Nature Moncton Nature News: April 17 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 17,2019 (Wednesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Judy Marsh marshj@nbnet.nb.ca

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

**A very special thank you to Dave Mazerolle for his presentation to Nature Moncton on Tuesday evening to share his contagious enthusiasm and vast awareness of all the spring flowers that will soon / already be appearing. Several are already in bloom and some like the heat producing SKUNK CABBAGE may have already melted in their snow holes to complete their blooming period . Lots of shrubs like ALDER, ASPEN and WILLOW are already doing their thing and lots more plant species, large and small are about to burst forth. Dave covered the period up into June and it is amazing just how many will have finished flowering by then when the late arisers will take over. I suspect Dave will have many people taking closer looks to see what they may have overlooked before.

**Sharon Seeley at 4 Price Street in Petitcodiac has had a few interesting bird species coming to her feeder area for a while now. A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD [Moqueur polyglotte] is a regular, suspected to be a male as it now is imitating the clothesline wheel sound, a pair of NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] have been quite regular for some time now and a male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER [Pic à ventre roux] is a regular/irregular that seems to pop in on an irregular schedule to get its suet fix.

** The PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] seem to be moving back in greater numbers. Gordon Rattray had a pair arrive to his Weldon feeder yard on Tuesday to get an excellent photo of both male and female together. Take close note of the female that can be confused with the female HOUSE FINCH [Roselin familier], which lacks the white facial marks and later the female ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK [Cardinal à poitrine rose], which has the same white facial white marks and features in general but is larger with a more stout bill. Gordon said more PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] arrived later in the afternoon. Gordon comments the bird numbers are down even with the new arrivials. He still has a FOX SPARROW [Bruant fauve] and one lone COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin flammé].

**Georges Brun noted a COMMON EIDER [Eider à duvet] immature male feeding at the mouth of Hall's Creek along the edge of the river on Monday. There is a big gathering of GULLS there as well at the moment. Georges comments the ice banks are starting to fall into the river and move off with warmer weather as it is some days at the moment.

**MERGANSERS are showing lots of activity in the waters around Hay Island. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER [Harle huppé] males seemed to predominate the activity with some showing their spring over the water rush movements to impress females. A few COMMON MERGANSER [Grand Harle] are at that salt water site as well but one female cooperated with Aldo Dorio to get a photo. Aldo also got a documentary photo of a NORTHERN SHRIKE [Pie-grièche grise]. Don't forget to be tuned in for the vocalizations of the male of this species at this time of year before they head back north.

**Jane LeBlanc has been hearing a PILEATED WOODPECKER [Grand pic] around her St. Martin's home for several days. On Monday it ventured into her yard to check out a dead/dying ASPEN tree and she got a photo showing it to be a female, lacking the red moustache mark of the male and the red cap not running to the bill as it does in the male.

**Daryl Doucet had a mini WOODPECKER invasion on Monday, with three HAIRY WOODPECKERS [Pic chevelu] all at the feeder at the same time and in the same photo frame. Possibily the two females there at one time brought the male to promptly check out the scene. Daryl also got a portrait of a cooperative DARK-EYED JUNCO [Junco ardoisé] and an adult RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD [Carouge à épaulettes].

**Very much in follow up to Tuesday's night Spring's Wild Plant presentation, Brian Stone got a photo of ALDER shrubs in bloom, one of our early bloomers, at Mapleton Park. Note the long male catkins which are the male blooms producing pollen and the smaller brown female parts which will form the cone like seed structures, both genders on the same shrub.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton