Nature Moncton Nature News: April 12 2015

** Gabriel Gallant found some interesting BEAVER [Castor] work by a beaver pond near his Ste-Marie-de-Kent home on Saturday. He came across a birch tree freshly cut and a nearby plunge hole.

** Since Christmas, Judy Allen has been having a striking partially albino BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE [Mésange à tête noire] as a regular patron in her Salisbury feeder yard, especially for peanut butter. Judy shares a nice photo.

** Dave Christie reports that the only new bird species for him on Saturday was RING-NECKED DUCKS [Fuligule à collier], two males in the Shepody River just below the dam at Harvey Bank. He says that most of their preferred freshwater habitat is still firmly iced over. Dave also had reports of NORTHERN FLICKER [Pic flamboyant], one from John Inman at his Mary's Point Road home, and Yves Poussart noted two along the road from Riverside-Albert to Mary's Point.

** Brian Stone comments that some of the trails at Mapleton Park are starting to flood from the snow melt and this condition will probably accentuate over the next few days. Brian shares a photo portrait of an AMERICAN ROBIN [Merle d'Amérique] and a female MALLARD [Canard colvert]. Brian’s first encounter with a RACCOON [Raton laveur] at his newly erected feeders happened on Saturday night. He caught it in the raiding act.

** Some of us made another run to Albert County on Saturday. The TURKEY VULTURES [Urubu à tête rouge] surely put on an awesome show, especially in the Chapman Creek area between Broadleaf Guest Ranch and Riverside-Albert. Many were perched in a deciduous tree with several in flight; it was hard to get an accurate number but I suspect there were as many as 20+. What beautiful flying machines they are!

The SWAMP SPARROW [Bruant des marais] was still present at Doreen Rossiter’s feeders in Alma, along with SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur] and FOX SPARROWS [Bruant fauve]. It was tricky to get photos, as Doreen said that a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] had been cruising the area, but was easy to see the Swamp Sparrow in the shrubbery.

One raptor very much caught our attention in the Hopewell Hill area. It was suspected to be a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK [Buse à épaulettes]. The size, very rufous underbody and frontal half of the underwing, and the vocalization heard were all consistent with that species, but unfortunately we were unable to capture photographic evidence.

An AMERICAN KESTREL [Crécerelle d'Amérique] was spotted in Harvey.

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca