Strange Bird Sightings

[Moosebunk]

Two fridays back I saw something interesting. I was trolling home along a sloped shoreline when up ahead I spotted an eagle perched atop a tree. The tree was near dead. Once I got closer the eagle broke the branch off that tree, swooped down a little towards the shallow shoreline water, dropped the branch in the water, quickly swooped back upward doing a loop-to-loop, and then dove at the water. The eagle then moved on a little ways upriver from me and stopped on another tree.

Strangely, that eagle repeated the exact same sequence twice more, leaving me awestruck to have been witness to such a unique style of fishing. Yes, I do believe he was fishing, and ultimately resorting to this style because of the murkiness of the water posing limits to his visibility.

Then, after he had taken off and I made my way closer to home, a cormorant buzzed just fifty feet over my head. It was the first cormorant I had ever seen in person, but I knew that's what it was the second I saw it. Turns out, others have seen them as well.

Lastly, I listened for hours to a mockingbird while on the nightshift. I had never heard one before, and my god, are they ever loud and annoying. A co-worker who grew up in the Pembroke area thought that that bird must be about 800 kms north of it's usual range. I think we need to send it back. Yes, it's a rarity, but it doesn't shut up for hours, and it really pee pee me off when it mocks me

[Canadian Wiggler]

Maybe it was just using it for practice. Kind of like the little plugs with no hooks we use.

[Draven]

I have heard of this before the eagle will drop a stick to scare the fish out and get them running.

[wolfe]

Moosebunk,

That's wild about the eagle (fishing) behavior. Did you see him actually catch anything? If so, I may resort to sitting in a shoreline tree, and launching branches prior to casting. Hey, whatever works...!

Mockingbirds are common in my old New Jersey stomping grounds and I quite liked them & their expansive musical repetoire -- except on insomniac nights. Then, you're right, they can be downright annoying as you see the clock move from 2 am to 3 am to 4 am... Since moving north, I have only seen a few. The one you heard must have an extremely defective internal compass!

W.

[AverageAngler]

Well, at least you have a story to tell other than not catching any fish!? Would have loved to have seen it as well!
Cheers'
--AA--

[Cancatchbass]

Listen to the mockingbird, listen to the mockingbird...

An old song I remember from my childhood...

Mockingbirds have been slowly but surely expanding their range northward, and have been recorded in the Churchill and Kap areas. As for their extreme northward nesting, I think St. John's takes the cake.

The eagle using sticks as a fishing aid sounds neat, but I have to wonder if it was really some kind of territorial display or something of that sort...

As for the cormorant, you can bet that they had previously been numerous in the north (probably even on Baffin Island), but mean people persecuted them and drove them to the point of extinction. Good to see them make a comeback.

And don't worry, they don't really eat too many fish.

CCB

[Fishhawk]

We have had a turkey hanging out on Hazeldean across from the Main Street intersection for several days.

I've seen them on occasion when going for drives through the country but Hazeldean is another thing altogether.

I suspect it has something to do with all those turkey deep-friers getting sold out in Perth way. Its seeking asylum in Stittsville.

[slushpuppy]

I hear there are a lot of "turkeys" living in Stittsville.

[Fishhawk]

I hear there are a lot of "turkeys" living in Stittsville.

Well I only have seen the one at any given time so I don't really know what you are referring....oohhhhhhh wait a second - that is evil.

True

But evil