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My work on these islands is done in cooperation with Canadian Wildlife Service and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.
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| THE BROTHERS, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia |
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| THE BROTHERS, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia |
The first terns were reported at North Brother on May 2, 2015. Yearly comparison: 2014-May 2, 2013-April 30, 2012-May 3, 2011-April 26, 2010-May 2, 2009-May 3, 2008-May 3.
Total tern nests on The Brothers was 729. (Slightly down from the 732 of 2014 and substantially down from max of 880 in 2001. ) No terns nested on South Brother in 2015. There is not much left of South Brother. It is quickly being washed away.
Breakdown by species: ROST 42 nests (5.8%), ARTE abt. 30 nests (4.1%), COTE abt. 657 nests (90.1%). 42 is the highest number of ROST nests since the 2012 low of 34. We had 38 ROST nests on North Brother in 2013 and 2014.
Of the 42 ROST nests, 26 contained one egg, 15, two eggs, and 1 contained three eggs. Of the 59 ROST eggs, 37 chicks were hatched. Very few of the chicks died (as far as we know). The nest with three eggs hatched two chicks.
In April, a DNR crew arrived to the island with chainsaw in hand to clean up some of the clutter which had washed up on the island over the years. They chopped up the bigger pieces and brought them to the water's edge for later pickup if the tide did not beat them to it. Most of it was taken away by the tide.
We also numbered the nesting structures with white paint to try to keep track of re-nesting ROST in the future. Just to see if the same birds used the same structures, year after year.
On July 10, Julie McKnight, Carina Gjerdrum, Brad Toms and I banded 21 ROST chicks. A few more chicks were located but were too small/young to band. With at least 37 chicks hatched and very little known mortality, there could have been a dozen or so more ROST chicks in the colony which we could not locate.
I destroyed six gull nests on The Brothers in 2015. All were Great Black-backed Gull nests; 5 on South Brother and 1 on North Brother.
One thing we focused on this year on The Brothers was the trapping adult birds from occupied nests. If they were unbanded, they were processed and banded; if they were already banded, the band numbers were recorded. This way, we got breeding pairs, and if there were banded chicks assigned to the structure, then we know their parents.
Also more effort was placed into reading Field Readable Bands on adult ROST. Much of it was done through photography; some through capture of adults in their nesting structured by treadle traps; 38 were recorded. There were also a few partial readings.
On Aug. 17, 2015, biologist Dr. Jeffrey Spendelow reported observing ROST chick, Red L10, begging at ROST adult, Red B72, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Our records showed both of these birds used ROST nesting shelter #139! Red L10 was banded on N. Brother on July 10, 2015.
One particular adult ROST needs mention. An adult ROST (with FR band 765N on its right leg), originally banded on N. Brother as a chick in 2009, had its left leg BBL band migrate down to its left foot, crippling the bird. Through sheer persistence, Julie McKnight managed to capture the bird with treadle trap, and remove the band. The band was not replaced as there was substantial damage to the foot. We felt the injury would heal but might still cause some permanent damage.
In 2015, I had the pleasure on taking/bringing Shawn Craik and Manon Holmes many times to The Brothers.
Shawn is a biology professor and Manon, one of Shawn's biology students from Université Sainte Anne. Shawn's mission was to determine where the ROST were foraging for food. This was done by observation from the island and mainland, and also from a boat excursion SSE to John's Island (10 km) and beyond. We (or maybe it's just me) believe the primary foraging area for the ROST is along the western shore of Lower West Pubnico and in the waters on the east side of John's Island.
Manon worked almost exclusively on North Brother from a portable blind, noting the food that the terns were bringing in to their young. She was writing a paper on the subject. One thing we had not noted before was the amount of White Hake being brought in. Of course, Herring and Sandlance were also seen a lot. Other food observed included Squid and Butterfish.
The vegetation is still an ongoing concern on North Brother. Raphanus raphanistrum (Wild radish), Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Common Ragweed), and Polygonum (cp) ramosissimum (Bushy knotweed) are the main problem plants.
Predation was low on The Brothers in 2015. Early on, owl predation on a small number of COTE was seen, and then some gull predation on a few COTE eggs, and that was it.
Erosion continues to be a problem on The Brothers at about the same as last year - about 1/3 metre on the south and southwest edge of North Brother. South Brother remains on the edge of becoming a reef!
In Summary, 2015 was a very good year on The Brothers. The Roseate Terns did very well except that their nest numbers are still too low (at 42). With low predation and low chick mortality, pretty good weather and a good food supply, I would say this was the best year in many years.
My thanks to CWS and NSDNR for allowing me to "manage" The Brothers again this year, especially to Julie MacKnight and Karen Potter of CWS. Also a thank you goes to my many local volunteers and assistants, principally Rémi d'Entremont, Shawn Craik and Manon Holmes, without whom I would not have been able to do the job.
The following is a chronological listing of my 2015 work with terns in general, of the Lobster Bay area, but especially with the Roseate Terns (ROST) of The Brothers. The report also includes tern observations from other local residents.
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| North Brother (2005 photo) |
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| The Brothers as seen from Lower West Pubnico. (2005 photo) |
April 18, 2015 My first visit to North Brother for the 2015 season. The plan today was to take to the island 11 new ROST nesting shelters (designed after the ones used on Coquet Island in England). This was easily done.
I also planned to get our concrete anchor back in place if it was still there. I saw from the mainland this winter after a storm, that the orange balloon we usually tie to was laying on the island. I was hoping it was still there and that the anchor was still attached to it. Shouldn't be a problem hauling it back into place if it was still there. But, no such luck. We found no trace of the anchor, the balloon, nor the rope. We anchored off shore with a small foldable steel anchor.
More than that, we just walked around the island just to get an idea of what we were up against, as to where to begin with the cleanup.
The erosion remains about the same as the last few years; generally losing about a third of a meter where the top soil is, at the south end of the island.
The Roseate Tern (ROST) nesting shelters were still mostly in place. Dead stalks of mostly Wild Radish matted over them. We will start clearing the dead vegetation and straighten up the nesting structures on our next visit.
Thanks to my crew and assistants: Rémi d'Entremont, Aldric d'Entremont, Missie D'Eon and Zelda.
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| N. Brother as viewed from the north (South Brother at horizon to the right), Apr. 18, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The south end of N. Brother (as viewed from the east), Apr. 18, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The south end of N. Brother, Apr. 18, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| On N. Brother (looking to the north), Apr. 18, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo (Sorry about the water droplets on the camera lens) |
Note the pond on N. Brother in the above photo. It is a tidal pond. Ocean water percolates into it through the beach rocks at high tides. Most of the time it is dry but muddy in areas.
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| My crew: Missie, Zelda, Rémi and Aldric, N. Brother, Apr. 18, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
April 20, 2015 North Brother. Today, I wanted to do more island preparation and start the numbering of the ROST shelters with white paint as Julie McKnight suggested last summer/fall. I think we should have done this a long time ago. Julie is a Species at Risk Recovery biologist for Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), Dartmouth, NS. She is in charge of the Canadian Roseate Tern recovery program.
My crew today: Julie McKnight, Sue Abbott (Bird Studies Canada biologist, Dartmouth, NS), and Shawn Craik (biology professor, Université Sainte-Anne). They did most of the work. The cheanup of the ROST nesting area went well and the new nesting shelters were set up mostly by Julie. I mostly worked at painting identification numbers on the shelters with white acrylic paint. I got as far as number 80. I don't think I was quite halfway yet!
Note: There are still Meadow Voles on the island. Julie found a ROST nesting shelter full of vole nesting material and we all saw one vole scurrying along through the ROST nesting area. Darn!
(photos below from our visit today)
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| The cleanup, N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Julie setting up a new design nesting shelter - N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Sue and Shawn at work - N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Sue Abbott, cleaning up the nesting area - N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Numbered ROST nesting shelters - N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| New design ROST nesting shelters - N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
The great thing about the new design ROST nesting shelters is that they can be identified from a distance when an ID number is painted on the front panel. I doubt, however, that the Roseate Terns will accept them any more readily than the present square boxes with the open front. The new ones are also more difficult to construct than the old square ones. We will see.
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| The last number painted today - N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Julie, Shawn, and Sue - N. Brother, Apr. 20, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
April 26, 2015 North Brother. Today we towed a recently constructed concrete anchor to the island. With a 40 ft rope and an orange balloon tied to the end, this would make a great summer mooring for our visits to the island. Also today, I had planned to add fine gravel to the inside the ROST shelters which needed some. I had also paint the numbers on a few more Roseate Tern nesting shelters.
Only the first two tasks were accomplished. The anchor towed to the site partially bouyed by two large balloons. It was hauled into place with rope and a mooring balloon was attached. Later, few buckets of gravel were carried to the shelters.
The painting did not happen. The weather and the shelters were too wet for painting numbers on them today. The worse was that the numbers I had painted on 80 of them last week were now faded and needed to be painted over again. I guess too much wet and rain since painting them. Obviously the quick drying acrylic paint had not had the chance to dry properly.
My Crew: Ingrid D'Eon, Gavin Mclean, Orson Deveau, Nigel D'Eon, Missie D'Eon and Zelda. Many thanks to all.
See below, a few photos
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| The anchor before the concrete, Apr. 22, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The anchor, complete, Apr. 22, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Towing the concrete anchor to N. Brother, Apr. 26, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The faded numbers - N. Brother, Apr. 26, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The crew: Ingrid, Gavin, Orson, Missie, Zelda and Nigel - N. Brother, Apr. 26, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
April 30, 2015 Today, I left Abbott's Harbour around 10am with four men from the NS Department of Natural Resources, Tusket office. They arrived with me to the island with chainsaw in hand to cut up the larger pieces of wood debris which had floated onto the islands over the years. Our window of opportunity to use a chainsaw on the island was getting short. We would not want the chainsaw noise there when the terns arrive, and they could arrive any day now. They usually arrive from the last 2 or 3 days of April to the first 3 or 4 days of May. No reports of terns in the area yet this year. Local lobster fishermen will be the first ones to report their arrival.
While the DNR men were working on the cleanup, I was setting up a few more Roseate Tern nesting shelters.
The island is now ready for the tern's arrival. Still a few minor touch ups over the next few days but essentially, the island is ready.
DNR people will return to the island on a later date with a more or less flat bottom Boston Whaler to collect and remove the cut up debris.
Thank you the the gang from DNR Tusket - Duncan Bayne, Christian, Jeff and Will. See below, a few photos from this morning on North Brother.
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| DNR cleanup - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| DNR cleanup - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| DNR cleanup - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| DNR cleanup - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Meadow Vole nest in a ROST nesting shelter - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| DNR cleanup - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| ROST nesting shelters ready for the terns - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The DNR crew: Will, Jeff, Christian, and Duncan - N. Brother, Apr. 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
May 1, 2015 Small numbers of "terns" have been seen in Lobster Bay by the local lobster fishermen. None reported yet from the area around The Brothers.
May 2, 2015 A few terns have been seen a few km west of The Brothers. I guess that means THEY ARE HERE! Lobster fisherman, Edouard D'Eon, reported that to me today.
May 4, 2015 North Brother. All the nesting structures have been numbered. All 152 of them. My daughter, Ingrid, and I got them all done this morning. The day was warm and sunny with almost no wind. A perfect spring day!
My friend, Henri d'Entremont, worked on cleanup duties, taking debris to be discarded to high water line on the east side of the island. The DNR crew can take it away later.
Of great note today. There were about 150 terns on the island as we arrived. Most of them were Common (COTE), but there were also perhaps 10 or so Arctics (ARTE) in the group.
The Roseates have not arrived yet.
Also of note: As we were tying up the boat, a Turkey Vulture flew by and it was mobbed by a whole multitude of terns. That was a new one for me.
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| Ingrid D'Eon numbering the nesting shelters - N. Brother, May 5, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Freshly numbered ROST nesting shelters - N. Brother, May 5, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Ingrid D'Eon and Henri d'Entremont - N. Brother, May 5, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
Many thanks to Henri and Ingrid.
May 7, 2015 North Brother. A quick visit to the island with Shawn Craik around 1 pm this afternoon.
I often say, "If you don't go, you won't know!". Our visit was just to see what was going on there today, but especially to see if the Roseates were back yet. Last year, at least 4 ROST were seen there on May 7.
What we saw and found there were about 35 terns, all Commons except for one Arctic Tern.
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| A well-used ROST nesting shelter - N. Brother, May 7, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Shawn Craik, my assistant today - N. Brother, May 7, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
May 7, 2015 After I got back home, I was informed that Dominic Cormier (a well known and respected birder) had seen 5 Roseate Terns at the end of Pond Rd, Lower West Pubnico, at noon today. See report here. They were headed for The Brothers. This was an hour before our arrival to N Brother. We, unfortunately, didn't see any Roseates. We must have just missed them.
May 9, 2015 North Brother. Another quick trip to N. Brother to see if the Roseates were at the island now.
No such luck. The island was pretty well the same as on May 7. We estimated 35 to 40 terns there; all Commons except for one Arctic Tern. Still no Roseates.
My crew and assistants today, Alix d'Entremont and Larry Neily.
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| Alix and Larry - N. Brother, May 9, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
May 13, 2015 Around 9 am this morning from the end of Pond Rd, I identified my first Roseate Tern of the season. It was flying above N Brother with about 100 other terns. I expect there were more than one but all I could get from the mainland with the spotting scope was one.
May 14, 2015 North Brother. The weather was perfect! About 200 terns there today. Almost all Commons except for 7 or 8 Arctics and two Roseate Terns. I expected to see a few more ROST than this, but it is still early.
Shawn Craik showed me a small video camera he has used to monitor nesting mergansers. The system records to a hard drive, powered by battery and solar panel. It can record day and night for over a week! Perhaps this is something we can use on N Brother to record ROST activities?
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| Shawn's camera, May 14, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
My crew and assistants: Aldric d'Entremont, Jean Bernard d'Entremont, Rémi d'Entremont, Manon Holmes, Shawn Craik, and Ray Wershler.
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| Aldric, Jean Bernard, Rémi, Manon, Shawn, and Ray - May 14, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
May 21, 2015 North Brother. I was expecting more!
Last year on May 22 we had estimated about 125 tern nests in total; mostly COTE, but 7 or 8 identifiable ARTE and 4 ROST nests. Today, only 10 COTE nests (9 with 1 egg and 2 with 2 eggs) and no ARTE nor ROST nests.
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| A Common Tern nest, N. Brother - May 21, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
There were perhaps 200 terns there on our arrival; perhaps 10 or so ARTE in the group of mostly COTE, but we could only find two ROST! I am a little disappointed.
We placed some coloured stakes in the top soil, 1 metre from the edge, at the south and south-west end of the island to help us keep track of the yearly erosion.
One Common Eider nest containing six eggs was also located on the island.
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| A Common Eider nest, N. Brother - May 21, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
My crew and assistants today were Shawn Craik, Manon Holmes, and Katy Beaulieu.
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| Shawn, Manon, and Katy - N. Brother - May 21, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
May 25, 2015 My crew and assistants today were Rémi d'Entremont, Manon Holmes, and Katy Beaulieu. First, we went to South Brother. This island is noticeably smaller than it was last year, now only about four metres at its widest.
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| Rémi, Katy, and Manon - South Brother - May 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| GBBG nest containing one Common Eider egg - South Brother - May 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Nest containing 2 Common Eider eggs but no down - South Brother - May 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
The GBBG nests and eggs were destroyed.
Then to N. Brother where there were about 200 terns when we arrived. The best I could estimate for ROST were four birds. I was expecting more.
We walked around the island and counted 177 tern nests; all COTE except for 4 ARTE nests, and 2 Common Eider nests. Unfortunately, we found no ROST nests.
Breakdown: North Brother - 4 ARTE nests containing one egg 123 COTE nests containing one egg 46 COTE nests containing two eggs 4 COTE nests containing three eggs 2 Common Eider nests each containing six eggs South Brother - 2 Common Eider nests comtaining six eggs 1 Common Eider nests comtaining three eggs 4 Great Black-backed Gull nests, each containing 3 eggs 1 nest containing 2 Common Eider eggs but no eider down 1 GBBG nest containing 3 GBBG eggs and 1 Common Eider egg
Of note was a Roseate Tern sitting in place in the open (next to nesting shelter #112) as if it was on a nest. It stayed there for some time. We will have to investigate this of our next visit to N. Brother. See photo below.
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| ROST on nest? - North Brother - May 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Arctic Tern nest - North Brother - May 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Banded Roseate Tern - North Brother - May 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Roseate Tern - North Brother - May 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
May 29, 2015 North Brother. My crew today were Shawn Craik and Katy Beaulieu.
Today the island was busy with as many as 500 terns. This was nice to see after what I would call, a slow start.
Upon our arrival to the island, and while still busy at mooring the boat, a Black Tern flew by, heading to the island. We did not see it on the island while we were observing the colony and searching out ROST nests. However, it reappeared while we were untying the boat and getting ready to go back to the mainland. This was only the third time in 40 years I have seen a Black Tern on The Brothers. I managed to snap a photo. See below.
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| Black Tern - North Brother - May 29, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
On the island we did well. We counted 15 ROST nests! This was a treat, especially after not finding any on May 25. To be fair, on May 25, we did not check all the nesting structures for nests, but we had checked many which now contained ROST eggs.
Of the 15 ROST nests, 14 contained 1 egg and 1 nest contained 2 eggs,
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| Katy and Shawn searching out ROST nests - North Brother - May 29, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| A Roseate Tern nest - North Brother - May 29, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
The photos below shows a Common Tern nest which, on May 29, I thought might be a ROST nest laid in the open, at the entrance of a ROST nesting shelter. The background colour of the eggs and the tiny speckles and spots on them, made this nest a good candidate for a ROST nest. There was always the possibility it could also be a Common Tern nest as there is some overlap in the looks of the eggs of both species.
On my visit here on June 4, this nest contained three eggs, pretty well confirming it as a nest of the Common Tern.
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| A Common Tern nest - North Brother - May 29, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The Common Tern nest - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
Through photography, I was able to read the field readable bands on two ROST. The first, 815N, had been banded on N. Brother as a chick on July 14, 2009 and resighted here in 2013 and 2014.
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| Roseate Tern 815N - North Brother - May 29, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
The second ROST, C11, was banded on Country Island, NS, in 2011 as an adult. This was the first sighting of this bird on The Brothers. It nested on Country Island in 2012, 2013, and 2014! Now that it is here, will it stay?
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| Roseate Tern C11 - North Brother - May 29, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Roseate Tern C11 - North Brother - May 29, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
June 4, 2015 North Brother. My crew today were Manon Holmes and Aldric d'Entremont.
Lots of terns.perhaps 500. Lots of Roseate Tern presence also.
We are now up to 32 ROST nests. All in the 16 x 16 inch shelters except for one under a piece of plywood and one nest in one of the new "Coquet Island" shelters.
Some egg predation: 3 partially eaten eggs - crow?, gull? See below.
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| Depredated tern egg - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Depredated tern egg - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Depredated tern egg - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
One dead female Common Eider. No apparent cause of death. The bird was banded and is now in our freezer. Perhaps I can get it necropsied?
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| Dead female Common Eider - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
This afternoon, I had a report from David Surette of two dead female Common Eiders on Île Chespêque in Pubnico Harbour.
Also today on Île Chespêque, David and his assistants counted 33 tern nests, 2 gull nests, 18 Common Eider nests, and 5 Double-crested Cormorant nests. This is the first presence of cormorant nests that I am aware of ever in Pubnico Harbour.
Back to N Brother, Manon got 4 new resighted ROST leg bands - B39, B42, B78 and C16. Thanks, Manon.
I got three more - B65, B66 and 805N. All these 7 new resightings have been seen on North Brother before.
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| Roseate Tern B66 - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
Also of note. Aldric purposely left his hat in the boat, not thinking he would need it. Before too long on the island, he had blood trickling down his forehead! The work of a Common Tern. A badge of honour, perhaps?
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| Aldric after head strike from a Common Tern - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| A hovering Common Tern - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Aldric d'Entremont and Manon Holmes - North Brother - June 4, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
June 12, 2015 - North Brother. The official nest count day.
The count went really well and our numbers are almost the same as last year. We counted a total of 722 tern nests! Last year's total was 731. The 722 included 35 Roseate Tern nests and perhaps 20 Arctic Tern nests. I still expect a few more ROST nests over the next week or so.
Egg number breakdown of COTE and ARTE nests:
1 egg - 81 nests
2 eggs - 470 nests
3 eggs - 135 nests
4 eggs - 1 nest
Egg number breakdown of ROST nests:
1 egg - 20 nests
2 eggs - 14 nests
3 eggs - 1 nest
The above Roseate Tern nest containing three eggs was a first for me. Over the years, and up to this point in time they had always been one or two eggs. I have heard and read that female/female pairs of ROST (which is known to happen) sometimes lay in the same nest. They are never as successful at raising their young as male/female pairs. We will have to monitor this nest. See below.
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| ROST nest with a 3 egg clutch - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| ROST nest with a 3 egg clutch - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The number of tern nests on The Brothers - A yearly comparison Please note: The Roseate Terns had not finished nesting at the time of these nest counts. |
That was the good. Now for the bad!
We have or have had some avian predators.
Nine depredated Common Terns were found while we were doing our nest count. Looks like the work of an owl. The feather of a Great Horned Owl was also found on the island. The COTE carcasses and bits and pieces of them, many with head separated from body, point to owl predation.
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| Depredated Common Tern - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Tern bits and a Great Horned Owl feather - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
All the dead terns were 3 to 5 days old or older. I will have to revisit the colony in a couple of days to see if there is any new evidence of the owl. CWS and DNR have plans in the works if something needs to be done like setting a trap to capture the owl. A predatory Great Horned Owl was trapped on North Brother in 2008. We may have to repeat the process here this year.
Also on the island today were a few more depredated tern eggs. It looked like it would be by crow or gull, but more likely a gull, as one Great Black-backed Gull nest containing 3 eggs was found and destroyed.
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| Depredated Common Tern egg - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Gull nest numbers on The Brothers - 1990 to 2015 |
I am often asked how to tell the terns apart when in flight. Everyone knows the bill differences for all three species, but sometimes the bill colour cannot be determined.
I generally look at the wings to tell the COTE from the ARTE. They both have black on the trailing edge of the primaries but on the ARTE the black is really well defined and narrow, like as if it was painted with a black "Magic Marker". On the COTE it is noticeably wider and more diffused.
The ROST is easy to tell from the other two species. It appears much whiter. It has longer tail streamers and a faster wing flap. It also doesn't hover, so it is always on the move. It has a diagnostic raspy alarm call which will alert the birder of its location in the sky. The rosey wash on the breast and underparts is usually not noticed with the bird in flight.
See a few photos below of the three species in flight.
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| Roseate Tern in flight - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Roseate Tern (left), Common Tern (right) - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Arctic Tern in flight - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
My crew and assistants today were Julie McKnight, Duncan Bayne, and Manon Holmes. Thank you all.
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| Duncan. Manon, and Julie - North Brother - June 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
June 14, 2015 - North Brother. With garbage bag and rubber gloves, we walked around the island collecting the tern carcasses as well as a couple sets of old Herring Gull wings.
There were no signs of new tern kills. One depredated tern egg was collected, but I think that was old news also.
