Saturday 24 December 2022

Go for the Black-tailed Godwit, Stay for the Green-tailed Towhee


 Where to go?  That was the question.  Where would the potential last chase of the year take me?  There was an Ivory Gull in Saskatchewan.  But that was out on the ice almost three hours north of Saskatoon and it was -30c.  Once it hits minus forty, it doesn’t matter which scale you use, -40C and -40F are equally unpleasant.  As I was booking that flight, a Black-tailed Godwit had its own flight go off course and landed about half an hour from Halifax.  There was also the fact that there was a Snowy Egret and Thick-billed Murre in Nova Scotia and I had missed both of them earlier in the year.  Also it was only -3C in Halifax.

Where to go?  The answer was not Saskatoon.  Sorry Ivory Gull, but the final chase of the year took me to Nova Scotia.  Not to mention a return trip to New Brunswick, hot on the heals of the Steller’s Sea-Eagle, for another lost bird.  But we’ll get to that.

The Black-tailed Godwit was pretty rare too.  So rare by the time I arrived in Halifax and drove down to the Salt Marsh Trail near Rainbow Haven, it was lost again and not even the most seasoned Nova Scotia birders were able to re-find it.  Would have been a Lifer and the final godwit species on my list.  I had seen Marbled and Hudsonian and even a Bar-tailed Godwit lost in Florida back in February of 2014.  It was not to be.  But I had a backup plan or two.

My next stop was near three hour drive to Cape Sable Island.  I had been there earlier in the year, though I didn’t realize it until I crossed the causeway and began to recognize my surroundings.  All these small Canadian coastal towns I have been to in the last year begin to blend together, even if they are sometimes on opposite coasts.

I arrived with plenty of daylight to search for my two targets. Birds I shoulda-woulda-coulda seen in the spring and summer.  I missed out on a Snowy Egret in Ontario when I was in BC and not a single boat trip I took on either coast had a Thick-billed Murre.  Well, I lucked out, because both of them were being reported at Cape Sable.  I pulled up to the parking area at the North East Point and scanned the water next to the causeway and eventually picked up the murre, but wasn’t able to get a good photo at the time, as it was sleeping and bobbing up and down on the water.  However, I felt it important to try for the Snowy Egret just in case it was difficult to find, as it could be anywhere in the fields behind the homes on Stoney Island Rd. in Barrington.

I took a drive out to where the egret had been reported and drove back and forth along the road, stopping here and there and checking the fields beyond the houses.  Less than half an hour later, I spotted a white blob.  I checked with my binoculars from the car and sure enough, there was the Snowy Egret, in all its white egret-y splendour, hanging out in the grass.  I found safe spot to pull the car off the road, grabbed my scope and digiscoping adaptor, and set up to get some photos and videos.  The gale force winds ended up being too much for videos that didn’t look like I was on a horse, but I did get a couple of good photos.


When I was done, I realized I had plenty of light and time left to go try for photos of the Thick-billed Murre.  By the time I returned, the sun was perfectly low in the sky, providing nice light, and I discovered a dock I could walk down and get very close to the murre.  This time I was sheltered from the wind and got a good video using my PhoneSkope adaptor with my iPhone and Vortex spotting scope.  I now had 453 species for the year.  Suddenly the Canada record of 457 was in sight.  Not that I really expected to reach it, but at the end of November I hadn’t expected to even get to 450.

I thought I’d only get a photo of it sleeping, but as the sun was setting…

… the Thick-billed Murre awoke and I was able to get photos and videos:




As it turned out, the Black-tailed Godwit was likely gone and now I had a chance to try for a bird almost as, if not as rare in Canada, a Green-tailed Towhee.  Interestingly, the first Green-tailed Towhee I ever saw was off course too, in Florida back during the early months of my 2012 Big Year. This one was in Sackville, New Brunswick, just 2 hours away from where I was staying in Halifax.  So, off I drove to Sackville and what a great trip it was.

I was in contact with some of the folks I knew in knew in New Brunswick from the summer boat trip and the Steller’s Sea-Eagle adventure, Mitch Doucet and Diane LeBlack, and they were very helpful with directions and Mitch even had a local birder walk up the path to guide me to the spot along the Tantramar Wetlands Centre Trail.  The weather was nice and though it was a couple of hours from sunset, the bird was being seen off and on and it was just a matter of waiting for it to pop up.  I also ran into Alain Clavette, who has a birding radio show on the CBC and he had wanted to interview me after the Sea-Eagle sighting.  Well, what fun it was to begin the interview as we walked up to the location where the towhee was being seen, and then end it after the thrill of discovery.

It took only about 15 minutes or so for the bird to make an appearance.  I missed it the first time, but a keen eyed young birder named Alex spotted it as it flew across the trail and pointed me to the correct bush, so I could get a good look at this little lost sparrow.  I had seen this species in Arizona as well, a couple of times, in addition to Florida, so I recognized its gray body, green wings and rufous head immediately.  I only had a 5 second look before it vanished again and it didn’t make another appearance for a photograph, but I didn’t care.  I had species 454 in the books and was able to enjoy a lovely evening in Sackville, which has its own interesting story to tell.

On the recommendation of a fellow birder on the trail I booked a night at the aptly named Marshlands Inn.  Upon arriving I discovered an old Victorian home decorated in full Christmas Cheer, complete with lights and music and once I entered felt like I had stepped back in time. So far back that the Queen used to come along when traveling in Canada and use the inn as a rest stop for a nap in her own room, complete with queenly refreshments. I enquired as to what kind of tea service she expected and was informed that she liked something a bit stronger and enjoyed a Gin and Tonic beverage known as a Dubonnet Cocktail.  In addition to the less expensive Gordon’s Gin, which she preferred over the top shelf stuff, the dry Vermouth was replaced with an inexpensive fortified wine called Dubonnet Rouge, resulting an a sharp and slightly sweet martini. Who knew?

I did not sleep in the Queen’s room nor indulge in her favorite drink, but I did have a fabulous dinner in the dining room, followed by a restful sleep in one of their suites, which included a claw foot tub that I took advantage of.  In the morning I was served a lovely French Toast breakfast before trying for another photo of the towhee. 





 It was not to be.  It was as elusive as ever, but I did run into Mark,(who did photograph the towhee), and Karen from Grand Manan.  They had so kindly taken me out on their boat to see the American Oystercatchers this summer.  New Brunswick was very good to me this year.  I also saw a Tri-colored Heron, Steller’s Sea-Eagle, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Razorbill, Atlantic Puffin and Laughing Gull there.

So I didn’t get my photo of the towhee, didn’t see the godwit, but worse, I was not to be home on Christmas Eve.  I had promised to be home for Christmas, and I may just be there on time.  Just not tonight.  I am coming to you directly from Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounge, where I have been all day, awaiting flights home.  A far cry from the opulence of the Marshlands Inn dining room, above.


My flight connecting through Montreal was delayed past when I would have been able to make my connection, so would have spent the night there.  I was rebooked on a direct flight to Toronto, which was also delayed until about an hour ago, when it was cancelled, due to weather in, of all places, Vancouver.

The incoming flight to Halifax would have come from Toronto but the plane from Vancouver wasn’t going to make it on time to leave tonight.  Such is the lot of a Big Year Birder, but I expect no sympathy; I was eating and drinking free food in the lounge and booked a hotel attached to the airport for the night, so I didn’t even have to go outside.  Anyhoo, his was the first cancelled flight of the year, so I consider myself reasonably lucky.

 Either way, I added three species on this trip and perhaps there will be one more waiting for me in Ontario.  At this point, I have accomplished more than I ever hoped to.  So Merry Christmas to all and to all a Big Year, in 2023.  Just not me.  Oh, wait, this is Christmas Eve, not New Years Eve.  There are still seven full days left. Hmmmmmm…

…To Be Continued…

No comments:

Post a Comment