A rather large day of birding in Nova Scotia - May 28, 2017

Last year, we (myself, Dominic Cormier, Avery Bartels and Lucas Berrigan) attempted to break the Nova Scotia Big Day record, which had been set on June 23, 1999 at 145 species by Clarence Stevens Jr. et al. After some research, that total seemed attainable, so we set out on May 29, 2016 to give it a shot. Fast forward to 24h later and we had 146 species by ABA rules under our belts, just barely nabbing the record, and with quite a few mishaps, mistakes and misses along the way. Dom did a rather lengthy writeup of the day, see here: http://dominiccormier.blogspot.ca/2016/10/a-nova-scotia-big-day-full-tale.html if you want to read that in full! I’ll try to keep it a little more concise here.

This year, we figured we could do even better, and planned to give it another go near the end of May, depending on the weather. Unfortunately, Avery was in Ontario, and Dom’s last day to join us before work (May 27), turned out to be horrible weather-wise. So, on May 28, Luc and I set off into the darkness on our own, to see what damage we could do to the record. Prior to this, we’d done a bit of scouting along our route, in bits and pieces in the weeks leading up to our attempt, along with digital scouting via eBird. This was more than last year, but still nothing like what most Big Day teams do! All this scouting did pay off though, and we owe Dom a thank-you for scouting out some areas between Halifax and Windsor for us, even though he was unable to join us on the day! Anyway, enough preamble – here’s a summary of our day; enjoy!

May 27, 23:30

After getting to Beaubassin and finishing the prep for the Big Day, I crawled into bed around 6:30pm, anticipating getting more sleep than last year. That didn’t happen, and I got maybe an hour of restless sleep until being wide awake after about 9pm. I eventually gave up on sleep, grabbed a shower and headed out the door to meet up with Luc, who was staying with his girlfriend in Sackville (he met me near Beaubassin though, rather nice of him). After loading his stuff in the van and cracking my first energy drink of the day (some weird green tea thing), we were off to the Amherst Marsh, making it just a few minutes before midnight (and no speeding tickets this time!). Luc even remembered his binoculars.

May 28 – the Big Day

00:00

‘KEEK’ – Well, that was weird… We had made it about 200m out into the Amherst Marsh before the clock hit midnight, and that was the first sound of the day. Later on, after we’d found another bird doing more typical calls and songs at closer range, I realized that had been a Least Bittern flight call. Bird #1, and a rather good omen! Working our way further into the marsh, our targets fell one by one – Virginia Rail, Black Tern, Sora, Marsh Wren, Pied-billed Grebe, American Bittern, Wilson’s Snipe. It was warmer than last year (9C), and so the birds were more active. Another surprise came in the form of a Long-eared Owl calling repeatedly in the distance, while the Aurora Borealis danced in the sky to the north of us. We really couldn’t have hoped for a better kickoff to our 2017 Birdathon and Big Day.

00:41

A quick stop at a spot from last year failed to produce Short-eared Owl, but gave us Barred Owl and American Woodcock, as well as another glimpse at the northern lights through the clouds.

00:49

Eddy Marsh was rather silent, but we managed to dredge out a Common Gallinule and heard a Mourning Warbler giving its odd flight call as it made its way northeast (maybe to Cape Breton). Good thing we’d cleaned up at Amherst.

01:20

The sewage lagoons at Fort Lawrence are a key stop – this year we snagged Least Sandpiper and most of our dabbling ducks for the day. The resident Killdeer were also in evidence, but we’d already heard one at Eddy. A Red Fox prowling the edges may have been the reason there weren’t more shorebirds around.

01:41

Energy drink number 1 finished, we were on our way out of Amherst, 9 minutes ahead of schedule, with 24 species under our belts and pretty much all of our targets nailed. Feeling good! We made a quick stop at an exit along the way, but failed to turn up our target Northern Saw-whet Owl, and so we don’t have a checklist from there (no other birds!).

03:52

I woke Luc up by driving over a speedbump in the Tantallon Rona parking lot. Headlamps out, Osprey became bird number 26 for the day as it slept soundly on its nest. A European Starling singing at this ungodly hour was number 25.

04:08

Apparently my driving wasn’t fast enough, as we got to Hiking Trail Road 8 minutes behind schedule. No worries though, a Spotted Sandpiper calling in the darkness was new.

04:26

Working our way up the road, stopping at likely spots finally paid off with a Northern Saw-whet Owl tooting in the night. A singing White-throated Sparrow let us know we’d better get a move-on to make it to our planned dawn chorus spot.

04:51

We made it, and stood by the roadside as one by one, the forest denizens came to life to begin the day. Hermit and Swainson’s Thrushes gave their flutey songs while 6 species of warblers joined the chorus. A Common Nighthawk booming in the distance took a minute for Luc to pick up, and would be our only one of the day. Having spent too long here and not finding our target Lincoln’s Sparrow though, it was time to move on.

05:20

It turned out we’d been 200m too far. Lincoln’s Sparrow singing.

05:36

We arrived at a spot Dom had scouted for us – our target was MIA but a Bay-breasted Warbler made up for it. We’d also picked up quite a few of the common boreal species by this point, but still had a lot of gaps to fill!

06:03

Further south on the road – hey maybe we should stop on this hilltop and have a listen. Gray Jay. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Lincoln’s Sparrow – that 20+ minutes at the first stop seemed a waste, now.

06:23

Bog time – Olive-sided Flycatcher singing loudly, but no Hooded Merganser. A distant Ruffed Grouse drummed just once; somehow I missed it.

06:59

Last-ditch effort for Cape May Warbler – no dice. Time to head out – sitting at ~60 species with most of our boreal targets having fallen, we were mostly happy with our progress as we hit the highway westward. We were hopeful the few gaps we had left in this species group would be filled along the way.

07:41

Canaan Rd – hey there’s a truck here. Driving in, it turned out to be Jason Dain. We got our Nashville Warbler but missed the Rusty Blackbird – it came in a few minutes after we left. Running behind schedule means you don’t always get to wait around!

08:24

Road birding – we got our Bobolink, Common Grackle, Tree Swallow and several others en route. A House Sparrow also meant we didn’t have to worry in Kentville.

08:31

Another change from last year – Payzant Bog Road was a nice eBird find that I got Dom to scout out a bit for us. Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Veery, Evening Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Cedar Waxwing, White-breasted Nuthatch, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak. “Eastern Bluebird singing!”. All we had hoped for and more in one convenient location.

08:43

Payzant wasn’t done yet. Another stop a few km up the road gave us Brown-headed Cowbird and Northern Waterthrush – two species we missed last year. Energy drink number 2 cracked – one of those vanilla coffee ones. Had a weird aftertaste. Last year I made the mistake of drinking these things too fast, getting wired and then crashing. This year my strategy of sipping it over a period of several hours paid off, with no crash.

09:10

Cutting our time short at Grand Pre got us back on schedule – unfortunately the tide was completely wrong and it was a useless stop, adding only things we would see later in the day!

09:33

Wolfville – the Merlin was sitting on the nest we’d found a few days earlier. Yet another bird we’d missed last year. It was somewhere around here that we cracked 100 species for the day – we weren’t counting on our hard copy though; just intermittently updating the eBird ‘Summarize My Observations’ tool. This was slightly farther in our route than last year, however it was quite a bit earlier in the day!

09:40

Sharp-shinned Hawk! Luc was eBirding and missed it, despite a quick pull-in to a parking area. Dang.

09:53

We found ourselves at the Kentville Ravine once again – no mad dash to the far end this year though, we just calmly sat at the entrance and ticked our Eastern Wood-Pewee and Brown Creeper.

10:05

We finally got our Northern Cardinal for the day – we were starting to worry! No target flycatcher though, but wait what’s Luc staring at? Luc? “Wood Thrush. I think.” What? Where?! “In the bush.” …helpful… By the time I got on it, it was a brown shape flying away into the forest. Luc got a decent enough view though, so on the list it went.

10:14

The tame Sandhill Crane was still in residence, standing in its field behind a house on the edge of Kentville. Now, back to that flycatcher.

10:19

While waiting for the flycatcher, a noisy pair of Peregrine Falcons cruised over. Score! No flycatcher though, so we headed out. Maybe we should go up to James’s house? Just as I was about to turn onto the street, the Great Crested Flycatcher gave it’s ‘wheep prrrrt prrt’ from right beside the road. Well that answers that question, and no detour needed!

10:23

Miner’s Marsh dash – Eastern Kingbird, Wilson’s Warbler, Bank Swallow. A female Baltimore Oriole looking like she was nest-building. Eventually, a Chimney Swift flew by. Moving on.

10:44

Sun’s out, things are getting hot. Pine Warbler singing at Sherwood, where we’d scouted it a few days earlier. Luc couldn’t hear it, so I ate a sandwich while I waited for him to get it. Only took a minute, so I had to finish the sandwich en route.

11:20

Thunderbird Way in Greenwood – a distant Scarlet Tanager livened up our wait with its burry song. Vesper Sparrow – tick.

11:50

Bridgetown. This year we were more efficient, getting gas, iced cappuccinos and our Cliff Swallow in just 8 minutes.

12:11

Our quick stop at Belleisle Marsh turned rather lengthy (by Big Day standards) when the Willow Flycatcher failed to show, so we explored a little more than normal. Quite a few Wood Ducks kept us company, and an American Coot called quietly, briefly – too briefly for Luc to register it. Behind schedule again.

12:47

French Basin yielded its Bufflehead willingly, and two more Wilson’s Warblers sang from the bushes.

13:26

One does not usually make prospective stops on a Big Day, but Digby was an area we hadn’t gotten to scout. A quick scan of the bay gave us two Red-necked Grebes though, along with Surf Scoter and our first eiders and guillemots of the day. A female House Finch called from the power lines.

13:48

Point Prim – last year the wind and tides gave us favourable results. This year, all was calm – the sea was glass. A distant Red-throated Loon and a couple of Razorbills sat on the water, and a Ring-billed Gull flew by. We cut our time a few minutes short to get back on track.

14:13

Back in Digby, we hit Montague Row, the site of last year’s Scarlet Tanager. All three scoters, another Ring-billed Gull, and the resident House Finches were this year’s haul. Off toward Yarmouth!

 14:38

Two hawks up ahead. Broad-winged!

14:53

Catbird went across the road – Luc missed it.

15:20

Debating a detour to a guaranteed Turkey Vulture spot when a kettle of five appeared over the road. Solves that problem!

15:34

Yarmouth Harbour – Willet, but no Iceland Gull…

15:50

We ran into Ervin Olsen at Chebogue Point, where the Cattle Egrets and Black-billed Cuckoo had disappeared. A swarm of passerines in “The Willows” produced our missing Canada Warbler and Willow Flycatcher (seen and tentatively identified as it was quite brown with short wings; a few call notes confirmed my suspicions!) though. A distant Northern Gannet flew by. A feeding frenzy of Common Terns over the ocean.

16:14

Finally, a Northern Harrier. Checking the eBird tally, we were getting rather close to our previous year’s record. It’s only a little after 4pm!

16:25

A desperate stop for Belted Kingfisher, and a Cooper’s Hawk flies across the river. We’ll take it. No kingfisher though.

16:30

Scouring Tusket’s Courthouse Rd turned up another drumming Ruffed Grouse (I was a little worried), Red Crossbill, Pileated Woodpecker and another Broad-winged Hawk. No Hairy Woodpecker though – getting quite worried about that one at this point in the day!

17:16

Pubnico’s Pond Rd was very kind to us last year. Not as much luck this year, but the nesting Arctic and Roseate Terns were in evidence. At this point we were quite a bit behind, having spent too much time in Tusket, so our stop was cut to just a quick scan of the tern colony.  In retrospect, we should have skipped this stop entirely and picked up our terns on CSI. Oh well.

17:45

Shag Harbour and another catbird flies across the road – this time Luc got it.

17:50

Finally on Cape Sable Island, 10 minutes behind schedule. Guess we’ll have to rush it. Our first stop, a stake-out House Wren, failed to show. Repeat of last year? (it also failed to show for us on June 3, so maybe it just didn’t like us).

17:59

Mike’s house, where a Nelson’s Sparrow sang a few times, too distantly for Luc’s ears.

18:07

Mark’s house – Hairy Woodpecker – finally.

18:14

A lingering Greater Scaup lured us to the Stoney Island Wharf. No luck on the scaup, but a Great Cormorant hanging out in the colony offshore was a bonus.

18:35

Quick scan of Daniel’s Head – no Piping Plover and no Red Phalarope. To the Hawk!

18:42

Mark was just heading out as we pulled in, and graciously pointed our weary heads in the general direction of the birds. Not that we could miss them; the flats were teeming with shorebirds! Three Red-breasted Mergansers flew by, some Brant munched on whatever plant matter sustains them on the Cape, and a horde of Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderling and Dunlin worked the mud. A Greater Yellowlegs worked a pool close to us, and a Semipalmated Sandpiper was picked out of the Sanderling crowd. A few Short-billed Dowitchers probed a pool, and all too soon it was time for us to high-tail it out of there, but not before a Boreal Chickadee called from the nearby conifers.

19:00

Our pre-ordered pizza and garlic fingers took all of a minute to pick up, and we soon had deliciously greasy, hot food in our bellies as we made our way to our final resting place for the day.

20:07

Somehow we managed to start our Bon Portage checklist at the exact same time as last year, after unloading the boat and carrying our gear up to the cabin. Not wasting much time wandering the woods, we grabbed a celebratory beer and wandered on down to the lighthouse. Fox Sparrows serenaded us along the way, and a Semipalmated Plover flushed from a pool where we always see them in the fall. At the lighthouse, calm, clear conditions made for decent seawatching, with Red-throated Loons cruising by, Atlantic Puffins coming in to their breeding area on Green Island, and a few distant Sooty Shearwaters circling around some food source. Beer cracked (Rare Bird Pale Ale, for those wondering), we made it back to the cabins around dark and unpacked our sleeping bags, anticipating a late night. A walk out into the banding area and some quick playback, and Great Horned Owl was ours. Leach’s Storm-Petrels fluttered around us as they returned to their burrows. A Black-crowned Night Heron giving its ‘wok’ call meant we saved ourselves a long and tiring hike to the north end.

22:08

Checking our list and seeing that we realistically couldn’t add anything else for the day (except maybe a lucky shorebird or cuckoo by flight call), we called it a night. I ended up staying up until about 23:15, talking on the phone and hoping for something flying over, before hitting the hay.

May 29

The day after. Pretty much the first thing we did in the morning was check our list. Turns out we’d missed a different species on our hard copy than on the eBird lists, so we had to send out a few corrective texts to friends. After double- and triple-checking, we discovered we hadn’t just beaten our record from the year before; we had blown it away! A full 22 species higher, putting us at 168 for the day. Better timing and a more efficient route, along with slightly better weather and some cooperative shorebirds on CSI all contributed greatly (I think) to it! Of course, we’ve already figured out how we could have done better… maybe a 2018 Round 3 is in order?

Our final stats:

Species – total 168; Dave 167 (can’t count the Wood Thrush), Luc 165 (missed Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Coot and Nelson’s Sparrow)

Distance travelled: 849.6 km by car, 3 km by boat and 14.2 km on foot

Hours birded: 23.25

eBird lists submitted: 68

Species missed that we probably should have seen: 8

Species seen that weren’t really expected: 13

The list, for those interested! Species seen at only a single location during the day have that location listed. This is taken from the eBird summary, so the first number is our total count for the day, and the second number is the number of checklists that species appeared on out of the 68 total. Apologies for the format of the table - can't figure out how to get rid of the fill at the moment...

Brant – the Hawk, CSI	20 (1)
Canada Goose	18 (4)
Wood Duck – Belleisle Marsh	11 (1)
Gadwall	31 (3)
American Wigeon	10 (3)
American Black Duck	56 (5)
Mallard	63 (7)
Blue-winged Teal	6 (2)
Northern Shoveler	12 (3)
Green-winged Teal	5 (3)
Ring-necked Duck	27 (4)
Common Eider	135 (5)
Surf Scoter	10 (3)
White-winged Scoter - Digby	1 (1)
Black Scoter - Digby	50 (1)
Bufflehead – French Basin	1 (1)
Red-breasted Merganser – The Hawk, CSI	3 (1)
Ring-necked Pheasant	6 (4)
Ruffed Grouse	2 (2)
Red-throated Loon	6 (2)
Common Loon	14 (6)
Pied-billed Grebe	8 (4)
Red-necked Grebe – Digby	2 (1)
Sooty Shearwater – BP	3 (1)
Leach's Storm-Petrel – BP	12 (1)
Northern Gannet	9 (2)
Great Cormorant – Stoney Island wharf, CSI	1 (1)
Double-crested Cormorant	184 (10)
American Bittern	2 (2)
Least Bittern – Amherst Marsh	2 (1)
Great Blue Heron	4 (4)
Black-crowned Night-Heron – BP	1 (1)
Turkey Vulture – just north of Yarmouth	5 (1)
Osprey	2 (2)
Northern Harrier	2 (2)
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Greenwich	1 (1)
Cooper's Hawk - Tusket	1 (1)
Bald Eagle	6 (4)
Broad-winged Hawk	3 (2)
Red-tailed Hawk	2 (2)
Virginia Rail	3 (2)
Sora	19 (4)
Common Gallinule – Eddy Marsh	1 (1)
American Coot – Belleisle Marsh	1 (1)
Sandhill Crane – Kentville	1 (1)
Black-bellied Plover	105 (3)
Semipalmated Plover – BP	1 (1)
Killdeer	3 (2)
Ruddy Turnstone – The Hawk, CSI	25 (1)
Sanderling – The Hawk, CSI	35 (1)
Dunlin – The Hawk, CSI	80 (1)
Least Sandpiper – Amherst lagoons	1 (1)
Semipalmated Sandpiper – The Hawk, CSI	1 (1)
Short-billed Dowitcher – The Hawk, CSI	5 (1)
Wilson's Snipe	4 (2)
American Woodcock	3 (2)
Spotted Sandpiper	4 (3)
Greater Yellowlegs – The Hawk, CSI	1 (1)
Willet	32 (5)
Razorbill – Point Prim	2 (1)
Black Guillemot	11 (2)
Atlantic Puffin - BP	3 (1)
Ring-billed Gull	2 (2)
Herring Gull	1,917 (11)
Great Black-backed Gull	932 (11)
Black Tern – Amherst Marsh	2 (1)
Roseate Tern – Pubnico	1 (1)
Common Tern	102 (3)
Arctic Tern - Pubnico	3 (1)
Rock Pigeon	10 (6)
Mourning Dove	21 (10)
Great Horned Owl – BP	2 (1)
Barred Owl – Amherst	1 (1)
Long-eared Owl – Amherst	1 (1)
Northern Saw-whet Owl – Hiking Trail Rd	1 (1)
Common Nighthawk – Hiking Trail Rd	1 (1)
Chimney Swift	2 (2)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	2 (2)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	2 (2)
Downy Woodpecker	2 (2)
Hairy Woodpecker – Mark’s House - CSI	1 (1)
Northern Flicker	2 (2)
Pileated Woodpecker	1 (1)
Merlin – Wolfville	1 (1)
Peregrine Falcon - Kentville	2 (1)
Olive-sided Flycatcher – Hiking Trail Rd	1 (1)
Eastern Wood-Pewee - Kentville	1 (1)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	2 (2)
Alder Flycatcher	13 (7)
Willow Flycatcher – Chebogue Pt	1 (1)
Least Flycatcher	11 (6)
Eastern Phoebe	2 (2)
Great Crested Flycatcher – Kentville	1 (1)
Eastern Kingbird - Kentville	2 (1)
Blue-headed Vireo	21 (11)
Red-eyed Vireo	19 (11)
Gray Jay – Hiking Trail Rd	1 (1)
Blue Jay	12 (9)
American Crow	60 (17)
Common Raven	7 (4)
Tree Swallow	61 (6)
Bank Swallow	103 (3)
Barn Swallow	37 (6)
Cliff Swallow	7 (2)
Black-capped Chickadee	20 (8)
Boreal Chickadee	2 (2)
Red-breasted Nuthatch	7 (6)
White-breasted Nuthatch	2 (2)
Brown Creeper	2 (2)
Winter Wren	4 (4)
Marsh Wren – Amherst Marsh	2 (1)
Golden-crowned Kinglet	12 (6)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	5 (4)
Eastern Bluebird - Falmouth	1 (1)
Veery - Falmouth	2 (1)
Swainson's Thrush	23 (10)
Hermit Thrush	18 (8)
Wood Thrush - Kentville	1 (1)
American Robin	37 (19)
Gray Catbird	2 (2)
European Starling	78 (18)
Cedar Waxwing - Falmouth	4 (1)
Ovenbird	17 (11)
Northern Waterthrush	2 (2)
Black-and-white Warbler	15 (12)
Nashville Warbler - Canaan	2 (1)
Mourning Warbler - Amherst	1 (1)
Common Yellowthroat	37 (15)
American Redstart	37 (23)
Cape May Warbler - Canaan	1 (1)
Northern Parula	10 (9)
Magnolia Warbler	28 (9)
Bay-breasted Warbler	5 (3)
Blackburnian Warbler	9 (4)
Yellow Warbler	43 (16)
Chestnut-sided Warbler	12 (7)
Blackpoll Warbler	16 (10)
Black-throated Blue Warbler	2 (2)
Palm Warbler	9 (4)
Pine Warbler - Kentville	1 (1)
Yellow-rumped Warbler	26 (13)
Black-throated Green Warbler	17 (10)
Canada Warbler – Chebogue Pt	1 (1)
Wilson's Warbler	3 (2)
Nelson's Sparrow – Mike’s house, CSI	1 (1)
Chipping Sparrow	6 (4)
Fox Sparrow - BP	3 (1)
Dark-eyed Junco	10 (6)
White-throated Sparrow	33 (12)
Vesper Sparrow - Greenwood	1 (1)
Savannah Sparrow	20 (7)
Song Sparrow	40 (20)
Lincoln's Sparrow	3 (3)
Swamp Sparrow	18 (11)
Scarlet Tanager - Greenwood	1 (1)
Northern Cardinal	6 (5)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	4 (3)
Bobolink	6 (2)
Red-winged Blackbird	38 (7)
Common Grackle	26 (8)
Brown-headed Cowbird - Falmouth	1 (1)
Baltimore Oriole	7 (3)
House Finch	4 (2)
Purple Finch	13 (9)
Red Crossbill - Tusket	12 (1)
American Goldfinch	31 (16)
Evening Grosbeak - Falmouth	2 (1)
House Sparrow	4 (2)