NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, October 27, 2019 (Sunday)
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Info Line #: 506-384-6397
(384-NEWS)
** It’s great to start seeing the late-fall,
uncommon visitors to New Brunswick. Frank Branch got a great photo of a male
EASTERN TOWHEE [Tohi à flancs roux] on Saturday afternoon, while birding with
Michel Roy on Miscou Island.
** Brian Stone checked Mapleton Park to find a RED SQUIRREL
[Écureuil roux] going fruitarian, enjoying some over-ripe Choke Cherries [Cerisierà
grappes]. He came across a WINTERBERRY [Houx verticillé] holly shrub abundantly
laden with fruit and green leaves still intact. An ORANGE JELLY-FUNGUS was doing its best to create a face
appropriate for Hallowe’en. A second of two BALD-FACED HORNETS [Guèpe à taches
blanches] was very high in a tree, compared to a low-hanging one he recently
noted at the park. Both were quite tattered as if something may have broken
them.
** Susan Richards was recently in Kew Gardens, in London,
England. This is a very popular spot for visitors to London. Susan spotted a
COMMON MOORHEN [Poule d’eau] as it scooted across a path from a dug-out spot.
Common Moorhens are very common in England and Wales. It is considered a
different species from the COMMON GALLINULE [Gallinule d’Amérique] that we get
from time to time in New Brunswick.
Susan also got a photo of the striking MANDARIN DUCK [Mandarin]
and its much more conservatively dressed female mate. Roger Burrows points out
that this duck was introduced into Britain and is now a local breeding species.
Roger’s experience with British birds also identified a LITTLE EGRET [Aigrette
garzette] photo that is widespread and common now, all along the British
coastline, and is a rare visitor to the Maritimes. Roger also identified the
EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER [Huitrier-pie], so similar to the American Oystercatcher
but note the pink legs, which is the one feature to easily separate them. The
curlew that Susan photographed in Wales is a EURASIAN CURLEW [Courlis cendré]
not the Long-billed Curlew of North America. The shorebird group includes
mostly COMMON REDSHANKS [Chevalier gambette], 2 Eurasian Oystercatchers
[Huitrier-pie], and what Roger thought might be one COMMON BLACK-HEADED GULL [Mouette
rieuse]. Roger also comments that October is a good month for shorebirds in
Britain, with most species overwintering along the coast.
I’m running Susan’s photos because there’s always the chance of
one of these appearing in the Maritime Provinces. So be ready for these mega
rarities for us in New Brunswick. Susan also had a photo of a sign posted not
to feed the birds. It sure looks like it means business
Nature Moncton
EASTERN TOWHEE. OCT 26, 2019. FRANK BRANCH
ORANGE JELLY FUNGUS. OCT. 26, 2019. BRIAN STONE
RED SQUIRREL. OCT. 26, 2019. BRIAN STONE
WINTERBERRY HOLLY. OCT. 26, 2019. BRIAN STONE
WINTERBERRY HOLLY. OCT. 26, 2019. BRIAN STONE
BALD-FACED HORNET'S NEST. OCT. 26, 2019. BRIAN STONE
MANDARIN DUCK (MALE AND FEMALE). OCT 2019. SUSAN RICHARDS
LITTLE EGRET. OCT 16, 2019. SUSAN RICHARDS
COMMON MOORHEN. OCT 9, 2019. SUSAN RICHARDS
EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER. OCT 16, 2019. SUSAN RICHARDS
EURASIAN CURLEW. OCT 16, 2019. SUSAN RICHARDS
SHOREBIRDS IN WALES (COMMON REDSHANKS, A FEW EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHERS, AND A POSSIBLE COMMON BLACK-HEADED GULL). OCT 16, 2019. SUSAN RICHARDS
FEEDING BIRDS SIGN. OCT 16, 2019. SUSAN RICHARDS