January finished off being the fifth warmest in 80-year history of weather keeping for St. John’s.
As we rolled into February ponds that had frozen over ever so slightly in late January thawed out again. It is amazing to see Quidi Vidi Lake completely ice free in February.
The snow all but vanished on the Avalon during the first week of February but, as I type here early in the week, a prolonged winter storm is enveloping all of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Overall, the snow fall was light across the island up to the first week of February. Some people were complaining that the birds had left their feeders during the mild weather.
With the open ground this was likely to happen. But when the snow comes back so will the birds. They remember where they got a good feed during the snowy times.
The mild weather has allowed some warblers to survive into February with help from the birdwatchers.
Most extraordinary is the Tennessee warbler doing well at Kelly’s Brook, St. John’s. Tennessee warblers should be in the hot climate of Central America in winter. I remember seeing many of them during a winter visit to Costa Rica a few years back. Through the remarkable efforts of Gerrard Hickey the Tennessee warbler and two black-and-white warblers are beating the odds at Kelly’s Brook.
This short section of brook nestled between St. Pat’s ballpark and Empire Avenue is mini oasis kept a little bit warmer than the surrounding area because of the constant flow of warm water emerging from the underground brook. Gerrard goes the extra mile in his effort to feed the warblers. This no easy task since warblers are insect eaters. Some hardy warblers will go for suet and peanut butter mixtures. Most warblers are more particular and are nearly impossible to bring into a bird feeder. Dried meal worms intended as pet food can work. Gerrard put mealworms into a silo style feeder and also tried mixing them up with melted suet.
Both methods are working!
Other St. John’s birders are providing a steady supply of suet and peanut butter for a pine warbler in the woods by the old school for the deaf and a yellow-breasted chat in the willows on the Virginia River behind the legion. Sharon Basha is giving her own yellow-breasted chat the royal treatment in her backyard on Waterford Bridge Road in St. John’s. Having this many warblers living in February is unprecedented in the province.
The east St. John’s robin flock that hosted the very rare European redwing featured in the last column has thinned out. There are still some berries around but with all the open ground the birds have dispersed.
Will they re-flock during the snow storms ahead?
Meanwhile, not to be outdone west coast birders found their own redwing. Denise McIsaac and Kathy Marche discovered the redwing at Felix Cove on the Port au Port Peninsula.
The redwing and a couple of robins found some precious berries exposed on a sunny hillside.
Over the next couple of days other west coast birders were able to travel to Felix Cove to see the redwing.
Another result of the mild winter has been the lack of sea ice.
The coast of south eastern Labrador and northern Newfoundland are basically ice free. This is good news for eider ducks. They have free rein of all the good feeding areas on the isolated islets and rocky shoals. Typically in late winter very large flocks of eiders descend on the Avalon Peninsula after being pushed out of prime feeding areas farther north by the ice.
This probably is not going to happen this winter. Despite this, a half decent flock of several hundred eiders feeding off Cape Spear was a welcome sight for birders over the weekend. Purple sandpipers are usually common at Cape Spear in winter. It is one of their favourite wintering areas. However, they have been all but absent this winter so far. With all the open coastline to the north they have many other choice feeding sites to choose from for winter feeding.
As we cross over the half way point of the winter season the very earliest signs of spring are in the air. Adult bald eagles have been seen at the well-known Signal Hill nest site. Great horned owls are starting to call with earnest on nice calm nights. Juncos are blabbering away in early attempts at spring song. I heard a black-capped chickadee singing its spring “feebee” song perfectly over and over again. It is too early to pass away the days pining for spring but with an easy first half of winter already under our belts we can almost coast the rest of the way to the finish line.
Bruce Mactavish is an environmental consultant and avid birdwatcher.