When it comes to birds of Newfoundland, we all know about the Puffin. We also point out a Robin Red Breast on the lawn after the winter. We have all gawked at a Blue Jay. It’s easy enough to assume we only have a few birds gracing the skies above the island, but that’s not the case.
Jared Clarke of Bird The Rock runs nature and bird tours across the province. He has met many feathered friends, and it’s all because of where Newfoundland is located.
“Newfoundland is a really unique place. If you think about where we are in the continent, we are north east and the most easterly point. Our forests are boreal, we have these incredible seascapes around us. So we have these really incredible combinations of boreal forest birds, which come from the northern forest,” explained Jared. “We experience a lot of different habitats. Some people may think we are mostly coastal, but we have such lush forests and the southernmost subarctic tundra in the world, it lends itself to a unique blend of birds that you cannot get anywhere else.”
More than 400 species of birds have been recorded in Newfoundland. About 250 are regularly occurring, which means they are residents here, or here for various seasons. There are other birds that visit us for just the winter.
“If you were birding here all year round you could expect to bump into those birds. But then there are a whole bunch of rare visitors to varying degrees. Some show up once or twice a year, and some are exceptionally rare,” said Jared. “The neat thing about where we are, those rarities are coming from all directions. Some are from other provinces and then we get visitors who get lost on migration. We regularly get rare visitors from Europe who don’t usually show up in North America.”
There are times that birds show up in Newfoundland; it’s the first time that type of bird has been seen in all of North America. People from around the world will drop what they are doing to come see some of those rare sights.
Jared first became interested in bird watching after high school when he worked with the Conservation Corps and did nature based community projects. Through part of his training Parks Canada took him on a bird tour and it opened his eyes to the many species surrounding him.
“From that moment on I was just hooked. I have always been an outdoors person, so even as a kid I was exploring the woods and hiking the trails and that was one of the beautiful things about growing up in rural Newfoundland where I had the ability and freedom to do that,” said the tour guide.
From there, Jared met the local birding community and it lit a fire under him. While pursuing his undergraduate and graduate degree, he made birding part of his lifestyle. His field of study was completely different from the world of birding, Jared studied neuroscience and medical research.
During that time, he led his first bird tour.
“It was so fun to be able to share the place that I live in and love with others and these amazing birds with people who had an appreciation for nature, like me.”
He continued to lead tours during his graduate degree. By the time he graduated, it was a common side gig for Jared. He found himself falling out of love with his career and the academic rat race, and he stepped away from his field to take a stab at leading tours all year round and he hasn’t looked back.
“I have been running my own small business and leading tours for other companies since. What a blessing to be doing something you love. I lead tours throughout Newfoundland Labrador and some companies take me abroad in other places in Canada and internationally in places like Mexico and Central America.”
The winter doesn’t put a damper on Jared’s adventures—surprisingly the winter has a little bit of a birding bump in Newfoundland.
“Winter birding in Newfoundland is fantastic. It’s one of our well kept secrets. We see some special birds in the winter for birding.”
While some people refer to what Jared does as bird watching, he is quick to dismiss that term because it has a lot more to do with sound, than sight.
“Experienced birders will identify a bird by sound, far more often than we do by seeing them. You’re listening to birds, and a lot of the time they are familiar and sometimes you’re listening for a clue. We use our ears a lot.”
Jared uses his eyes, ears and experience to learn about new birds, especially when he first goes to another country to lead a tour. The sound will be his first indication of what kind of bird he is looking for and where it is coming from.
“The sound can be similar to something I have heard before, to help you understand what family of birds you’re hearing. Birding is a multisensory experience. It’s more than watching, it’s everything. It’s experience, it’s sound, it’s knowing about the habitat you’re in.”
That’s why people who want to go bird finding will benefit from going with an experienced birder like Jared. Especially with someone who is familiar with the area, it allows people to learn more about their surroundings.
It’s hard for Jared to pick out his favourite bird but when it comes to rare birds he has a fondness for the European rarities.
“Last year we had an Eurasian oystercatcher which has only been seen in North America a handful of times. It’s black and white with a long carrot looking bill, almost like a Sandpiper,” said Jared. “There’s the Steller’s sea eagle, it should be nowhere near North America. It comes from Japan and Russian. It worked its way all across North America and found a home in Newfoundland. It’s the bird’s third summer here. It’s bigger than a bald Eagle, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It has this big honking bill that makes it look like a muppet.”
Even though he only got glimpses of seconds of it, one of Jared’s favourite birds is the Corn crake which he saw at Cape Race a few years ago. The Corn crake is part of the rail family that lives in Europe, whose population is declining there.
“It was special to me because we found it ourselves. It wasn’t like I heard it was there and rushed there. We were birding in Cape Race and we flushed this bird out of the grass. That adds a bit of extra excitement”
There a lot to be said for experiencing local birds as well.
“Everyone knows the Puffin. Those are the guys that steal the show but there are dozens of species of seabirds. You got them right along the coast, they’re everywhere. And we have a whole lot of really resident songbirds that live in our forests year round. I think of those as the tougher birds that can stay here year round, like the Boreal chickadee, the Canada jay, pine grosbeak.”
The birds that leave for the winter and come home to Newfoundland are also special to Jared.
“Birds that arrive in the spring and start singing and defending their territory. Then you see them raising their young, that’s pretty special.”
To book a tour with Jared, check out his website here.
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