Ruddy Turnstone: One Among Many

 Since Ed Hayden reported a different shorebird among the Purple Sandpipers on December 13, I have been paying more attention to the flocks at Cape Spear. Exactly one month later, I saw a couple of Purple Sandpipers flutter on the rocks below, and I followed them.

 There, picking at the rocks below, was a Ruddy Turnstone. There were no stones to turn over, so he was stretching to reach whatever food might be attached to the rocks.

 While I first saw the turnstone on the rocks, it is obvious from the flight pictures, I would have been easily able to find it in mid-air.

 I was totally surprised to see more than 100 Purple Sandpipers gather for their beautiful flight. Until the moment they lifted off, I would have thought there were no more than 20.

It was interesting to see the Ruddy Turnstone liked to be at the front of the flock. Each time they changed direction, he worked his way back through the crowd to lead the way.

Be sure to click on image for enlargements. The Ruddy Turnstone really stands out.

Common Snipe in Ferryland

 The first big twitch of the year came after Bruce Mactavish located and confirmed the ID of a Common Snipe cavorting with a Wilson's Snipe in Ferryland.

 This is one of those opportunities where you just have to go or you might miss it. The day after the initial find, I woke up long before sun-up to make the trip.

 As the sun was rising, I was standing along the side of the road in Ferryland scanning the marsh. After about ten minutes, I spotted this Wilson's Snipe. I thought the Common must be nearby. Forty-five minutes later, I began to wonder if the Common Snipe had departed. I got out of the car and checked the area from one end to the other - nothing.

 Soon, other birders began to arrive. That was comforting because I thought the more eyes watching for these "masters of camouflage" the better the chance of finding the bird.

 That proved to be true. It wasn't long before Ken Knowles locked onto the Common Snipe north of the area where I was looking.

 Excitement set in! Not wanting the flush the snipe, several of us gingerly moved up the road, and alas, there it was!

 There is a big difference in color between these two snipe, with the Common Snipe being much lighter than the Wilson's.

 I revisited my pictures of the pair of these birds that showed up in Tors Cove in mid-February 2011. The 2011 Common Snipe was not nearly as light as this one.

 At that time, Dave Brown spent a lot of time studying and photographing the Common Snipe to confirm its ID. He "blogged" a fantastic article regarding the differentiation of these two species which at one time were considered the same. To read this article, visit: http://birdingnewfoundland.blogspot.ca/2011/02/common-snipe.html

To highlight the rare birds of 2014, I am adding a tab above to showcase those I am lucky enough to see. I hope the appearance of the Common Snipe is the first of many rare birds set to visit our island this year.

A Creeper Crept In

 The Downy Woodpecker was enough to motivate me to take a walk around Long Pond. While it was not at the feeder when I arrived, I decided to walk the trail and check on my way out. The trail was quite good until I needed an ice pick to ascend the mountain of ice bordering on Allandale Road. Happy to have conquered that obstacle, I stared down the road only to see cars whizzing by and no sidewalk cleared across the bridge. This obstacle prompted a death-defying dash, timed with the red traffic lights at Higgins Line and Prince Phillip Drive to reach safety. Sighing with relief, I thought I had it made, only to find I once again had to scale a walk of ice to return to the trail. Climbing on "all fours," I finally reached the trail and could once again stand upright. When I told my daughter about this, she quickly told me I was not "cool." No, I was cold and a little rattled by the experience.

Despite all that, I did get to see some good bird activity. The juncos (at least 50) were quite active. Chickadees (both species) were low in numbers, but nice to see. There were no Red-breasted Nuthatches which is really unusual in this area. I did see three American Goldfinch. When is a goldfinch "reportable?" When it is ten days into the year and I hadn't seen one. The best bird of the day was near the feeder. I tucked myself in hoping to see the Downy Woodpecker. Juncos, chickadees and goldfinch were spinning around me. While watching, I caught sight, albeit briefly, of a small bird sticking close to the tree trunk. I was delighted when I realized it was a Brown Creeper. I had a really hard time finding one last year. The only snag with this sighting was the creeper didn't stay around long enough for me to get a good picture.

I also thought I saw a Merlin twice. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a picture, and I'm not 100% sure if that is what it was.

Having now made my first lengthy attempt at braving the elements, I think I can do it again. The good news is the weather is warming up next week. Knowing that just makes my day!

Buzzed!

 With some help from Bruce Mactavish, I have been able to upload a couple of pictures. Thanks. The weather outlook is a little more promising for birding over the next week or so which is a good thing, because I am falling way behind two zealous young men who have been scouring our region despite the harsh conditions. They have reported on eBird TWICE the number of birds I have seen. I haven't even seen an American Goldfinch! I think it is time to try to remedy this situation.


In the mean time I have shared a few photos taken when in pursuit of birds. During the St. John's Christmas Bird Count, Catherine Barrett and I took a side trip to Cape Spear where we got properly buzzed... by a DFO plane, that is.  On that same day, we stopped at the Village of Quidi Vidi to scan the area. While there, we saw a Canada Goose that has been moving around town quite a bit. (To my knowledge, December 26 was the last day it was seen.)  I couldn't resist getting a shot of the lovely snow-cover stages in the area, even though I didn't have the right lens for it.
(Note:  I have been able to upload photos to BlogSpot, but I still can't move the cursor around on the page as I need to. Hence, all text is grouped under one picture.) The last photo in this series was also taken at Cape Spear (where else?) I rounded the bend at the bottom of the hill to head out to the parking lot when I saw this person perched atop her SUV. At first, I thought this must be a birder. Who else would climb atop an auto to get a photo? Well, I was wrong. I have no idea who this photographer is, but it was just another interesting episode in annals of Cape Spear.


(Another note: The spell check isn't working either. Hope I didn't miss anything.)