Nature Moncton Nature News: March 7 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, 7 March 2020 (Saturday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Catherine Clements

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

**Doreen Rossiter reports the COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé] arrived in full force on Friday to her Alma feeder yard, with a group of 100+ dropping down. They far outnumbered the RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à epaulettes] at approximately 6, and 3 EUROPEAN STARLINGS [Étourneau sansonnet] were accompanying them. Doreen comments they made a striking scene against the white snow.

**Another WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLAR [chenille d'Isia Isabelle] reports in. Jean-Paul LeBlanc photographed one moving along warm pavement on Friday morning. The Woolly Bear Caterpillar is the larval caterpillar stage of the ISABELLA TIGER MOTH [Isia Isabelle] we will see flying probably by late June. The moth overwinters as the larval caterpillar stage and tends to move about on warmer days, as Jean-Paul found. It will go into a cocooned pupa stage in the spring to emerge later as an adult, doing its life stages differently from the majority of moths and caterpillars.

**The winter CHIPPING SPARROW [Bruant familier] that I have had as a patron all winter is just starting to show some early changes in plumage to breeding plumage. The crown of the head has become a more solid rufous and the white midline of earlier is shrinking, but bill colour still remains predominantly fleshy-coloured except for the very dorsal surface (culmen). The facial white seems to be becoming brighter, to make it easier to pick out among the AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien].

It’s a quiet day so am attaching a few photos of the WHITE ASH TREE, PRIVET shrub, and MULTIFLORA ROSE in winter, all with winter clinging fruit/seeds that wildlife forage on.

The White Ash tree is not a large example but shows the winter clinging samara some birds enjoy. The White Ash like the Red Ash is dioecious meaning male pollen flowers and female seed flowers are produced on different trees. The one in the photo would be a female tree. The bark is mature enough to see the diamond shaped wedges which the Red Ash has as well but not as pronounced. The horseshoe shaped leaf scar under the bud of the White Ash can be seen but not clearly.

The Privet shrub shows the shrunken winter clinging berries birds enjoy. Privet is a cultivar hedge not particularly popular today but this shrub was growing on the wild around Jones Lake in Moncton. The opposite winter buds show well.

Winter clinging Multiflora Rose hips are also popular with birds. It seems to be popping up more in NB. It is considered invasive but birds don’t mind. I recall going out on birding days with groups in Halifax and the Multiflora Rose patches were popular sites to check out.

**The New Brunswick Environmental Network is sponsoring a very interesting looking day-long session entitled “Integrating Nature in Adapting to a Changing Climate” on March 18th in Moncton. The complete agenda and registration details are at the attached site. The cost at the reduced price ended March 6th; I was not aware this event was taking place to get this information out earlier on this site.

https://www.nben.ca/en/26-activities/temp

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton