Some recent information came to my attention through the Canadian Wildlife Service and Bird Studies Canada. A new status has been assigned to three species. The barn swallow and the eastern meadowlark are considered threatened and the Barrow's goldeneye (eastern population) is endangered.

 I recently finished reading "The Biggest Twitch" by Alan Davies and Ruth Miller. It follows the authors around the world as they attempt to break the record for the number of bird species seen in one year and their journey as they see 4,341 species. The book is well written and it is great to follow the many adventures and close calls that the authors experienced. Ruth and Alan split the writing of the book; so, there is a nice balance and flow.

 David Walmark reported 40 cedar waxwings and 40 American robins at Kingsburg. A sharp-shinned hawk continually puts these birds to flight. He also let me know about 12 sanderlings at Hirtles Beach. I've been told by Dave Cosh that the white blue jay continues to come to his feeder in Kingsburg.

 Pat Gladman, on December 18, saw a male brown-headed cowbird on Prince Street in Bridgewater. On December 24 there were three there, two males and a female. Dorothy Poole in Milton also had one and on a walk around Milton she was lucky to both see and hear a barred owl.

 Mike Taylor saw a group of common goldeneyes in Mahone Bay. He was pleased to spot a Barrow's goldeneye with them. A thrill for Glennie Gordon was an eastern towhee that stopped by for a day in Voglers Cove.

 Steven Hiltz had a pileated woodpecker at Back Centre. Kevin Lantz reports numbers of mourning doves at Front Centre, but a northern goshawk has been picking them off. In three counties, mourning doves were not in large numbers, but they certainly seem to be gathering around Mahone Bay. In a few hours, Anne Hughes, Dorothy Poole and I saw over 222. Other interesting birds we observed were three northern cardinals in Oakland and one in Mahone Bay. At Oakland we discovered a red-bellied woodpecker at a house on Hiltz Hill Road. We also had 21 purple finches at one location. In Mahone Bay a common grackle, 12 evening grosbeaks and around 70 American robins were exciting. It might seem strange, but ring-necked pheasants are hard to find this winter. Shirley Gordon of West Dublin has two tending at her feeders and I finally saw two at Oakland. The red-bellied woodpecker is still coming to the feeders of Jack Spence in West LaHave.

 In Upper LaHave, Nancy Whynot noticed a flock of 10 to 12 dark-eyed juncos. She tells me that there were Canada geese in the cove by the bridge beside her house. This is the first time in 40 years that she has seen them there. Terry Danks continues to see a male wood duck near Chester. Thirty red-winged blackbirds and three ruffed grouse were a treat for Mandy Eisenhauer of Rhodes Corner.

 Eleanor Lindsay still has a Baltimore oriole surviving the winter at Seabright in St. Margarets Bay. Ryan Harvey located a belted kingfisher at Maders Cove, while visiting in our area. I saw my latest one at Oakland. Greg Van De Moortele spotted a peregrine falcon while he was eating his Christmas dinner in Bridgewater.

 Elsewhere good finds were a blue-grey gnatcatcher, a grey catbird, harlequin ducks, northern mockingbirds, winter wrens, purple sandpipers, a rough-legged hawk, three greater yellowlegs, orange-crowned warblers, pine warblers, northern parulas, red-throated loons, a Lapland longspur, a double-crested cormorant, a pomarine jaeger, red-bellied woodpeckers, yellow-breasted chats, pied-billed grebes, a Barrow's goldeneye, black-legged kittiwakes, razorbills, a ruby-crowned kinglet, eastern bluebirds, a redhead, a dickcissel and a Say's phoebe.

 Reach me at jrhbirder@hotmail.com or phone 530-2101.

posted on 01/04/12