Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 27 2016

** The Plant Watch session given by Nature NB in Moncton went well on Tuesday night with approximately 25 participants. There will be lots of information and reports to come on this interesting project, which will be posting on the Information Line as they develop. New Brunswick will now be joining a Canada wide project to monitor selected plant blooming dates.

** Kevin Renton reports on an experience on Tuesday. There is a line of pine trees as the Gorge Rd. comes up to Mountain Rd just before the Green Gables store and across from Frampton Lane. He saw 40 to 70 BLUE JAYS in that area screaming to make an incredible ruckus but was not able to locate the reason for their agitation. I wonder if it could have been the RED-TAILED HAWK that Brian Stone recently had in his backyard near there.

** Clarence Cormier reports a flock of approximately 50 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS around his Grand Digue site on Tuesday. He had some CEDAR WAXWINGS earlier and approximately 50 AMERICAN ROBINS are working the berry rich area around his home as well.

** Brian Stone still has his lone BOHEMIAN WAXWING to his yard fruit tree however now ROBINS are joining it as they seem to be doing coming to so many yards lately.

** In December Brian came across a caterpillar he photographed that is is attached today of a large YELLOW UNDERWING MOTH caterpillar. I placed that caterpillar in a container in a cold area which a few weeks ago transformed into a cocoon. It is 2.5cm long. I took a photo of it on the warmish day of Tuesday and while photographing I noted slight movement in parts of the cocoon. It will probably hatch out into an adult in spring.

** On Tuesday I was watching the SPARROWS closely in the feeder yard to be able to pick out the immature WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW a little easier among the AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS by noting the back markings. Am attaching one of the American tree sparrow photos that seems to show that bicolour beak, leg color and back lines nicely. While doing that the first male PURPLE FINCH I have seen dropped by with a HOUSE FINCH at the other side of the feeder. The photo does not show the comparison as well as I'd like but will be on the watch for another opportunity to get both together on the same feeder to note similarities and differences of the species.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton