Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Tuesday 29 October 2019

Oct 29 2019


NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, October 29, 2019 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)


** Jim Carroll surely made Cambridge Narrows the place to be in New Brunswick on Monday after his discovery of a TROPICAL KINGBIRD [Tyran mélancolique] that was visiting there on Sunday. Many birders ‘flocked’ there all day on Monday and although some had to wait for an audience with it I don’t think anyone left without seeing this beautiful visitor. The gorgeous, warm, windless fall day made it perfect for flycatching so the bird stayed, moving about in a relatively small area all day to the quiet clicks of many digital cameras to retain the special moment.  With 2 more pleasant days in store the moments may well continue. This special visitor has really gone out of its way to visit us, normally being found in southern California, Arizona and Mexico.

** Gordon Rattray paid a visit to Gray Brook Marsh in Hillsborough on Monday to find approximately 20 AMERICAN WIGEONS [Canard d'Amérique] contentedly swimming in the pond, however there was 1 male EURASIAN WIGEON [Canard siffleur] with them which Gordon got nice photos of to compare the 2 kin species.

** Louise Nichols spotted a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK [Buse pattue] perched in a tree along the Point-de-Bute Rd. on Monday. Louise comments that this is one of the earliest times that she has seen a Rough-legged Hawk in the Tantramar Marsh area. It will be very interesting to watch the number of Rough-legged Hawks that come to the marsh this year. The Meadow Vole numbers has obviously been low for the last few years and it will be interesting to see if their numbers have rebounded yet to make this site the magnetic site for raptors and birders that it is in some years.

 Louise’s P900 camera is unfortunately having health challenges so she had to settle for a documentary photo of the Rough-legged Hawk. Another very interesting observation from Louise was a small bird’s nest, fresh from the season. It appears to be ‘shingled’ with the nest material from a Bald-faced Hornet’s retired nest. I think being suspended as it is would rule out a hummingbird, but comments as to the identity of its creator would be very much appreciated. It is a very interesting structure for sure.

** David and Anita Cannon have had an interesting scenario take place around their Ammon Rd. home swimming pool. For the past few weeks it has been blanketed by many thousands of SPRINGTAILS [punaise printanière], aka “Snow Fleas”. We are more used to seeing clouds of these tiny, pepper sized insects in spring just as the granular snow appears but of course they can appear at any time of the year, but the massive number visiting the Cannon’s pool is unexpected. These tiny insects have a mechanism under them that allows them to make impressive jumps as they cavort about that gives them the “flea” name. The Cannons have seen a SHADOW DARNER DRAGONFLY [libellule d'ombre darner] in the same area for a few days which may be the same one or more. They wonder if the dragonfly’s interest may be a springtail lunch. A few springtails may make a very small lunch for a large dragonfly, but thousands of them might be quite a different story! We commissioned staff photographer Brian Stone to get a photo of the springtails, but he suspects that their small size may be outside of his photographic capability. Springtails are totally harmless.

**   NORTHERN CARDINALS [Cardinal rouge] surely are gradually making their way to Moncton. They are now well established from Saint John to Sussex, with a small contingent in the Moncton to Miramichi area. Suzanne Rousseau sends some photos of a pair of these beautiful birds that she photographed from her Sussex dining room table. Hopefully Suzanne will pass along to them information on the great feeders and nesting habitat just an hour away in the Moncton area.

** Gabriel Gallant comments on how great this season has been for mushrooms, the best in recent memory for him. Tanya and Gabriel have been picking HORSE MUSHROOMS [champignon de cheval] (Agaricus arvensis) from lawns on a stretch of road from Bouctouche to Sainte-Marie-de-Kent for months. They have been dehydrating whatever they can’t eat right away. The last 3 weeks have been very good for finding HEN OF THE WOODS MUSHROMS [champignon poule des bois] at the base of large oak trees. The dehydrator has been working overtime after picking 8 hen of the woods totalling nearly 20 lbs of mushrooms. Gabriel’s comments on Hen of the Woods mushrooms are interesting as this mushroom is normally not all that common but when found it is always worth checking the same spot each year. Gabriel has obviously found a series of Oak trees that host this mushroom regularly; normally very late in the season, often in October, and it is a choice edible.

** Aldo Dorio photographed a male NORTHERN PINTAIL DUCK [Canard pilet] at Hay Island on Monday. It appears to be molting out of its eclipse plumage and will soon be sporting its long, flowing tail feathers. It seemed to be buddying up with an AMERICAN BLACK DUCK [Canard noir].


Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton






TROPICAL KINGBIRD. OCT. 28, 2019. BRIAN STONE

TROPICAL KINGBIRD. OCT. 28, 2019. BRIAN STONE

TROPICAL KINGBIRD. OCT. 28, 2019. BRIAN STONE

TROPICAL KINGBIRD. OCT. 28, 2019. BRIAN STONE

TROPICAL KINGBIRD. OCT. 28, 2019. BRIAN STONE

EURASIAN WIGEON (MALE). OCT 28, 2019. GORDON RATTRAY

AMERICAN WIGEON (MALE). OCT 28, 2019. GORDON RATTRAY

BIRD'S NEST . OCT. 28, 2019. LOUISE NICHOLS

BIRD'S NEST . OCT. 28, 2019. LOUISE NICHOLS

NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE). OCT 25, 2019. SUZANNE ROUSSEAU

NORTHERN CARDINAL (PAIR). OCT 25, 2019. SUZANNE ROUSSEAU
SPRINGTAILS AKA SNOW FLEAS. OCT 26, 2019. DAVID CANNON

CAT ON SPRINGTAIL AKA SNOW FLEA CHECK. OCT 26, 2019. DAVID CANNON

SHADOW DARNER DRAGONFLY. OCT 27, 2019. DAVID CANNON

NORTHERN PINTAIL DUCK (MALE). OCT 28, 2019.  ALDO DORIO

NORTHERN PINTAIL DUCK (MALE) AND BLACK DUCK. OCT 28, 2019.  ALDO DORIO

NORTHERN PINTAIL DUCK (MALE) AND BLACK DUCK. OCT 28, 2019.  ALDO DORIO

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. OCT. 28, 2019. LOUISE NICHOLS