The Backlands Coalition

Black & White Warbler in East-West Pine Islands Ponds area,  May 18, 2023.  Photo credits: Joshua Barss Dunham.  Click on images for larger versions.

This summer our socials are, quite literally, going to the birds…

Ground nesting birds to be precise! Since March, we’ve been featuring 4 species that nest in the Backlands. Today we’re returning to the migratory Black-and-white Warbler:

The males arrive first and are territorial, chasing away other males and even other species! Listen carefully – these guys often return to the same territory year after year, so you may hear the exact same bird you heard last year.   Read More…

By Martha Leary for the Backlands Coalition
July 14, 2024

With leadership from the Williams Lake Conservation Company (WLCC) the Backlands Coalition (BC) has assembled the “Bird Team”.

In addition to our annual surveys of all birds in the Backlands, our popular social media series on ground-nesting birds and participation in the Bird Friendly Halifax activities, the Bird Team is continuing our 2-year Common Nighthawk Project. Continue reading →

By The Bird Team: Joshua Barss Donham, Fulton Lavender, Cathy Smalley, Katie Studholme. Video by Joshua Barss Donham

Images from Nighthawk Video

Joshua heard the Nighthawk for the first time this year at Osprey Ridge/Alabaster Way Trailhead on May 23; there have been many sightings and recordings since.

Why does this have us all atwitter??

Nighthawk numbers have been in steep decline. It is a Species of Concern Nationally, and a Species At Risk in Nova Scotia, and thereby legally protected under the NS Endangered Species Act.

The Backlands is a special place where they are surviving and raising their young.

Read More…

The hardwood slope in this photo (taken mid-May) is a perfect spot for ground-nesting birds/ he approx. location is indicated by the arrow in the map below. 18 May 2023. Palm Warblers were sighted nesting there,  Ovenbirds nearby

By The Bird Team: Joshua Barss Donham, Fulton Lavender, Cathy Smalley, Katie Studholme. Photos by Joshua Barss Donham

June 9, 2024

Over the past few months, we’ve been sharing about ground nesting birds that call the Backlands home. So far we’ve met the Dark-Eyed Junco, the American Woodcock, and the Black-and-white Warbler, with the Common Nighthawk soon to come (hint… not common & not a hawk… stay tuned to learn more…).

But first, let’s talk habitat! Different species of ground nesting birds prefer vastly different habitats, so we’re going to stick to those that frequent the Halifax wilderness area that we call the Backlands.

Read More

Wrote JBD recently (May 27), with photos and videos attached…

Click on images for larger versions

Yellow-rumped Warbler on Apr, 24, 2024 in the Shaw Wilderness Park

“It has been such a pleasure to watch the return of warblers to the Backlands! The first warbler I crossed paths with in the Backlands this year was a Yellow-rumped Warbler (April 20), heard but not seen, working his way along the upper McIntosh Run. A couple of days later I had my first good look at a bright Yellow-rumped Warbler, fresh from the south, flitting about in the hobblebush that grow on the bank of Lawsons Brook in the Shaw Wilderness Park.
Continue reading →