Nature Moncton Nature News: February 3 2015

** Susan Richards heard a GREAT HORNED OWL [Grand-duc d’Amérique] calling near their Taylor Village home on Friday evening. It is that time of the year when territories are being staked out. They did not hear a 2nd bird. It was in the area where they saw an adult and a juvenile last year.

** Dave Miller had a visit from an adult SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] on Monday that successfully took a EUROPEAN STARLING [Étourneau sansonnet] as prey. Maybe some of us would like to rent that hawk…

** An update on the FIELDFARE [Grive litorne] in Apple River, NS: Kathleen Spicer reports that it was still there on Monday and when a few AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d’Amérique] arrived to join it, the Fieldfare was not amused and tried to put the run to them.

** Brian Stone came up with 2 individual ducks in Mapleton Park travelling with a large flock that hangs out around the bridge there, and appear to me to be AMERICAN WIDGEON MALLARD HYBRIDS. Dave Christie reviewed them as well and points out the clear possibility of NORTHERN PINTAIL [Canard pilet] genes, and I’m going to add Dave’s comments to the transcript and the website url to refer to that makes that duo so interesting.

From Dave Christie

“The bluish-gray beak does suggest a wigeon, either American or Eurasian, but it’s also the colour for a male Pintail — and that species also frequently has a black line along the ridge of the upper mandible, whereas wigeon would be more apt to contribute a black tip that’s more than just the nail. Those tail feathers sticking out rather longish might also indicate Pintail ancestry, as well as the brown influence among the green head feathers

Check the website <http://10000birds.com/hybrid-mallards.htm> and scroll down to the male Pintail which is followed by a photo of a hybrid similar in numerous ways to the bird Brian photographed, although that one has more of a plain Mallard back & scapulars but the lines on the Brian’s bird could easily be inherited from a pintail.”

Brian also got a photo of a SOLAR HALO on Monday giving us signal of the weather that came last night. Today is certainly the calm after the storm.

Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca