Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 12 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, 12 October 2019 (Saturday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Catherine Clements

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

**Louise Nichols spotted a dowitcher [Bécassin] in the Chignecto National Wildlife Area (on the far side of the Amherst Point Migratory Bird Sanctuary) on Friday. There were no other dowitchers in the area. The only other shorebirds present were three LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Petit Chevalier]. It is that time of year when we are more apt to see LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS [Bécassin à long bec], but being sure it’s not a late SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER [Bécassin roux] is difficult for most of us, unless we can hear the “peet” call which is distinctively different from the Short-billed Dowitcher. The barring on the tertials of the Short-billed Dowitcher and lack of it on Long-billed Dowitcher juveniles is a helpful clue. Louise’s bird does have relatively unmarked tertials. However, Gilles Belliveau points out this bird is in winter plumage, so the lack of barring or internal stripe on the tertials is rather irrelevant, since both species have unmarked tertials in winter plumage. Gilles also comments that he’s not sure if juveniles would still be retaining juvenile plumage at this point, but he thinks they would, so this may be an adult in winter plumage. Gilles also comments that as to species, it’s not something he can quantify with certainty from this photo, but something about it just looks like Long-billed Dowitcher to him (structurally). After a lot of musing by several of us, we are labelling the bird as “suspected Long-billed Dowitcher”. The les Ami.e.s de la nature du sud-est du N-B group did report a Long-billed Dowitcher on Thursday at the Bouctouche Rotary Park wetland area on their regular weekly outing. This may be a long dissertation on Long-billed Dowitcher, but this time window is our only kick at the can!

**Brian Stone recently got a photo from two angles of a MULTI-COLOURED ASIAN LADY BEETLE [Coccinelle asiatique]. This is the most frequently-seen markings, but there are two other morphs of this species that are marked differently, one with almost no spotting at all. This is the most likely species to be found overwintering in crevices and corners in our homes. This species is introduced, not native. Our native species would not overwinter in our homes.

**The seabed of our waterways and oceans has such a large community we just don’t often get to see. They just don’t perch in front of us like birds on land or land mammals. The ATLANTIC SEA RAVEN [Hémitriptère atlantique] is a very unusual-looking fish in the Sculpin [Chabot] family. It’s a bottom-dweller and seems like it is predominantly mouth and tail, with an array of colourfully-marked fins and some very ominous spines. One decided to choose my bait while I was fishing near the Bay of Fundy on Friday, and it was detained briefly for a few photos before being returned to resume its mission of the day. The fish in the photo is approximately 14 inches in length.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton