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FIELDFARE SIGHTING

by
David and Judy Hughes

"Judy, come quick there is a really different bird out there". It was approximately 3:00 pm on Friday, February 21, 1997. This strange bird was on a low limb of a Mountain Ash Tree about 10 ft. from our dining room window. It was with a flock of Robins that had been in the area all winter eating mountain ash berries and crab apples. We first thought it was a very differently marked Robin as it acted like a Robin.

We watched it briefly before it flew away, then we began looking in our bird books of North American birds but could not find anything that matched. We then got out our Hamlyn Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe and looked at the thrushes.

"It looks like a Fieldfare" Judy said. We next looked in Squires Birds of New Brunswick to see if there were any accounts of Fieldfare sightings. There were none recorded so we were uncertain if what we saw was a Fieldfare.

After seeing it again on Saturday, February 22 and Tuesday, February 25 we reported the sighting to the NB Bird Hotline. The sighting was reported on the Internet and bird hotlines around the country causing quite a stir. It was at this time we learned this was only the second sighting of a Fieldfare in New Brunswick, the first being in Caraquet in 1991.

We began to receive calls from various parts of North America inquiring about the Fieldfare and if it was still in the area. Birders from NB began coming on Wednesday, February 26 to see it and by the weekend people from New Jersey, Connecticut and Ontario were arriving. All were rewarded by seeing the Fieldfare. One birder from New Jersey had a life list of 7,325, he had been to 80 countries birding. He had seen the Fieldfare previously but not in North America, it was interesting talking with him. One birder from New Jersey had to return the second time before he saw it.

A local birder John Candy as well as other residents of the area entertained many visitors. John also distributed food to supplement the dwindling supply of natural food to help keep the Robins and Fieldfare in the area. As of April 9 it was still in the area.

This has been a very exciting and enjoyable experience for us, we never look at a flock of Robins now without expecting to see "our" Fieldfare!