After the collecting, the group of us went back to the boat but we left Manon Holmes, alone on the island, sitting in a blind for a little over a half hour. She had set her blind in sight of a COTE nest containing a newly hatched chick and an unhatched egg. She was there to monitor what food the parent would bring to feed the chick. During Manon's time in the blind, one adult tern remained sitting on the unhatched egg. The chick was never fed during that time. This COTE chick was the only tern chick we saw today. I know there were more. We just didn't see them.
The colony looked great today, with about 700 terns.
My crew and assistants: Manon, Steve, Pat, Peter, and Nola. Thank you to all.
June 17, 2015 - North Brother. Today we were trapping and banded ROST adults (if they were not banded already).
The crew consisted of Julie McKnight and Karen Porter (both CWS biologists), Duncan Bayne (wildlife biologist at Department of Natural Resources), Shawn Craik (biology professor at Université Sainte-Anne), and Manon Holmes (biology student Université Sainte-Anne).
Five adults were captured but only one was not already banded. All four previously banded birds had been banded as chicks on North Brother! Now that our nesting shelters have permanant? numbers on them, and we know which shelter they are nesting in, we should be able to see if the same birds use the same nesting shelter year after year. We will see.
All went well. It can be a dangerous and messy job. Poop flying and head strikes, but no blood this time.
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| Karen Potter carrying a ROST being buzzed by a COTE - North Brother - June 17, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Karen Potter holding up her pooped-on jacket - North Brother - June 17, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Karen Potter and Julie McKnight processing a ROST - North Brother - June 17, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
Field Readable leg bands of the captured birds: B72, 875N, 920E, 165N, and B99.
I took a few photos of banded birds and was able to read B81 on one of them.
Two trail cameras were put in place. One, pointing to a set of 3 active ROST shelters; the second camera, to entrance of the ROST nest containing 3 eggs.
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| Trail camera layout - North Brother - June 17, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
We checked all the ROST shelters for new nests. We found two more in the nest shelters, and then Julie McKnight saw a ROST sitting on a nest out in the open. All new nests contained one egg each.
The ROST nest total now stands at 38! See MS Excel spreadsheet of ROST nests here
The first two ROST chicks had hatched! Each about 2 days old and from different nests.
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| Roseate Tern nest #38 - North Brother - June 17, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
A second summer Arctic Tern flew by (at least that's what I think it was) and I snapped the photo below. Second summer terns usually do not fly north to Nova Scotia. They start doing so on their third summer. The plumage of a second summer ARTE is or used to be reffered to as the "Portlandica plumage".
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| Arctic Tern in "Portlandica plumage" - North Brother - June 17, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
After helping with the ROST nest search, Manon set up her blind and remained there to observe the feeding of COTE chicks.
Shawn remained in the boat at the mooring. He was there to see the direction the ROST were coming from when they arrived to the island. He told me that the few he observed arriving to the island with food came from the south. I have seen them foraging in the cove on the east side of John's Island. John's Island lies 10 km south of The Brothers.
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| N. Brother to St. John's Island, 10 km SSE - Google Earth photo |
Duncan helped us check the ROST nesting shelters for new nests, eggs and chicks and then did some observing and assisting.
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| Shawn, Julie, Karen, Duncan, and Manon - North Brother - June 17, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
June 18, 2015 - My friend, Alix d'Entremont, just emailed me this:
The first group of 3 ROST was east of the northern portion of Vigneau Island at around 7:30 pm. This location is about 12.5 km away from the Northern Brother in a straight line. Actively diving with a larger group of Common Terns (maybe about 15 COTE). Most of the group roosted momentarily on the ledge with the green marker that is fastened to the ledge itself (see Google Maps link below for ledge location).
https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.5358567,-65.7689436,321m/data=!3m1!1e3
The second group of 6 ROST was east of the southern end of John's Island (probably closer to 8 pm). These ROST were with a few COTE. These were also actively feeding and heading south (against wind and current). This location is about 10.75 km away from the Northern Brother in a straight line.
I went through all of my photos and don't see any ROST carrying fish. I was also stearing the boat and using the binoculars at the same time, so I could easily have missed one carrying prey.
The tide had been rising for about two hours and the wind was south-west at about 15-20 km/h. The tide information for Wood's Harbour is provided below:
The photo of the two ROST
attached to this e-mail shows a band on the lower individual.
Thanks, Alix.
This is good and valuable information. It is certainly adds weight to our suspicion and previous evidence that the John's Island area may be the prime foraging site for our ROST on The Brothers.
June 20, 2015 - On a boat trip to Seal Island this morning, Alix d'Entremont reported a ROST about 1 km SW of Pubnico Point.
Alix also writes, "When we returned at about 7:15 pm, I saw about 10 terns to the western side of John's Island. Three or four looked like ROST, very pale above with quick wingbeats, but I can't be sure since I didn't get the best looks at them. They were feeding. Also, terns were heading south and north maybe up to 5 km to the west of John's Island. So, we know that they don't exclusively travel up and down to the east of John's, but also travel quite far to the west."
Thanks, Alix.
June 23, 2015 - North Brother and John's Island.
Shawn Craik, Manon Holmes, and I left Abbott's Harbour around 9:30 am. We dropped of Manon on N. Brother with an observation blind. She set up the blind to observe and document the type of fish the adult terns were bringing in to the colony. Shawn and I continued south towards John's Island and the area south of John's Island where Alix d'Entremont has seen foraging and feeding ROST a few days earlier.
We actually followed a ROST going southeast as we left N Brother. It flew to near the shore below le Chemin à Cornu, Lower West Pubnico, and then headed south following the shore below the wind turbines and then we lost sight of it.
We followed the east side of John's I. and continued south in the Cockerwit Passage. We circled the islands off Woods Harbour (Vigneau, Goodwin, Solomon, The Ball, and Whale islands) but saw no terns. Of note, there was a cormorant colony on The Ball and also one on Whale Island.
Heading back north we saw 5 or 6 terns feeding just offshore to the south east of John's I. in a small area labelled "The Lump" on the marine charts. It is a shoal area which more than likely causes some upwelling in the strong tidal current. At least one and possibly 2 of these terns were ROST.
Then going north, as we motored below the wind turbines we saw two ROST heading south. We watched them as they followed the shore south and then they headed out over the open ocean towatds John's I.
Back on N Brother, I collected two COTE chick carcasses and the old severed head of an adult COTE.
I took a few ROST photos and got three leg bands, all of which had already been documented this year.
June 25, 2015 - North Brother.
Today, we captured 4 adult ROST using a treadle trap. One of the adukts (B04) was already banded; the other three were issued leg bands L02, L03, and L05. L02 and L05 were a pair occupying the same nest shelter.
----------------------------------------------------
I found two groups of feeding Roseate Terns tonight (June 18, 2015).
2015-06-18 05:02 ADT 0.39 meters Low Tide
2015-06-18 05:41 ADT Sunrise
2015-06-18 07:52 ADT Moonrise
2015-06-18 11:58 ADT 2.88 meters High Tide
2015-06-18 17:14 ADT 0.64 meters Low Tide
2015-06-18 21:06 ADT Sunset
2015-06-18 22:32 ADT Moonset
---
Alix Arthur d'Entremont (alixdentremont@hotmail.com)
----------------------------------------------------
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| Roseate Terns - North Brother - June 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
We also located four more ROST nests! The ROST nest count now stands at 42! This is the best number since 2009 when we also had 42 nests. There may even be a few more ROST nests than that as a couple of ROST looked as if they were sitting on eggs out in the vegetation. The actual nests were not located.
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| ROST nest numbers on The Brothers - 1991 to 2015 |
Two new leg bands (new for 2015) were recorded. Seven more already seen leg bands were also regighted. See the Resighted Leg Band table below.
Crew today: Julie McKnight, Karen Potter, Shawn Craik and Manon Holmes.
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| Karen and Julie processing an adult Roseate Tern - North Brother - June 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Manon and Shawn - North Brother - June 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
Of note: I photographed 7 terns carrying fish. Looked like 4 COTE, 1 ARTE, and 1 ROST all carrying White Hake, and 1 ROST carrying Herring. I think I saw a COTE carrying Sandlance but didn't get a photo. Could have been something else, I guess.
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| Common Tern carrying White Hake? - North Brother - June 25, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
June 30, 2015 - North Brother. I was here today with Shawn Craik and Manon Holmes.
I installed two trail cameras overlooking a few occupied ROST nesting shelters while Shawn and Manon attempted to install a couple of cameras also. Something failed to work as expected in their setup so they will try again at some other time.
I got a few more leg bands today. They are listed below in the table.
One banded ROST with a partially read leg band (_6_N) was in distress due to a leg band which appeared to have slipped down over its foot. See images below. (Note: On July 10, leg band found to be 765N)
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| Crippled Roseate tern - North Brother - June 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Crippled Roseate tern - North Brother - June 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
We may try to capture this bird to remove the leg band.
Manon found a dead adult COTE. Not sure why it died. It was collected and disposed of; it had been dead for several days and was full of "bugs".
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| Roseate tern - North Brother - June 30, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
July 1, 2015 - North Brother. Manon Holmes read another ROST leg band which had not been documented yet this year on N. Brother. See below.
July 7, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photographed a Common Tern today in Pubnico Harbour with leg bands. See a crop of the image below. Looks like a "regular" metal band on one leg but a "tag" or "flag" of some kind on the other.
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| Banded Common Tern - Pubnico Harbour - July 7, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photo |
Note: Julie McKnight and Jeff Spendelow informed me that a lef flag like the above would have been placed on the bird when it was in Argintina.
July 8, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photographed a Roseate Tern today carrying herring (I think) in Pubnico Harbour. See crop of photo below.
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| Roseate Tern carrying fish - Pubnico Harbour - July 8, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photo |
July 10, 2015 - North Brother. Chick Banding Day 2015!
The banding crew: Julie McKnight and Carina Gjerdrum did the banding while Brad Toms and I searched out the Roseate Tern chicks.
In all, 22 ROST chicks of banding age and size were found. 21 of them were successfully banded; one unfortunately, died in hand, waiting to be banded. Of all the chicks and adults we have banded over the years, I have only seen a death like this once before.
Four or 5 ROST chicks (only 1 or 2 days old) which were too small to band and were left unbanded.
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| Julie, Carina, and Brad banding ROST chicks - North Brother - July 10, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
To make a long story short, Julie discovered it was going in and out of nesting shelter #80. This shelter housed a 1 day old ROST chick so its parents would be constantly going in and out!
We set the treadle trap, first captured and banded its mate (L33), then caprured the cripple bird (765N) and removed the metal band from its foot. It had been banded as a chick on N. Brother on July 14, 2009!
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| Julie banding ROST L33 - North Brother - July 10, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Julie McKnight removing the crippling band from ROST 765N - North Brother - July 10, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| The foot of ROST 765N after removal of the metal band - North Brother - July 10, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
See below, photos of some of the uneaten food brought to the colony by the terns. It is rare to see squid. More Herring now than there was a week or two earlier; I think also, fewer Sandlance than previous years.
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| Herring and White Hake (I think) - North Brother - July 10, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Squid, brought in by the terns - North Brother - July 10, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| A very small Sandlance - North Brother - July 10, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
July 12, 2015 - North Brother. A quick checkup of the colony with some friends.
The first thing we noticed was the large number of tern chicks flying around, but no ROST yet.
We found 6 to 8 ARTE nests on the cobble at the northeast corner of the island. This has always been an area od ARTE nesting over the years. This year, these nests were niticeably missing when we did the nest count a month ago. We found ARTE nests at that time, at the south east side of the island just below the vegetated high ground.
Lots of poop! Great to see all the whitewash everywhere; a very good sign of lots of food getting around.
Still almost no tern mortality! It has been years since the colony has been in such a great shape.
I looked under a few ROST nesting shelters and found a 2 week old unbanded ROST chick. There are likely a few more like that as it is almost impossible to get them all when we do the chick banding.
More Butterfish laying around uneaten, than I would like to see. Most of the tern chicks can now swallow them, but due to size and shape, the very young have difficulty with these fish.
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| Butterfish - North Brother - July 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
My crew and assistants today: Maxine Westhead, Tim Fedak, Barry Westhead, and Jeffrey Westhead.
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| Barry, Jeffrey, Max, and Tim - North Brother - July 12, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
July 16, 2015 - North Brother. Ronnie d'Entremont and I were on North Brother on July 16 to get a few more leg bands with camera. My brother, Roland, came along as crew and assistant.
Ronnie and I each got lots of leg band photos. Most of them we had already seen this year at the colony.
A few, however were new. We both got 895N and 2W62. (2W62 was going in and out nesting shelter #79 so I would assume it was nesting there.)
Ronnie also got Red B10. 411V, a metal band with "H70", a metal band with :" AVIS" (probablty AVISE with the missing "E"?), and a good photo of the legs and feet of 765N (the cripple Rost whose migrated leg band was removed from its foot a few days earlier).
See photos below.
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| Partial? ROST leg band H70 - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photo |
_on_ROST_NB_July_16_2015_RD_750.jpg) |
| AVIS(E) ROST leg band - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photo |
Note: The above two leg band photos are from different birds.
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| The foot of ROST 765N, six days after removal of crippling band - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photo |
See also a crop of one of Ronnie's photo of a flying COTE with a fish in its bill. Is the fish a Pollock?
Great photo, I assure you!
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| Common Tern with fish in bill (Pollock?) - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ronnie d'Entremont photo |
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| Common Tern with fish in bill - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Common Tern with fish in bill - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Roseate Tern with fish in bill - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Me (Ted) changing a trail camera memory chip - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Roland D'Eon photo |
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| Roseate Terns, adult and juvenile - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| COTE and ARTE juveniles - Note the very short black legs of the ARTE - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Roseate Terns with Sandlance - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Crew and assistants, Roland D'Eon and Ronnie d'Entremont - North Brother - July 16, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
July 17, 2015 - Note from Jeffrey Spendelow (Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, MD) that "Red B19 was seen at Country Island several days ago."
Jeff also says that on July 16. he saw Red B63 at Hatches Harbor, Provincetown, Massachusetts (aka Grand Central Station for staging ROSTs). He suspects it did not make it to Lobster Bay this summer.
July 23, 2015 - North Brother with Shawn Craik, Manon Holmes, Roland D'Eon, and Orson Deveau.
A very busy day on the island today! The shoreline was lined with fledged and nearly fledged tern chicks and many adults. A constant arrival of adult terns fish in their bills, coming in to feed their chicks. The predominant fish being brought in today appears to be large Sandlance.
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| Common Tern carrying a Sandlance to its chick - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Common Tern Juvenile - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Common Tern Juvenile (I think) with a Sandlance stuck in its throat - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Arctic Tern Juvenile - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| Arctic Tern Juvenile - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
There were still a few very young Arctic Tern chicks where the ARTE nested late on the northeast cobble. These chicks will not likely leave the island alive. I hope I am wrong.
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| One of the 2 to 3 day old Arctic Tern chicks - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
July_23_2015_Ted_DEon_750.jpg) |
| One of the adult Arctic Terns flying overhead - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
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| A very large uneaten Butterfish - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
Also today, I removed the two trail cameras and checked a few ROST nesting shelters for chicks.
I found a 15 day old ROST in one and a 3 week old COTE in another. The ROST chick had not been banded.
Shawn and Manon set themselves up at opposite ends of the island to observe the terns. Manon was seated in a portable blind to do her observations.
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| Me (Ted), showing my grandson a 3 week old COTE - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Roland D'Eon photo |
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| The crew: Orson, Roland, Manon, and Shawn - North Brother - July 23, 2015 - Ted D'Eon photo |
August 2, 2015 - Just received a note from Jeff Spendelow that, "Kayla Davis and Alice McBride saw Red L09 at Jeremy Point (on the east side of Cape Cod Bay) and I saw Red L29 and it's attending parent 942-85173 (MFR=800E) at Race Point this morning."
It's wonderful to hear that some of "our" birds have already made it to Cape Cod! Thanks Jeff!
August 5, 2015 - Note from Alix d'Entremont that, "Ervin Olsen photographed this ROST at Drinking Brook Park, Clam Point, Cape Sable Island today. Looks like L24." See photo below.
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| Roseate Tern juvenile, Clam Point. Cape Sable Island, NS - August 5, 2015 - Ervin Olsen photo |
August 17, 2015 - A note from Jeffrey Spendelow that today on Cape Cod, he observed Red L10 (a ROST chick we banded on N. Brother on July 10 of this year) begging at Red B72. We believe that L10 hatched from ROST nesting shelter #139 (as this is where it was found upon banding) and we also know Red B72 nested in shelter #139. This just confirms the parent/chick relationship. Thank you Jeff.
| Field-readable Roseate Tern leg bands - North Brother - 2015. (See below) |
| Resighted and new leg bands on Roseate Terns from North Brother in 2015 | ||
| May 29, 2015 |
815N right leg 802-049611 Also seen on N. Brother in 2013 and 2014 Banded as a chick on North Brother July 14, 2009 |
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May 29, 2015 June 4, 2015 June 25, 2015 |
Red C11 left leg 1172-7911 Banded as an adult on Country Island in 2011. It nested on Country Island in 2012, 2013, and 2014. |
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June 4, 2015 June 23, 2015 June 30, 2015 July 10, 2015 |
Red B39 right leg 1172-79344 Banded as an adult on N. Brother, June 20, 2013. Also seen here in 2014. |
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June 4, 2015 June 23, 2015 June 25, 2015 June 30, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B42 right leg 1172-79348 Banded as an adult on N. Brother, June 20, 2013. Also seen here in 2014. |
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June 4, 2015 June 30, 2015 |
Red B78 left leg - Nest #26 9822-51513, Banded as an adult on N. Brother June 23,2014 Also seen here in 2014. |
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June 4, 2015 June 23, 2015 June 30, 2015 July 10, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red C16 left leg 1172-79116 - Banded on July 4, 2011 as a chick on Country Island. Also seen on North Brother in 2014. |
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| June 4, 2015 |
Red B65 left leg - 802-04928, PFR B65 added on June 12, 2014. Originally banded as a chick on North Brother in 2007 Also seen here in 2014. |
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| June 4, 2015 |
Red B66 left leg - 9822-51501, Banded as an adult on N. Brother June 12,2014 Also seen here in 2014. |
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| June 4, 2015 |
805N right leg - 802-04960, originally banded as a chick on North Brother in 2009 Also seen here in 2014. |
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| June 17, 2015 |
Red B81 left leg - 9822-51515 banded on North Brother in 2014. |
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June 17, 2015 June 25, 2015 |
Red B72 left leg - 9822-51507, Banded as an adult on N. Brother June 19,2014 Nested in ROST nest shelter #139 in 2015 |
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| June 17, 2015 |
875N ? leg - 802-04967 Banded on North Brother Nested in ROST nest shelter #149 in 2015 |
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| June 17, 2015 |
920E left leg - 942-85185 Banded as a chick on North Brother July 10, 2006 Also seen here in 2010. 2012, and 2014 Nested in ROST nest shelter #147 in 2015 |
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| June 17, 2015 |
Red B99 left leg - 9822-51535 Banded as an adult on N. Brother June 17,2015 Paired with 165N - Nested in ROST nest shelter #143 in 2015 |
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| June 17, 2015 |
Red L00 left leg - 9822-51536 Banded as an adult on N. Brother June 17,2015 Nested in ROST nest shelter #136 in 2015 |
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| June 17, 2015 |
165N left leg - Nest #143-2015 1172-78488 Banded as a chick on Country Island in 2010 Paired with B99. |
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| June 23, 2015 |
Red B80 left leg - 9822-51515, Banded as an adult on N. Brother June 23,2014. This was a bird which had lost most of its toes. Recognised by its mangled left foot. It had lost its Plastic Field Readable (PFR) band. |
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June 25, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B22 right leg - 1172-79326 Banded on North Brother as a chick in 2012. |
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June 25, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B00 right leg - 1172-79309 Banded as an adult on North Brother on June 21, 2012. |
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June 25, 2015 July 10, 2015 |
Red B29 right leg - 1172-79333 Banded on North Brother in 2012. |
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June 25, 2015 June 30, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B38 right leg - 1172-79342 Banded on North Brother in 2013. |
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| June 25, 2015 |
Red B73 left leg - 9822-51508, banded as an adult on North Brother on June 19, 2014. |
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June 25, 2015 June 30, 2015 |
Red B30 right leg - 1172-79334 Banded as a chick on North Brother on July 3, 2012. Seen in Pubnico Harbour in 2014. |
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June 25, 2015 June 30, 2015 July 10, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B79 left leg - 9822-51514, banded as an adult on North Brother on June 23, 2014. |
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June 25, 2015 July 10, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B04 right leg - Nest #066-2015 1172-79304 Banded as a chick on North Brother on July 20, 2011. |
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June 25, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red L02 left leg - Nest #067-2015 9822-51538 Banded as an adult on North Brother, Nova Scotia, June 25, 2015. Paired with L05. |
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June 25, 2015 June 30, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red L03 left leg - Nest #064-2015 9822-51537 Banded as an adult on North Brother, Nova Scotia, June 25, 2015. |
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| June 25, 2015 |
Red L05 left leg - Nest #067-2015 0802-04917 Banded as a chick on North Brother, Nova Scotia, in 2007. L05 band placed on it on June 25, 2015, at North Brother. Paired with L02. |
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| June 25, 2015 | 915N right leg - xxx-xxxxx, No info at the moment | |
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June 30, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
895N right leg - 0802-04970 Banded as a chick on North Brother in 2009 Also seen on N Brother in 2013. |
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June 30, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B33 right leg - 1172-79337 Banded as a chick on North Brother in 2012. |
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June 25, 2015 June 30, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
Red B11 right leg - 1172-79312, banded as an adult on North Brother on June 21, 2012. |
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| July 1, 2015 |
Red B14 right leg - 1172-79316 Banded on North Brother in 2012. |
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June 30, 2015 July 10, 2015 July 16, 2015 |
765N right leg - Nest #080-2015 0802-04956 Banded as a chick on North Brother on July 14, 2009. BBL band on left leg had migrated to the foot and was crippling the bird. The band was removed from the foot on July 10, 2015 and not replaced. |
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| July 10, 2015 |
Red L33 ? leg - Nest #080-2015 9822-51562 Banded as an adult on North Brother, Nova Scotia, July 10, 2015. |
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| July 16, 2015 |
Red B10 right leg - 1172-79311 Banded as an adult on North Brother in 2012. |
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| July 16, 2015 |
Red B12 right leg - 1172-79313 Banded as an adult on North Brother in 2012. |
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| July 16, 2015 |
Red B70 left leg - 9822-51505 Banded as an adult on North Brother in 2014. Note:Rip in centre of right foot webbing - see photo from 2014 |
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| July 16, 2015 |
Red B75 left leg - 9822-51511 Banded as an adult on North Brother in 2014. |
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| July 16, 2015 |
2W62 right leg - Nest #079-2015 xxx-xxxxx, |
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| July 16, 2015 |
800E left leg - 0942-85173 Banded as a chick on North Brother in 2006. |
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| July 16, 2015 |
411V left leg - xxx-xxxxx, |
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| July 16, 2015 |
AVIS(E)? left leg - |
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| July 16, 2015 |
H70? left leg - |
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