Black-capped Chickadee

The Black-capped Chickadee is a small year-round resident of the Park. Small songbirds migrating into unfamiliar places will sometimes associate with Chickadee flocks. Because of this, a birder might listen and watch for chickadees which could alert them to the presence of other unusual migrants. The Black-capped Chickadee itself does not migrate but sometimes travels long distances. 

For more information on the Black-capped Chickadee, click here!

Red-Eyed Vireos

These songbirds are in the height of their breeding season, and can be very easily seen around the forested areas of the park. The Red-Eyed Vireo is recognizable by the black stripe across it's eye, and of course, it's red eye if it is visible with the lighting. This vireo has a huge selection of songs (over 12,500 different versions have been recorded), making them sometimes hard to identify by call.

For more information, click here.

Double-crested Cormorant

This recent addition to our Park can be found on both coasts and inland areas. They are fishing birds. These large birds can often be seen standing in the sun with spread out wings. This is because, unlike many other diving birds, they have less preen oil on their feathers, so, standing with their wings spread after swimming helps to dry them off. Having less oil helps them with their underwater hunting. This cormorant has been known to live up to 22 years old.

For more information, click here.

More Shorebirds!

As a follow up to my last post about shorebirds, here's a video if that same group and the noises they make.

Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs

As we get into the height of shorebirds season in the maritimes, the park has seen a huge increase in the number of Sandpipers and Yellowlegs. These pictures feature both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, the most notable difference between the two being the call and size

Green-winged Teal

The Green-winged Teal is North America's smallest dabbling Duck. They breed in our Park and are also known to be a fast flyer, reaching up to 70km/h. They are named for their green speculum as you can see in the picture. This Teal is a female, and the much larger duck is a Mallard.

An American Redstart Nest

This little "Momma" Redstart (very little, usually only standing 4-5 inches tall) is looking a somewhat grumpy after we had discovered her nest. She had 3 babies underneath her, which have since flown off!

When we revisited the nest the next day, The male and the female were just returning with some food for the young, so they must be doing well. 

For more info on this often misidentified warbler, visit here! 

Cedar Waxwing

The Cedar Waxwing is recognisable by its cream colour and crest that lies flat over the back of its head. Its tail is grey with a bright yellow tip and its wingtips are red and waxy. They are social birds and are often seen in flocks. They specialise in eating fruit which is why we often see them around the Sorbus aucuparia,more commonly known as mountain-ash and the Amelanchier, also known as serviceberry, saskatoon or wild pear in the park! Because they eat so many berries, they can occasionally become intoxicated or die from eating fermented berries.

Look for them especially along the trail parallel to the Trans Canada Highway, on the Northern part of the Park.

Downy Woodpecker

The Downy Woodpecker is a common year-round resident across Canada.

Generally, Woodpeckers don't sing songs, instead they drum on wood or metal, deliberately, and not for feeding. Although not found typically in wetlands, we occasionally have them in the Park.

Our other most commonly seen Woodpecker, the Hairy Woodpecker looks very much like the Downy. The most notable difference is their size. While the Downy is 16 cm, the Hairy is 24 cm. The Downy Woodpecker also has a much shorter bill in proportion to its head than the Hairy.

Both males can be  recognized by their bright red patch on the back of the head. For more information on the Downy Woodpecker, look at this link!

Also keep an eye out for Northern Flickers which are also seen in our Park!

Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbird is one of the most common birds in our Park. The male is glossy black with red and yellow shoulder patches. The females are mostly streaked brown, comparable to a giant dark sparrow.

Males are very territorial, sometimes spending more than a quarter of daylights hours defending their territory. They can even chase away much larger birds and animals than themselves, including humans. During breeding season, the males can often be seen high on a perch, singing. Click on this link for a video of a Red-winged Blackbird calling!

The dense cattails in our Waterfowl Park provide the Red-winged Blackbird with great nesting spots. The female will usually put her nest near the surface of the water in dense vegetation (such as cattails). For more information on the Red-winged Blackbird, click on this link!

Park Washout Situation

As part of the on going redevelopment of the Waterfowl Park this summer, we have decided to recreate the Grand Canyon near the Mount A entrance. Can you tell which is which?

In all seriousness however, the photo on the right is where the Normandy Field junction once was, and the creek which used to run along the edge of the willow pathway has undermined it. The creek is fairly wide and the banks fairly steep, and we do not advise trying to cross over it. Repair crews are already surveying the damage and we hope to return it to normal as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience!

