find over 100 Species

May 31 dawned to rain and expeditions for birds, as part of the 1986 Francis Bain Birdathon, were delayed by hearty breakfasts and faint hearts. Eventually, the tough got going and turned up the following 108 species: Pied-billed grebe, great cormorant, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, american bittern, brant, mallard, black duck, northern pintail, green-winged teal, blue—winged teal, american wigeon, ring-necked duck, oldsquaw, common eider, white-winged scoter, red—breasted merganser, nor- thern goshawk, northern harrier, osprey, american kestrel, ruffed grouse, ring—necked pheasant, sora, piping plover, kildeer, black—bellied plover, common snipe, spotted sandpiper, willett, greater yellowlegs, least sand- piper, dunlin, great black—backed gull, herring gull, ring—billed gull, gonaparte's gull, common tern, arctic tern, caspian tern, rock dove, mourn— ing dove, common nighthawk, belted kingfisher, northern flicker, yellow— bellied sapsucker, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, black-backed wood- pecker, eastern kingbird, alder flycatcher, tree swallow, bank swallow, \ barn swallow, gray jay, blue jay, northern raven, american crow, black— capped Chickadee, boreal Chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, winter wren, american robin, swainson's thrush, veery, golden-crowned kinglet, ruby— crowned kinlet, cedar waxwing, european Starling, red-eyed vireo, warbling vireo, black and white warbler, tennessee warbler, northern parula, yellow warbler, magnolia warbler, cape may warbler, yellow—rumped warbler, black— throated green warbler, blackburnian warbler, bay-breasted warbler, black— poll warbler, palm warbler, ovenbird, northern ' /;’ waterthrush, common yellow throat, wilson's warbler, canada warbler, american redstart, house sparrow, bobolink, red-winged blackbird,-"‘M‘UV rusty blackbird, common grackle, brown—headed .* cowbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, evening gros-HEEE;,/”flr beak, purple finch, american goldfinch, red \ crossbill, savannah sparrow, sharp—tailed spar- row, vesper sparrow, northern junco, chipping sparrow, white-throated sparrow, swamp sparrow and song sparrow.

Also seen were two garter snakes at Mt. Albion, muskrats, red squirrels, snowshoe * hare and mice. COMMON YELLOWTHROAT

Of the more rarely reported species, scoters and eiders were seen at East Pt., oldsquaw at Priest Pond, sora at Covehead, willetts at Cherry Valley, dunlin at Brackley Marsh as well as Caspian terns and arctic terns at St. Peter's Harbour, mourning dove at Basin Head, gray jays and water— thrush at Annandale, red crossbills in Victoria Park and vesper sparrows at Morell Rear.

Birders were: Rosemary Curley, Brian Dalzell, Geoff Hogan, Sylvia Furgeson, Gerald MacDonald, Margaret Mallett, Joyce MacLeod, Paul and

Arlene McGuigan, Norah Longworth and Howard Norton. Brian Dalzell topped the list with 82 species.

- Rosemary Curley