NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, March 23, 2018 (Friday)
Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
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** A last reminder for the Nature Moncton workshop
on the Swallow Box Project with boxes all made by Fred Richards and ready for
landlords to take. Roger Leblanc will
give a presentation on TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] and some
information will be given out on nest box parasite control that will be
applicable to all man-made nest boxes.
Everyone is welcome, whether with nest boxes reserved or not as there
will be lots of helpful information to make nest boxes get their most use. It will take place at the Tankville School
from 1:00 to 4:00 on Saturday with all details on the website www.naturemoncton.com under upcoming
events.
** Audrey Goguen had some AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique]
drop by her Northview Drive crabapple tree
approximately a week ago. They arrived
back on Thursday in noticeably greater numbers to the same tree, possibly aware
that it would be a good morning to fill up before the storm.
** Dave Christie comments that one of the three WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS
[Bruant à gorge blanche] that has
overwintered with him started singing on Wednesday, hearing it several times,
definitely tuning-up editions, but a real start to spring song. Several PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] were about as
well and some song from them which is expected from that species in March. When Dave put seed out in protected areas at
the height of the storm, up to 30 DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé] and 10 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS
[Bruant hudsonien] were prompt to accept the offerings.
** The Moncton Christmas Bird Count compilation and
comments that were mentioned on yesterday’s edition is added below after a few
technical challenges stopped it yesterday.
This excellent account was prepared by Moncton Christmas Bird Count co-ordinator
Roger Leblanc.
2017 Nature
Moncton CBC
The 57th Nature Moncton CBC was held on Saturday December 16 last.
First thegeneral conditions and numbers: Temperatures were a bit on the chilly
side hovering between -11°C and -7°C. Fortunately winds were moderate around 5 km from the NW. The sky was
covered in the morning with no precipitation but things cleared up later in the
day. Snow cover was at a minimum (around 5 cm) permitting easy access to most
spots but with the alternating thaws and cold conditions earlier in December a
lot of back roads were iced up which hampered walking and general traveling.
Standing water and most running streams were frozen so there were fewer places
where water birds could be looked for.
Finally the lack of snow cover or notable storm activity in early
December kept the flocking behavior and the feeder counts lower than we would
have whished. Still, all in all we had “not to bad” winter weather to be out
and about the Moncton circle looking for birds. 25 of us (a bit under average)
participated in the field while 13 more (low) counted at feeders. Again this
year, the feeder watch was a very important component of our effort adding 6
species (Bohemian Waxwing, Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin, Ruffed Grouse,
White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinal) to the count. A big THANK YOU is in
order for Susan on this front, but help would be needed for next year. In total
with field and feeders combined we managed to tally 52 species on count day
(see list below) and 3 more were added for count period (3 days before or after
count day). In all, that represented 10,443 individual birds and both numbers
would be a bit under average when compared to the earlier 56 years of the
Moncton CBC. The snowless weather in the weeks before and so lack of snow on
the ground and in trees would in turn made for good access to food for birds
and consequently limited their concentration that happens in harsher weather in
particular at feeders. But on the positive side (there is always one) it helped
some “gooood” species survive and stay here long enough to be counted. The
highlights species wise were a female Common Eider floating up the Petitcodiac
on the tide, between pieces of ice. This was only the second time that specie
was seen on our CBC. Dickcissel and Field Sparrow made the list only for the
third time and not one but two Peregrine Falcons made it for the fifth time. So
they will join others on the general bird list next year. Other highlights on
the numbers front were Bald Eagles who continued their ascending trend to reach
a record breaking 102 individuals this year.
The same was true for Canada Geese and Mallards respectively at 667 and
2062. Gulls in general continued their gradual decline (or stabilization) of
recent years. For instance, Herrings at 1393 and Great Black-backed at 464 were
quite low. Some of this could be weather related but also changing food
accessibility having to do with the opening of the flow of the river as well as
better waste management could be at play. As for owls it was nice to add
Short-eared at least for count period. Same for Horned Lark for which this was
only a 8th showing on CBC day. In the missing in action column,
Boreal Chickadee has sadly not been seen for 7 years now and Bohemian Waxwings
were few and far between with just one flock of 80 reported. Strangely, in a
winter were they seem to be quite present no Cedar Waxwings could be found. The
same was true for warblers and blackbirds. After a couple of super years for
sparrows things got back to normal this year. Still at 53 it was a good year
for Dark-eyed Junco and a Field Sparrow, at feeders, saved the day for that
group. We also lucked out for the species count with single showings of Pine
Siskin and Common Redpoll at feeders. We have been in very low numbers for that
last species for 3 years now so hopefully we will be in for a “big” redpoll
year soon.
So that was the count for 2017. As can be expected, some surprises,
several interesting statistics, all around good birding and lots of fun. Thanks to all that participated in the field
or at feeders and hope to see you all again next year.
Birds seen on
the Nature Moncton 57th CBC
CBC Saturday
December 16th 2017
Birds seen count day
Canada Goose 667
American Black Duck 70
Mallard 2062
Common Eider 1
Common Merganser 3
Ring-necked Pheasant 68
Ruffed Grouse 3
Bald Eagle 102
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Peregrine Falcon 2
Ring-billed Gull 5
Herring Gull 1393
Iceland Gull 228
Glaucous Gull 4
Great Black-backed Gull 464
Rock Pigeon 676
Mourning Dove 196
Downy Woodpecker 29
Hairy Woodpecker 19
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Gray Jay 7
Blue Jay 103
American Crow 1278
Common Raven 47
Horned Lark 2
Black-capped Chickadee 479
Red-breasted Nuthatch 94
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 15
American Robin 39
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 1814
Bohemian Waxwing 80
American Tree Sparrow 44
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 7
White-throated Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 53
Snow Bunting 10
Northern Cardinal 1
Dickcissel 1
Purple Finch 11
House Finch 8
White-winged Crossbill 3
Common Redpoll 1
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch 304
House Sparrow 30
TOTAL # OF SPEICES 52
TOTAL # OF BIRDS 10440
Birds seen on count week
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Short-eared Owl 1
Northern Flicker 1
** Nature New Brunswick in co-operation with
volunteers has made up four different presentations to be used for naturalist
meetings or wherever they can be used as educational tools. I was able to attend one of the four that deals
with “Migration” given at the Salisbury Naturalist Club meeting on Wednesday
night and so capably delivered by Jim Wilson.
