Road, Charlottetown. For more information, contact the Nursery Complex Headquarters at 902-368-4700. There are still a limited number of the older Road Atlas’s available at the Nursery Complex and District offices and these can be purchased for $12.95 plus GST.

BIRDING FIELD TRIP: by Ron Arvidson

During the Natural History Society’s May 7th bird outing, the participants birded the Strathgartney and Bonshaw trails. The group also tried to see Indigo Buntings in York Point and Arger Shore. No Luck! A total of 33 species were seen. We did not record numbers except where noted in the report below. The day was cloudy and pleasant. (Adapted from PEIbirders mailing list E-mail dated May/05)

Start time: 8:00 AM Species Observed (Species Name — Number Reported)

3 American Black Duck 2 Osprey

American Crow Common Raven

Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow

1 Bald Eagle Black-capped Chickadee White-throated Sparrow

1 American Kestrel Red-breasted Nuthatch Dark-eyed Junco Mourning Dove 2 Winter Wren Red-Winged Blackbird Belted Kingfisher Golden-crowned Kinglet Common Grackle

2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Hermit Thrush Brown-headed Cowbird Downy Woodpecker American Robin Purple Finch

Hairy Woodpecker European Starling Pine Siskin

Northern Flicker Yellow-rumped Warbler American Goldfinch

Blue Jay Chipping Sparrow House Sparrow

2005 BAIN BIRD COUNT: by Dan McAskill, Ray Cooke, David Seeler, Eric Marcum, Dwaine

Oakley, Gerald, Gene, Carolyn, & Richard MacDonald, Paul & Arlene McGuigan, Jean Watts, Barb Currie, and Elaine Murley

At 3 am, the first team assembled in Charlottetown and commenced the 2005 Bain Bird Count. It was cool, damp, and relatively calm with the temperature starting Heated at ~8°C. For a brief period in the afternoon, it was a relatively pleasant with the Woodpecker temperature rising to ~11°C. Misting rain occurred sporadically throughout the day. At times visibility was hampered by fog or mist so we could not see to the middle or ends of Pisquid Pond and very far offshore at Souris and Little Harbour. The winds were erratic and ranged from 1 to 10 km/hr with the highest wind being recorded about 3 pm. One positive impact of the weather was the low temperature which kept the blackflies to a minimum, no need for fly dope even for those who sometimes use it! Leaves were only partly flushed so that visibility in the trees was good in most areas. The two teams birded in the central and northeastern parts of the Island and two birders from Charlottetown and Argyle Shore provided reports forthis year’s Bain Bird Count.

The participants are listed above. One team birded for 8.5 hours plus 40 minutes of owling the previous night. They drove 75 km and walked 3 km. The other team went from 3:00 am to 6:00 pm and covered some 294 kilometres. The remaining birders provided observations from their homes. Together, they observed and/ or heard 128 species down from last year’s 139 species total on the Bain Bird Count. A great day was had by all the