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Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Thursday 31 May 2018

May 30 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, May 30, 2018 ( Wednesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier  nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Transcript by: Judy Marsh  marshj @nbnet.nb,ca
Info Line # (384-NEWS)

** Sybil Wentzell in Harvey has had an INDIGO BUNTING [Passerin indigo] dropping by her feeder yard the past few days. Sybil feels it may be the same one that has been seen at other feeder yards in the area. But, if it is, it would seem to be showing less brown areas than earlier photos seem to show. If it is indeed the same one, possibily it is a first year male molting into breeding plumage. Sybil comments it is a very shy bird coming and going and getting the great photos that she did had to be done with care.
** Jim Johnson had a good day around his Scotch Settlement yard. He has two pairs of CLIFF SWALLOW [Hirondelle à front blanc] building mud nests under the eaves of two garages. New nest sites of this in trouble swallow species is always welcome news. These two pairs have surely chosen the right yard to build in as they will be protected and nest undisturbed.
  Jim  had an EASTERN BLUEBIRD [Merlebleu de l'Est] checking things out. He has kept putting up an extra bird box to make one available for a bluebird pair as his  posse of TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] keep taking all the boxes. Jim also saw a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD [Moqueur polyglotte] drop by his yard on Tuesday.

** Roger LeBlanc and Alain Clavette did a birding run from the Germantown Marsh to Fundy Narional Park on Tuesday, tallying ninety-one different bird species and that included no gulls. So, as Roger suggests, a day of 100 species is not out of range at the moment during migration. They saw 18 different Warbler species, that included MOURNING WARBLER [Paruline triste], CANADA WARBLER [Paruline du Canada], TENNESSEE WARBLER [Paruline obscure] and lots of BAY-BREASTED WARBLER [Paruline à poitrine baie] at Fundy National Park. The Tennessee Warblers were singing robustly. Roger comments it is a great time to get out and go birding.

** Krista shares a photo of an adult male BOBOLINK [Goglu des prés] from her Lewis Mountain home, as well as a female YELLOW WARBLER [Paruline jaune]. Note, the female Yellow Warbler  lacks the reddish breast stripes of her male kin. Again, so great to hear of all the Bobolink reports. Let's hope many of them will find fallow fields to make their ground nests, so nesting can be complete before early forage cuts are made on agricultural fields.

** Sue Richards reports of the nine swallow nest boxes they have out on the marsh on the Memramcook River in front of their Taylor Village home now have four Tree Swallow pairs around them.

** Nice to hear of another Eastern Bluebird pair taking up residence. Aldo Dorio has a pair moving into a nest box in his Neguac yard doing their required nest preparations.

** A few years ago Cornell University did a research project on nesting tubes made from PVC pipe tubing, designed for BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE [Mésange à tete noire] and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] and had reported good success with them. I made some up at the time and had Black-capped Chickadees using some of them both at home and at our camp. This year one is being used by a Black-capped Chickadee pair at home and suspect one is in use at the camp. At the moment the Chickadees are acting coy. A bird appears at the hole, drops something off and quickly leaves. I suspect it is probably a male bird dropping off snacks to an incubating female. I have never had a Red-breasted Nuthatch use one of the tubes, even though there are lots around the camp area. The one photographed is painted. The one at the camp is white and on a white birch tree blends in very well with the background. I am suspecting this is a significant factor.


Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
 
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE OCCUPIED NEST TUBE.MAY 29, 2018. NELSON POIRIER 

BOBOLINK (MALE).MAY 28, 2018. KRISTA

EASTERN BLUEBIRD. MAY 29, 2018. ALDO DORIO

EASTERN BLUEBIRD. MAY 29, 2018. ALDO DORIO

INDIGO BUNTING. MAY 28, 2018. SYBIL WENTZELL 

INDIGO BUNTING. MAY 28, 2018. SYBIL WENTZELL 

TREE SWALLOW TAKING RESIDENCE.MAY 28, 2018. SUE RICHARDS

YELLOW WARBLER (FEMALE).MAY 28, 2018. KRISTA