New Brunswick in July

[Quiscalus quiscula]

So I will be heading to New Brunswick in July for two weeks or so, and maybe go over to Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island. We'll be staying mostly near the coast. Anyone birded in the area before? Tips on where to find birds? Hoping for some northern stuff like Common Eider, Canada Jay, Red and White-winged Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin and Boreal Chickadee. Some other target birds would probably be Common Loon, American Bittern, Red-breasted Merganser, Wilson's Snipe, Common and Arctic Tern, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Nashville Warbler, Mourning Warbler, and Nelson's Sparrow.

[The Bird Nuts]

We passed through New Brunswick on our way to Nova Scotia a few years ago.  We stopped by one place (Irving Nature Park/Saints Rest Marsh) and I would go there again and stay longer.  https://ebird.org/vt/checklist/S58034061

We saw Common Eider, Common Murre, and Razorbill on the ferry to Digby, NS.  https://ebird.org/vt/checklist/S58034593

Full trip: https://ebird.org/vt/tripreport/46421?view=checklists

[Avery]

Keep an eye on the sea eagle reports!!!

[Aaron]

I’ve ‘birded’ in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia a long time ago, but didn’t keep a list so can’t really speak on it too much.

For New Brunswick, I was in Fredericton which is very much inland so I don’t think you’ll be making it there! Though, like The bird bird nuts, I travelled on the ferry from Saint John to Digby. And that brought up quite a few good ocean birds such as the ones they mentioned, but also shearwaters, some whales and dolphins, and also a sun fish.  
If you go to Digby, it’s a nice little town (say hi to my grandparents) but there’s another town called Annapolis Royal a little bit Northwards. Not sure how the birding situation is there, but it has Fort Anne which is a cool little fortress historic site that’s worth a visit to walk around if you’re in the area. It’s fun to roll down the hills. 

Sorta inland in Nova Scotia there’s kejimukiji national park (there’s also a kejimukiji seaside park, but I’ve never been there). This area is pretty much a giant marsh/lake mixed with woodland. It’s a very cool (and large) park just to explore and you can kayak/canoe around, but there’s also hiking trails. It looked like perfect American bittern habitat to me, and they have been reported there before. I have zero memory (or photos) of the birds I saw there, but definitely somewhere that’d probably give you a few good species. 
 

If you make it to Halifax, there’s a park not too far away called Taylor head provincial park which goes along the coast. It was also a really cool park. Common terns breed there and can be seen without any effort. I also saw commons eiders and boreal chickadees should be relatively easy. It’s also the right habitat for Canada jays and crossbills but I can’t remember if I saw any.
Going whale watching can bring good birds (puffins) and you also get to see whales.

Common loons are very….common… both in the ocean and in lakes/ponds in both provinces so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with them.

I’m actually going to be heading to both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia sometime this this summer as well!

[Quiscalus quiscula]

6 hours ago, Aaron said:

I’ve ‘birded’ in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia a long time ago, but didn’t keep a list so can’t really speak on it too much.

For New Brunswick, I was in Fredericton which is very much inland so I don’t think you’ll be making it there! Though, like The bird bird nuts, I travelled on the ferry from Saint John to Digby. And that brought up quite a few good ocean birds such as the ones they mentioned, but also shearwaters, some whales and dolphins, and also a sun fish.  
If you go to Digby, it’s a nice little town (say hi to my grandparents) but there’s another town called Annapolis Royal a little bit Northwards. Not sure how the birding situation is there, but it has Fort Anne which is a cool little fortress historic site that’s worth a visit to walk around if you’re in the area. It’s fun to roll down the hills. 

Sorta inland in Nova Scotia there’s kejimukiji national park (there’s also a kejimukiji seaside park, but I’ve never been there). This area is pretty much a giant marsh/lake mixed with woodland. It’s a very cool (and large) park just to explore and you can kayak/canoe around, but there’s also hiking trails. It looked like perfect American bittern habitat to me, and they have been reported there before. I have zero memory (or photos) of the birds I saw there, but definitely somewhere that’d probably give you a few good species. 
 

If you make it to Halifax, there’s a park not too far away called Taylor head provincial park which goes along the coast. It was also a really cool park. Common terns breed there and can be seen without any effort. I also saw commons eiders and boreal chickadees should be relatively easy. It’s also the right habitat for Canada jays and crossbills but I can’t remember if I saw any.
Going whale watching can bring good birds (puffins) and you also get to see whales.

Common loons are very….common… both in the ocean and in lakes/ponds in both provinces so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with them.

I’m actually going to be heading to both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia sometime this this summer as well!

Thanks, that helps a lot! 

[Aaron]

@Quiscalus quiscula How’d this trip go? 

[Quiscalus quiscula]

On 7/23/2022 at 8:40 PM, Aaron said:

@Quiscalus quiscula How’d this trip go? 

Quite good! Got eight lifers, and the trip ended up being a little over a week. We drove all the way there, stopping by at Fort McClary, where I got lifers Common staying for a night in Lincoln, Maine and visiting the Bay of Fundy NP on the way up. We stayed in the town of Cocagne, and explored Bouctouche, Shediac, and other surrounding towns. We also drove across the bridge to Prince Edward Island and visited the Green Gables heritage place. We were able to visit the Johnson Mills Shorebird Reserve as well, and it was amazing to see thousands of Semipalmated Sandpipers swerving and turning in the Bay of Fundy!

Lifers: Semipalmated Sandpiper, Black Scoter, Common Eider, Semipalmated Plover, Common Tern, American Redstart, and Common Loon.