Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 4 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Dec. 4, 2017 (Monday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Connie and Pearl Colpitts had a COOPER’S HAWKS [Épervier de Cooper] make a successful visit to their Salisbury yard on Thursday; it took a ROCK PIGEON [Pigeon biset] as prey. Note the dark-capped appearance on the head of the crown and nape, the apparent large size and the fact that a pigeon was its prey item. It is in adult plumage with transverse chest barring and grey mantle, but the eye is still orangeish yellow and not red, suggesting that this may be recently moulted to adult plumage.

** It was a bit of a surprise to get photos of two COOPER’S HAWKS [Épervier de Cooper] in one day. Jamie Burris got some flight photos of a hawk over the Turtle Creek marsh on Sunday. It was a dark day for photos but the fine striping on the chest, not extending far down, the rounded tail and the head projecting well out from the body all suggest a Cooper’s Hawk over Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Jamie estimated it to be crow-sized. Jamie’s photos of this hawk provided an excellent learning experience. With the frequent misidentification of Cooper’s Hawks in New Brunswick, five of us studied the photos carefully. Four of the five agreed on Cooper’s Hawk, with one pointing out immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK [Autour des palombes] as hard to rule out because of the very broad wings with trailing edges that bowed outwards like biceps and commenting that the Cooper’s wings should be more straight-edged, both on the rear and the fore edge. It also indicates the difficulty of identifying a bird from photos only, without the distinct advantage of having seen the bird in real time as well.

On November 29, Jamie and Karen saw a nice mixture of waterfowl, AM. BLACK DUCK [Canard noir], MALLARD [Canard colvert] and HOODED MERGANSER [Harle couronné], in company with one another at the Hillsborough Wetland Park. There were still some AMERICAN WIGEONS [Canard d'Amérique] about, and they also saw 3 AM. TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien].

Jamie also had a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] come to his Riverview yard to explore a birch tree. They also saw FAIRY-RING MUSHROOMS [] in Salisbury on Saturday. December is definitely getting late for mushrooms.

** Another note about Cardinals in Sussex. Colin Pyette got his feeders up for the season for the first time on Saturday. He set them up at 3:30 p.m. and by the time he got back in the house the BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] had moved right in and so did a male NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] at 3:45, followed shortly by a female Cardinal. An immature male arrived on Monday morning to suggest a successful nesting nearby.

** Dave Christie reports that while he was at the Mary’s Point beach on Sunday, 5 BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche], 3 adults and 2 immatures, chased each other across the marsh, wildly vocalizing. Dave suspected that one had caught prey and the others felt it should be shared. Two adults later returned and settled down together, suggesting a mated pair.

Dave comments that a male PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] appeared around his home on Sunday, a species he has not seen recently. Also there were a number of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES [Chardonneret jaune] in the trees but not coming to the feeders.

** Lark Doyle, Janet Kempster and Brian Stone made a productive run to Tantramar Marsh, then to Cape Jourimain on Sunday to make some nice observations despite the weather. On the Tantramar they saw the SWAINSON’S HAWK [Buse de Swainson] but it would not allow close approaches as it has done earlier. Several ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS [Buse pattue] were also on the marsh, and over the whole day they saw 6 RED-TAILED HAWKS [Buse à queue rousse] along the roadsides. Along Route 16, a few BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche] were noted. In the immature bird photo, note there is a partial yellowing of the bill that suggests it might be a second-year bird.

Along Route 960 at Cape Spear they came upon 3 GRAY JAYS [Mésangeai du Canada] cavorting about. Three is a very popular number of Gray Jays in a group at this time of year, as the adults usually allow one young of the year to travel with them for a time. They then were able to relocate on that road, the WESTERN KINGBIRD [Tyran de l'Ouest] that Gilles Bourque and Gilles Belliveau had located a few days ago. A few RED-THROATED LOONS [Plongeon catmarin] were near the old ferry terminal, one still with some remnants of red on the neck. Darkness overtook them before they were able to check for the MARBLED GODWIT [Barge marbrée] Gilles Belliveau had found a few days ago, but someone they met said they had seen it earlier in the day.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton