Point Lepreau is a great spot to watch the spring migration of Black Scoters and other sea birds heading north to their summer breeding grounds. Sticking out into the Bay of Fundy, this point is a significant location along the North American Atlantic Flyway, a migratory route for millions of birds. This is the home of the Point Lepreau Bird Observatory, a small hut, where volunteers from the Saint John Naturalists’ Club conduct seabird migration counts every spring.
It is a beautiful experience to volunteer for this annual seabird migration. The Bird Observatory is a fascinating place to spend a morning or afternoon counting the birds flying by. There is a stick in front of the hut and compass directions on the floor to help you determine if the birds are flying east or west. But there is more – this is citizen science at its best. There are specific migration counting procedures and specific forms for data entry. Each session has a set of data sheets to record the bird counts and the environmental conditions of the day (tide, temperature, wind speed and direction and visibility).
The counting protocol was adopted from the Canadian Wildlife Service and Bird Studies Canada. A four-hour session is divided into 15 minute periods. An observer will count for 15 minutes followed by a 15-minute rest period. So for each session there are 8 counting periods and 8 rest periods. It is a skill to count a flock of over 200 birds in 20 seconds! And to record what type of bird it is, is it a mixed flock, male or female – all before the next flock flies through. Some peak counts have been more than 8,000 per hour!
Nine (9) species of birds are the focus of the counts: Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Common Eider and Long-tailed Duck. Other observations include, Harlequin ducks, song birds (sparrows, warblers) and raptors (peregrine falcons, kestrels, merlins).
The challenge of counting birds is balanced by the beauty of the place. There are those 15-minute rest periods when you can walk outside and take in all the ambience of a rugged sea coast. The smell of the salt air, the vibrations from the wind, the sound of the waves – are simply wonderful. This a beautiful place to visit and I will return to count the birds when they return next spring.
PS: Why the belly-flop? Well, that is how a black scoter lands on the water. The surf and white-winged scoters land feet first, but the black scoter leans forward and does a belly-flop.
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