Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 11 2016

** AMERICAN BITTERN [Butor d'Amérique] is rarely seen in New Brunswick during winter. On Sunday, Dave Christie was surprised to spot one sitting on the ice of Daley Creek Marsh, just across from the Lars Larsen Marsh in Harvey. This is the latest bittern that Dave has seen in New Brunswick. The previous record was at the same location on Dec. 29, 1987, and that one was in such poor shape that it was caught for rehabilitation. This one seems in better condition. Dave got a photo of it from his car.

Dave’s main mission on Sunday was to collect feathers at a site on Bell Marsh, where Gabriel Gallant had come across a NORTHERN SHRIKE [Pie-grièche grise] taking a warbler [on Saturday]. Gabriel took several documentary photos of the event, Examination of his photos by seasoned birders indicated that the warbler was a very-rare-to-New-Brunswick VIRGINIA’S WARBLER [Paruline de Virginia]. Dave collected any remnant feathers to help establish the certain identity of the warbler, which does seem to be fairly well established. This event makes one realize the possible birds that may end up in New Brunswick and never be documented.

** The appearance of a melanistic AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] in the area seems to have really taken legs. Karen McDermott got a photo of one in her Moncton yard on Dec. 8 staying for 2 days. One of Karen’s photos shows it with a normally plumaged goldfinch. We now have a record of one at Carmella Melanson’s Shediac feeder on Dec. 18-19, and now one going between John Inman’s and Dave Christie’s feeder yards in Harvey. It suggests that more than one bird is involved, or else a frequent flyer. [Transcriber’s note: Carmella’s bird had more black on its flanks and less black on the face than the one in Harvey does.]

** Georges Brun got a photo of SUNDOGS [faux soleil], as the sun rose in the sky on Sunday morning, taken from the confluenmce of Hall’s Creek and the Petitcodiac River. He also caught VENUS [Vénus] and SATURN as they appeared in the pre-dawn sky on Friday morning, along with the crescent MOON [lune croisssant].

** Nice to hear of two NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRRELS [Grand Polatouche] as regulars at Eric Wilson’s at night, to feed on sunflower seed put out for them. Eric lives in Rural Estates subdivision in the north end of Moncton.

** Aldo Dorio got some nice photos of a COMMON GOLDENEYE [Garrot à oeil d'or] that shows some features that we don’t often see, as it was close and got out on an ice flow. He also got a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER [Harle huppé] that appears to have a defect or injury to its lower mandible.

** Brian Stone and I got our chance to call on one of the SNOWY OWLS [Harfang des neiges] in the Caissie Cape area. It posed for many people on Sunday morning, as it has for several days. It was nice to note that the behaviour of this owl, with 25+ cameras and scopes aimed at it. It preened and seemed to completely ignore the not-too-distant attention; it did move a few times but only to a utility pole that was even nearer the road, as if it wanted to get all of its admirers on its personal winter list. Note in a few of Brian’s photos that it’s preening, and in another its feathered legs in one when it lifted off.

Brian and I continued on to look for the TUFTED TITMOUSE [Mésange bicolore] at Bouctouche but it did not appear while we were there, but a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] did, which may have determined why the titmouse didn’t.

A stop at Jean-Paul and Stella LeBlanc’s home gave awesome displays of the PINE WARBLER [Paruline des pins] enjoying its peanut cache, and the female NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] put on an impressive show, all captured in photos.