birds bay of fundy

BAY OF FUNDY BIRDS: (short-list)
common loon:
*distinctive haunting cry
*found on seacoasts such as the Passamaquoddy Bay and
inland lakes.
*Loons mate for life.
* breeding colors black head, white underpart, checkered
black/white mantle
*generally come ashore only to nest. Excellent divers 200 ft.
great blue heron:
*often seen feeding along the shoreline at low tide, on fish, insects
crabs.
*Feed young by regurgitating food.
*Call is a harsh croak
*wing span 6 feet
*bluish gray coloring
bald eagle:
*swoop down to catch fish caught in itʼs talons
*largest tree nest of any animal species
*adult mainly brown with white head and tail
*young develop white head coloring at 5 years of age
*national bird of the US
Double crested cormorant:
*more yellow on throat and bill than great cormorant and
smaller.
*black or white crests feathers on side of head.
*salt water shore bird however moving inland with increased
numbers.
Great Black Cormorant:
*larger and bulkier than double crested cormorant.
*mostly silent.
*both dive down more than 100 feet.
*both often seen with wings spread wide to dry out
feathers.
Herring Gull:
-smaller gull, wing span 25 inches.
-yellow beak with bright red spot.
-slate gray wings and back.
-scavengers, also eat insects, mollusks, follow fishing boats.
Great black-backed gull:
-largest gull in the world. Wing span 60 inches.
- yellow beak with bright red spot.
-sooty black backs and wings.
- scavenger
-seen dropping mollusks from heights to crack shell.
Northern Gannet:
*spectacular high speed diver. 90 ft.
*Whales, porpoise often competing for
same schools of fish, herring
*young birds are dark brown in first year
and gradually develop white, bluish beak
Common Eider Duck male and female:
*flying speed up to 70 MPH.
*females brown, males back and white
*eider duck feather down collected from used nests for pillows
*muscles are itʼs favorite food
*eat them whole, then shell is crushed in gizzard and excreted
Common Tern:
*gray upper, white under, black cap, orange legs, red/black bill.
*nests on flat, poorly vegetated surface close to the water.
*numbers have been rapidly declining due to habitat loss
*light build than gulls, long pointed wings, deeply forked tail
*dipping flight. Beak points downward in flight.
Arctic Tern:
*strongly migratory to antarcia and back north
*longest migration of any known animal. 70,000 km in one yr.
*mono-color dark red beak and Longer tail compared to above.
*mate for life and return to the same colony.
*males will offer females fish for courtship, fly together in sky
Atlantic Puffin:
*pelagic seabirds, feeding by diving in the water
*type of Auk. Local nesting Macchias Seal Island
*black and white plumage, colorful beak in breeding season
* beat wings when swimming for propulsion
*short wings
Black Guillemot:
*black bodies, white wing patch
*thin dark beak, red legs.
*nesting rocky shores, islands
*overwinter at sea, not migrating far
*dive for food fish, crustaceans, mollucks, insects
Greater Shearwater:
*black cap, black bill, blunt tail, dark upper, white under, brown belly
patch, dark shoulder markings
*unusual that breeding grounds are in south and then migrates north
*wing tips almost touch the water, dipping side to side
*readily follows fishing boats for fish and squid
Storm petrel:
feed on plankton and small fish at the surface while hovering
*bat-like flight
*pelagic, coming to land to breed on isolated mammal free island
*nest in crevices and burrows, sharing chick feeding
*small, 13-26 cm
Black legged kittiwake:
*coastal breeding, large, noisy colonies
*cliff nesting
*one of the most numerous sea birds
*white head and body, grey back and
wings, black wing tips. Yellow bill.
phalarope:
*long thin beak
*pass through this area on way from Artic breeding ground to
south to feed, mainly on copepods
*cannot dive deep. Tidal currents bring food to surface.
*large flocks by Deer Island disappeared about 1990.
*now mostly off Brier Island NS
Razor billed auk:
*sharp compressed beak
*largest living member of Auk family
*deep divers feeding on fish
*seabird, only comes to land to breed
*local nesting Macchias Seal Island
*partner for life, one egg per year, share raising chick
Dovekie or Little Auk:
*Smallest of the Auks. 20 cm length
*bill is short and stubby
*black head, neck, back, wings. White underpart
*fast wing beat, short wings
*feed mainly copepods by diving.
Northern Fulmar:
*gray and white, pale yellow beak, bluish legs
*similar to gulls except short stubby bills, bull-necked,
*more stiff wing action than gulls and limited walking ability.
*also can be entirely white or uniformly grey.