It is a very well-prepared presentation, and Jim Wilson’s broad birding
experience presented with his commentary was excellent. This was the first time this one was given
publically. It was so well done,
delivering excellent interesting information on a very complex subject. I would strongly suggest that as these
presentations work their way across the province, not to miss them.
** A branch of LILAC [Lilas] put in a vase of water
on Feb. 19th is now starting to burst into flower – a very pleasant
bit of spring to see happily blooming inside during the snow storm on March 22nd.
** This week’s Easter edition of the
Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this edition, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, March 24
- March 31
This being the week leading up to Easter, let us look for signs of it in
the night sky. Lambs have long been associated with spring and Easter,
so we can start with Aries the Ram in the west. For many, the symbol of
Easter is Peter Cottontail, the Easter Bunny. When darkness sets in we
can see Lepus the Hare below the feet of Orion. I see the constellation
as three vertical pairs of stars, with the brightest pair in the middle
and the widest to the right. With a reasonably dark sky you can see the
bunny ears between the widest pair and Orion’s brightest star, Rigel.
In Germanic mythology, Ostara, the goddess of spring, found a wounded
bird and changed it into a hare so that it could survive. This animal
was allowed to run as fast as it could fly and retained the ability to
lay eggs, which it did in spring to honour its rescuer. The Saxon name
for the goddess was Eostre.
Sunrise services are a popular way to celebrate Easter, and that is a
good time to look for religious Easter symbols in the sky if you are an
hour or two early. The Northern Cross, the most recognizable part of
Cygnus the Swan, is high in the east among the procession of
constellations. Look for semicircular Corona Borealis to the southwest,
one third of the way from the bright star Arcturus toward equally bright
Vega. Can you picture this as a cave with an open door? It does play the
role of a cave in a local aboriginal legend in which the bowl of the Big
Dipper is a bear pursued by seven hunters.
I think the best symbol is seen on the Moon when it is full or nearly
so. When it rises in spring, look for the dark bunny ears to the upper
right. With them identified, it isn’t difficult to picture Peter
Cottontail clutching a giant egg.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:14 am and sunset will occur at
7:37 pm, giving 12 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (7:19 am and 7:41 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:01 am and set at 7:46
pm, giving 12 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (7:06 am and 7:50 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter during Earth Hour on March 24, a great time
to share views of our natural night light. The Mi’kmaq Maple Sugar full
Moon occurs next Saturday, giving us Easter on the following day as it
is the first full Moon of spring. Mercury spends the week plummeting
sunward in the west, on its way to inferior conjunction on April 1.
Venus moves slowly away from the Sun, revealing itself soon after
sunset. Mars is closing in on Saturn, which is above the globular
cluster M22 to the left of the Sagittarius Teapot lid. Jupiter dominates
the morning sky in the southwest.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
This being the week leading up to Easter, let us look for signs of it in
the night sky. Lambs have long been associated with spring and Easter,
so we can start with Aries the Ram in the west. For many, the symbol of
Easter is Peter Cottontail, the Easter Bunny. When darkness sets in we
can see Lepus the Hare below the feet of Orion. I see the constellation
as three vertical pairs of stars, with the brightest pair in the middle
and the widest to the right. With a reasonably dark sky you can see the
bunny ears between the widest pair and Orion’s brightest star, Rigel.
In Germanic mythology, Ostara, the goddess of spring, found a wounded
bird and changed it into a hare so that it could survive. This animal
was allowed to run as fast as it could fly and retained the ability to
lay eggs, which it did in spring to honour its rescuer. The Saxon name
for the goddess was Eostre.
Sunrise services are a popular way to celebrate Easter, and that is a
good time to look for religious Easter symbols in the sky if you are an
hour or two early. The Northern Cross, the most recognizable part of
Cygnus the Swan, is high in the east among the procession of
constellations. Look for semicircular Corona Borealis to the southwest,
one third of the way from the bright star Arcturus toward equally bright
Vega. Can you picture this as a cave with an open door? It does play the
role of a cave in a local aboriginal legend in which the bowl of the Big
Dipper is a bear pursued by seven hunters.
I think the best symbol is seen on the Moon when it is full or nearly
so. When it rises in spring, look for the dark bunny ears to the upper
right. With them identified, it isn’t difficult to picture Peter
Cottontail clutching a giant egg.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:14 am and sunset will occur at
7:37 pm, giving 12 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (7:19 am and 7:41 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:01 am and set at 7:46
pm, giving 12 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (7:06 am and 7:50 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter during Earth Hour on March 24, a great time
to share views of our natural night light. The Mi’kmaq Maple Sugar full
Moon occurs next Saturday, giving us Easter on the following day as it
is the first full Moon of spring. Mercury spends the week plummeting
sunward in the west, on its way to inferior conjunction on April 1.
Venus moves slowly away from the Sun, revealing itself soon after
sunset. Mars is closing in on Saturn, which is above the globular
cluster M22 to the left of the Sagittarius Teapot lid. Jupiter dominates
the morning sky in the southwest.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
Lepus
LILAC. MARCH 22, 2018. NELSON POIRIER