Tree Swallows

Anyone who frequents the Waterfowl Park knows that we have around two dozen nesting boxes in the water. However, many people aren't totally sure what, if anything, lives in these boxes. The answer they are looking for is, as the title of the post might lead you to believe, the Tree Swallow.

These beautiful little blue-backed, white-bellied swallows prefer nesting in large, dead standing conifers - of which there are very few in the park. As such, there were 55 boxes places all around the park, about half of which remain. For more info on the Tree Swallow, check out this Link!

The Glossy Ibis has Returned

Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce that the Glossy Ibis has returned to the Sackville Waterfowl park as of today- June 13th, 2015. Roger Gaudet managed to get over 30 photos of the glossy, of which there are 2 below. We hope that the "Glossy" will stay for as long as he did last time!

[Photo Credit: Roger Gaudet]

[Photo Credit: Roger Gaudet]

Goslings Update!

Here are a few photos of the same gosling posted last week. and how much they've changed! They're significantly larger, and certainly more brown. Here's the really wild part - there is now a single family of Geese that numbers 2 parents and 17 goslings. Yes.  17. Given that Canada Geese lay anywhere between 5-9  eggs, there are 2-3 families worth of goslings all together. Come check out all the new residents at the Sackville Waterfowl Park!

More Babies in the Park!

Just after I finished giving a tour, I was walking back to the center when I spotted a mother Mallard and her brood of 10 ducklings. The birthing season is just getting under way in the park, with 3 Goose families and this large group of Mallards so far. More updates on our new residents of the park to come!

Feeding Mallards

This is a video from about two weeks ago, when I had the chance to get face to face with some Mallards who were tearing away the the banks of the walkway while feeding. The ducks, in their excitement and / or hunger, must not have notice me or perhaps not have cared that I was near, because I was able to get very close. [Video Here]

On another note, we have a kids colouring table in the back of the Visitors Centre. This one of a turtle was left on the table after a rather busy day at the centre, and gave us all a good chuckle. We elected not to complete it, but rather post it on the wall! 

Canada Goose

For the past 3 days, we have started to notice a lot of new members of our park's population - specifically, Geese. Goslings have recently hatched and so far we have seen 3 families of geese in the Park.

The Canada goose is a summer and sometimes year round resident of Southern New Brunswick. It is the most common waterfowl species of North America. Despite often being regarded as a pest in parks and fields, they can be fairly docile.

They are often seen feeding on grass in open fields with their young because it provides them with more safety from predators. They feed on plants, berries and seeds for up to 12 hours a day. Geese mate for life and both parents raise the young. Gosling usually stay with their parents for a year.

Close Encounters

It seems that when the wind is up, the ducks and other animals of the park don't seem to notice someone getting up close and personal with them - as such, I managed to get videos and pictures of a Green Winged Teal, and a Muskrat. More close up videos and pictures to come!

For more info on the Green Winged Teal or Muskrat, visit their respective web pages: Green Wing and Muskrat

(Photo features two Ring-Necked Ducks, and a Muskrat)

The Glossy Ibis

May 8th, Lena (the other guide here at the Waterfowl Park) spotted a Glossy Ibis on the walk home from work – as of this afternoon (May 12th) it is still with us! The Glossy Ibis is a long-legged heronlike wader with a slender decurved bill. They stand about 22-25” tall and are year round residents in Florida.

“Glossies” are also known to spend their summers as far north along the Eastern US Seaboard as Portland, Maine. This is why we were so astounded when one arrived all the way up in Sackville, NB. Not to mention, there are only about 1-2 provincial sightings per year. For any more info on these Lengthy Snouted Marsh Walkers, visit here!

(Photo Credit: Andrew Macfarlane)

Rusty Blackbirds

The Rusty Blackbird, or rather an entire flock of “Rusties”, were spotted in the park a few days ago, and they hung around for approximately 2 days. Not only are these birds especially recognizable because of their rusty coloured winter plumage, but also because their call sounds exactly like a rusty hinge opening!

This time of year, however, we had folks asking if they were some sort of Red-Winged Black bird, but with a brown tinge as opposed to the regular red. In the summer, the males have brown markings down the sides of their heads and and shoulders.

It is a treat to see these birds at all, but fantastic to see this many all together. The Rusty Black bird had one of the sharpest declines of any songbird in North America – 94% of the population disappeared between 1966 and 2010, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. They spend their summers in Canada to breed, and are known to travel all the way to the tips of Alaska from Florida. For more info on these Oxidized Birds of the Night, visit their own website!