Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 25 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January 25, 2018 ( Thursday )

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

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** Gordon Rattray paid an hour and a half visit for an audience with the Golden-crowned Sparrow at Sybil Wentzell's feeder yard on the Mary's Point Rd. on Wednesday but it did not appear while he was there. His sparrow consolation prizes were a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche] and several AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien]. He is planning to try again.

** The population rise of BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche] in the area is indeed remarkable. Jamie and Karen Burris were in the Turtle Creek area on Wednesday morning to spot a tree with six Bald Eagles in that one tree. To top that off there was a seventh eagle flying towards them, an eighth on the bottom right side and two more on the other side of the river. Jamie comments that to think just twenty five years ago one would be lucky to see one Bald Eagle. It seemed in the past that the winter number went down with many of us assuming that they were heading to the Annapolis Valley to take advantage of the poultry farming there. It would seem that the majority are staying put now along the Petitcodiac River. There must be ample food present. Jamie comments that he has read reports of Bald Eagles going after Osprey chicks. I hope that doesn't play out negatively.

** Doreen Rossiter reports action from her Alma feeder yard. She has a good turn out of expected regular birds but suddenly got more DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé] than she has ever had before, being able to count a hundred plus on the snow around her home the day before the rain. There are also reports of high numbers of Dark-eyed Juncos from the Naturens listserv and P.E.I. birders. There must be some reason for this. Doreen also had one, lone CEDAR WAXWING [Jaseur d'Amérique] come by to clean up remnants of a Highbush Cranberry bush crop and then it moved on to rose hips which it was quite content to glean.

Doreen also has a DOWNY WOODPECKER [Pic mineur] using a swallow box as a night roost and is intrigued by its near exact repeated entry times. She has been monitoring it recently and it enters the box during a four minute interval between 4:58 and 5:02 pm on sunny days and 4:13 to 4:17 pm on stormy or cloudy days.

** Georges Brun noticed a flock of approximately two hundred SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des neiges] flying about the Chartersville Dieppe Marsh on Tuesday afternoon. After recent comments on some waterfowl mating Georges also noted the same thing with AMERICAN CROWS [Corneille d'Amérique] and RED SQUIRRELS [Ecureuil roux]. We may not have Spring on the top of our minds yet but apparently wildlife does and is preparing.

** On Wednesday Danny Sullivan and Brian Stone took a hike along the Humphrey Brook Trail, a trail that we don't hear enough from. They spotted several small birds that they could not identify with binoculars but suspected PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins], a bird we seem to have heard little of this winter. Brian got some very distant photos in the dim light and was able to confirm their identity from the photos. Brian leaves a few photos of the trail and an interesting tree that appears to have been worked on by woodpeckers.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton