storage. or were recorded by s taff- One each of Blackpolled and Wilsonls

Warblers. a Ruby-c rowned Kinglet. an American Crow and an Ameri can Robin.

( A. Harceau. H. O'Callaghan and others ).

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Woods. J. and J. Harris 1989 II Wildlife Mortalities on a Highway and Railway in

Four Canadian Nati onal Parks" Parks Canada i nternal report for discussion only.

Note: The foregoing is a brief synops is of the following : "A Prelimi nary Study of

Scavenger Efficiency in the Utilization of Accidental Road Kills and the Potential

for Mortalities Using Gros Marne Na t i onal Park as a Baseline" by H. De ichmann.

The report referred to is for use with the author ls penYIi ssion only. It. like the

Woods report is an internal one. The author would like to make an appeal to

anybody out there wh o could supply him with any personal perspectives on this

situation . e.g .• the number and type of road kills in any area which they might

be famil jar with. My address ;s as shown. more complete ly one could add P.O.

Box l30. and a code of AOK 4NO . Phone * sa re (70g) 458-2417/2418 or Fax 458-2059 . •

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128

ATLANTIC FLYWAY WATERFOh'L BANDING

TERRA NOVA NATIONAL PARK, NFLD.1993

.~ waterfO\,'l bait trapping station began operation in Terra Nova National Park, Nfle . , as part of the Atlantic Flyway Co-operative Banding Program, in cooperation ,dth Parks Canada. The project operated from September 13 to Oct­ober 16, 1993. Success was limited , ho\.;ever 40 Canada Geese , .. ere banded, in a total of 67 waterfowl captured .

Banding efforts were concentrated on Inner Net.;man Sound, the salt-water fjord extending from the Atlantic Ocean. Here dabbling duckS frequent the inner arm, while diving species are found on the outer reaches of the arm .

Baiting began September 13 . Corn, both •• hole and cracked ",'as t.he grain used to attract ducks. First traps i .. ere erected on September 18, with first birds banded on September 22 . Baiting continued untill October 14 , and banding term­inating on October 15.

A total of 23 American Black Ducks, 04 American Green-wing Teal and 40 Canada Geese were banded. Species, age and sex of banded birds follow in Table l. Comparing adult to hatCh-year birds, the 1993 production season appears to have been favourable for all species . Of 23 Blacks, 20 were hatch-year or 85%, and for Canada Geese, 34 of 40 birds were hatch-year or 85%. Hot,'ever, the above numbers of banded birds are low, and higher numbers of trapped birds may have given different results .

Upon arrival on Septemter 13, 30 Black Ducks and 60 Canada Geese were present on the sound . By September 25 Canada Goose numbers had risen to 80 birds, but Black Duck nu..'lIbers remained "at approximately 35 untill OCtober 10-12, when 60-65 birds could be observed. By October 15 Canada Goose numbers "'ere back dO .... "11.

to approximately 60 birds. A group of 6 Green-ldng Teal were observed of which 4 ,",'ere trapped and banded . By October 6, on the outer sound , 50 Red-breasted :!ergansers .... ·ere regularly present along with 4 American Black Seaters, and by Oct. 15 , 5 COrrlnon GOldeneye and 2 White-wing Seaters .

Also present throughout whole of banding period, were low numbers of shore­birds. Greater Yellowlegs ","ere most corrmon, followed by Am. Black-bellied Plovers . At times, yellmvleg numbers were around 40 birds and plover at 20 birds. In addition there were low numbers of Semi- palma ted Plovers, Semi- palmated Sand­pipers and the occasional Lesser Yellowleg. White-rumped Sandpi pers were also making a presence at the end of the period.

The inner two kilometers of Newman Sound is an area very ideal habi tat- wise for waterfowl. At low tide vast areas of the arm are either barely water-covered or exposed . There are extensive beds of Eel Grass (Zostera marina) and in the more brackish areas Wigeon Grass (Ruppia maritima) can be found . Waterfowl feed all around the arm, especially at the bottom or south-east end and during low tide periods through the center of the arm . There are two streams flowing into the south end of the arm, of which one, Big Brook , has created an excellent salt marsh habitat . A rocky point or escarpnent can be found opposite the day-use campground. site on the sound. This area is utilized by all waterfowl as a resting site. Canada Geese and Black Ducks especially favour this site, · .." .. hile diving s~ecies tend to favour t~e gradually decenoing bottom habitat to the North o f t~is recky out-cropping .

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Table 1. Age and sex breakdotm, 1993 Terra Nova National Park, Nfld. waterfowl banding project.

Species HATCH YEAR AFTER HATCH YEAR TOTALS Male Female Total Male Female Total Male female Total -------- -------- ----- ---

Am . Black Duck 10 10 20 01 02 03 11 12 23 Am . G. -w. Teal 02 02 04 00 00 00 02 02 04

Canada Goose 17 17 34 01 05 06 18 22 40

-------TOTALS 29 29 58 02 07 09 31 36 67

=== ==== ===== ----- ----- ----- ------ ------

Initially, trapping effort was concentrated at the saltmarsh flats at the mouth of Big Brook and at the saltmarsh adjacent to the north side of Rocky Pond Brook. It was here that the Black Ducks were trapped, but upon the arrival of two flocks of approximately 50 Canada Geese, the geese quickly dominated the Black Ducks, continuously pushing them away from the feed, being the larger of the two, not allowing the ducks to enter the traps. Black DUcks then concentrated on the outer section of the sound, in fact the later arriving flocks never did frequent the inner ann, untill the last two days of the banding period, when a few more were again trapped .

During the last week of banding an attempt was made to trap ROCky Point, the outer bar or rocky escaq:ment. Strong tidal currents can make trapping difficult, as corn can get washed out of traps by tidal action. However, eight geese were captured at this si te. careful selection of s i tes could possibly produce birds at this location .

Of further note , in relation to trapping Canada Geese using bai t traps, the traps used were the typical two funnel, two x two and a half metre wire traps. It ... os observed that once 2 or 3 geese entered these smaller traps, they were basically full, and another goose attempting to enter would be pushed. or prevent­ed from entering by those birds already in trap. Larger traps and more funnels would certainly make these traps efficient bait trapping devices for Canada Geese.

No problems were incurred with predators, as had been the case in past band­ing efforts. On two occasions fox tracks were observed on shoreline . No lynx sign was noted, as this animal has created most of the problem with past banding effort in the park. Mink are also common, but were not a problem. .

Three rolls of wire, consisting of six traps were left in park building designated for use by CWS. All other materials were removed from park.

Conclusions: Although low numbers of Black Ducks were captured, however the numbers of birds were rather low at beginning of period, but numbers did pick up at end of banding project, suggesting higher numbers are quite possible. In addition fair numbers of Canada Geese are to had at this location.

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Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Kevin Robinson, Park Ecologist, who , .... as responsible for the project coordination with e Parks Canada. Other park officials of particular help included Greg Stroud, Ted Potter, Shawn Hicks, David Wagner and Rod S@ith .

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Figure 1. Map of Terra Nova National Park, showing banding locations and area description.

George Brinson Box 204, RR;:: 1 Carmanville Kfld . AOG lNO

(709) 534-2292

,~ ~;7':,.-/ .:.,-