Birds of Sussex

212 bird species have been recorded within 6 mi of the centre of Sussex (New Brunswick) since 2010, across 28,547 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee and Blue Jay.

Sussex is backyard-bird country: 76% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and yard trees. American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay and American Goldfinch make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.

18 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture and Osprey.

Records peak in May and are lowest in January — about 7.1 times as many in the busiest month. Part of that is birds (migrants and breeding arrivals), part is people: more birders are out in good weather, so treat the curve as activity, not a census.

Penobsquis, 7 mi to the north-east, has fewer species on record (188 against 212). Birds logged far more often around Sussex than there include Ring-billed Gull, Common Goldeneye, Iceland Gull and Double-crested Cormorant.

Daylight runs from 15 h 43 min at midsummer to 8 h 41 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:37 AM in mid-April and 5:31 AM in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.

Foods for the most recorded backyard birds here, from our species notes.

• American Crow

  Cracked corn · Peanuts in the shell · Suet scraps

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Black-oil sunflower · Suet · Shelled peanuts

• Blue Jay

  Peanuts in the shell · Black-oil sunflower · Suet

• American Goldfinch

  Nyjer (thistle) · Hulled sunflower chips · Black-oil sunflower

• Song Sparrow

  Millet · Hulled sunflower · Cracked corn

• Mourning Dove

  Millet · Cracked corn · Black-oil sunflower

• Penobsquis7 mi north-east · 188 species
• Butternut Valley8 mi north · 156 species
• Norton11 mi south-west · 155 species
• Valley Waters16 mi west · 155 species
• Hampton21 mi south-west · 223 species
• Three Rivers21 mi north-east · 161 species