Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 21 2016

** The increasing day length is giving the queue to the COMMON RAVENS [Grand Corbeau].John Massey comments he is noting dramatic aerial courtship displays over the Tantramar Marsh this past week, seemingly holding each other by the feet and tumbling from the sky like they had been shot. John shares a photo of a gathering storm from a black sky over Dorchester on January 11th and the descending sun’s rays on Wednesday. The Snowshoe Hare [Lièvre d’Amérique] taken on January 11th shows it has its chamophlage suit ready for the snow-cover that soon arrived. John has 5 WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] that are coming to his yard. One had a snare around the neck last year had made it through the winter and has a young one with her. The area where the snare is overgrown but still apparently there and coping with it OK.

** The WAXWING show continued at the University of Moncton courtyard near the Arts building on Wednesday. Brian Stone was there with a photo group and among his photos had a brownish bird with rusty markings that led us to to wait to see what it was. The potential rarity turned out to be an immature WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche] that gave us a brief but good observations to note it consuming the whole berry, not just the seeds. It was a surprise to find a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW traveling with the WAXWINGS and harvesting the berries just like the WAXWINGS. More of Brian’s photos are attached. The group ratio continues to be very predominately CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d’Amérique] and some BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal and a few AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d’Amérique] with obvious potential for surprises.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton.