On January 2, 2008 Eric and Anne Mills, local birders from Lower Rose Bay, made their annual trip to Tancook to lead the bird count for the Island. They traveled 10km and 7-3/4 hrs on foot. There were 3 observers at feeders, 8 hrs., Dave and Martha Farrar and Hillary Dionne.
Conditions were extreme; gale force northerly winds all day, with dropping temperatures and continuous blowing light snow all afternoon. Many of the roads and tracks were ice-covered and potentially lethal. Despite the conditions, however, the species list and numbers were very good.
:
Canada Goose - 8 - Branta canadensis
American Black Duck - 37 - Anas rubripes
Mallard - 11 - Anas platyrhynchos
Green-winged Teal - 4 - Anas crecca
Common Eider - 20 - Somateria mollissima
Long-tailed Duck - 35 - Clangula hyemalis
Common Goldeneye - 1 - Bucephala clangula
Red-breasted Merganser - 6 - Mergus serrator
Common Loon - 5 - Gavia immer
Great Cormorant - 51 - Phalacrocorax carbo
Birds of Prey
Northern Harrier - 1 - Circus cyaneus
Red-tailed Hawk- 1 - Buteo jamaicensis
Fowl-like Birds
Ring-Necked Pheasant - 60 - Phasianus colchicus
Seabirds, Gulls, etc. (Aerialists)
Purple Sandpiper - 1 - Calidris maritima
Herring Gull - 100 - Larus argentatus
Iceland Gull - 2 - Larus glaucoides
Greater Black-backed Gull - 13 - Larus marinus
Black Guillemot - 1 - Cepphus grylle
Nonpasserine Land Birds
Mourning Dove - 146 - Zenaida macroura
Downy Woodpecker - 1 - Picoides pubescens
Northern Flicker - 1 - Colaptes auratus
Passerine (Perching) Birds
American Crow - 58 - Corvus brachyrhynchos
Northern Raven - 4 - Corvus corax
Blue Jay - 46 - Cyanocitta cristata
Black-capped Chickadee - 47 - Parus atricapillus
Boreal Chickadee - 11 - Parus atricapillus
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 3 - Sitta canadensis
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2 - Regulus satrapa
European Starling - 117 - Sturnus vulgaris
American Tree Sparrow - 7 - Spizella arborea
Song Sparrow - 12 - Melospiza melodia
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1 - Melospiza Lincolnii
Swamp Sparrow - 1 - Melospiza georgiana
Fox Sparrow - 27 - Passerella iliaca
White-throated Sparrow - 6 - Zonotrichia albicollis
Dark-eyed Junco - 50 - Junco hyemalis
Red Crossbill - 6 - Loxia curvirostra
American Goldfinch - 2 - Carduelis tristis
Common Redpoll - 24 - Carduelis flammea
