Finding Birds on the Road

A curious Gray Jay at Terra Nova National Park

Now that we’re back on Canada’s main artery, Hwy 1, birding has become a little more complex. Endless numbers of semi-trailers effectively block out the high pitch contact calls and songs of newly arrived warblers and sparrows. Nevertheless, luck has been on our side.

nf.birds Online Bird Group

Black-headed Gull at the sewage outflow in Clarenville

Motels and McDonald’s are the best places to access free internet (unless you have what we don’t, an iPhone or Blackberry), and when the chance arises, we check the local birding forum, nf.birds, for the latest sightings and places to look for birds in new towns. Each province in Canada has an online group devoted to unusual bird sightings, and they hold a wealth of information for the traveling birder. nf.birds is how we came to find ourselves at one of the more scenic parts of Clarenville…the sewage outflow. It was a much nicer place than it sounds. Our first Harlequin Duck, resting on the rocks by its lonesome self, was only outdone by one of the stars of Newfoundland, the Black-headed Gull.

Bird Feeders

Unlike Australia, most people in North America have bird feeders in their garden, attracting all sorts of appealing birds. Riding by people’s houses, we take a quick glance in their front yard to glimpse what birds might be gorging food there. Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Siskins were at a feeder in Lewisporte yesterday, but we still await a Common Redpoll!

Local Knowledge

Jaime looking for Black-backed Woodpeckers

We really lucked out camping in Terra Nova National Park, when local ranger, Barbara Linehan, came to see how we were making out. We told her a bit about our journey, and she enthusiastically told us where we may be able to find two really elusive birds, the Black-backed Woodpecker and Boreal Owl. Under her guidance, we set off the next morning to a large expanse of trees that burned several years ago. Woodpeckers find these areas irresistible, and apparently soon after the burn, you could stand in one place and see 5 species of woodpecker at once! Black-backed Woodpecker is a really tricky one, and although they occur right across Canada, we wanted to see this bird sooner than later. Meandering through the skeletal remains of trees, we bumped into our first White-throated Sparrows and Palm Warblers. Listening intently, we heard a distant ‘drumming’ (the noise woodpeckers make when they drill their heads into the side of a tree or telegraph pole). Hearing it again, we fixed our bearing on the noise, and went straight for it. After 200m of further saturating our hiking boots, the bird we were chasing hopped up the side of a tree in front of us…a male Black-backed! Our moment with him was short but sweet, as another flew in and scared him off.

Check out Jaime's great story of our epic quest for Boreal Owl on Bird-o.com. But as a teaser, here is a (blurry!) video we captured of this incredible little owl that rainy night. To say the least, we were stoked.

New Birds:

55. Black-headed Gull

56. Harlequin Duck

57. Hairy Woodpecker

58. Merlin

59. Hermit Thrush

60. Gray Jay

61. White-throated Sparrow

62. Black-backed Woodpecker

63. Palm Warbler

64. Boreal Owl

65. Evening Grosbeak

66. Pine Siskin

New Mammals:

5. Snowshoe Hare (Introduced to Newfoundland)

Related Posts:

• The Boreal Owl