Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 8 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, 8 February 2020 (Saturday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Catherine Clements

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

**Brian Coyle arrived to his Upper Mountain Road home late in the day on February 6th to find an incredible maze of either MEADOW VOLE [Campagnol des champs] or Shrew [Musaraigne] trails everywhere, all through his back yard and all across his driveway. The fresh snow of Thursday made for a perfect substrate to see the after trails of the action. There must have been a good number of them or else a few very lively ones! Brian’s photos show what we often see under our feeders as snow melts in the spring.

**Daryl Doucet had yet another new arrival to his Moncton feeder yard on Friday. A lone PINE SISKIN [Tarin des pins] joined the AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] troop. Note the smaller size than the Goldfinch, the smaller forcep-like beak, and the heavy striping. Some folks have reported seeing flocks of Pine Siskin in the wild, but there have been few visiting feeders.

**Anna Tucker had a pleasant encounter with a large flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d'Amérique] in the Jones Lake area of Moncton on Thursday, in the falling snow. They were feasting on the abundant Mountain-ash [Sorbier des oiseaux] crop in the area. There were no BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal] noted among them; however, one Robin [Merle d'Amérique] was travelling with them, and in full song. These Waxwings would be an overwintering group, which has become more common in recent years. Those that migrate south are often late returning. Anna also got a nice photo of a female MALLARD [Canard colvert] posing, to show the saddle patch on the female Mallard’s bill, to quickly identify it from the female BLACK DUCK [Canard noir] in breeding plumage.

**Gulls [Goéland] are so common that we often neglect to appreciate them. Differentiating the immature and mature plumages is not as difficult as it may suggest. Alain Clavette will be giving a Gull Workshop on Saturday, February 15th. This workshop will be given in French, and the poster is included with information in the photo section.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton