Nature Moncton Nature News: April 19 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 19, 2020 (Sunday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com

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

** Alma Beck was surprised to find an unfamiliar bird in her front yard at Cape Spencer, outside of Saint John, on Saturday and got a documentary photo to show it was a DOVEKIE [Mergule nain]. The Dovekie is normally a very pelagic bird and would only be on land accidentally, as it normally cannot get airborne if it ends up on land as it did in this case.

As Roger Burrows has suggested, it may have been the strong winds recently that pushed it to land. When one is found on land, it is best to capture and release it in the nearest body of water. If not hurt, it will fly off. In this case the bird disappeared shortly after the photo was taken, so hopefully made its way to safety before a raptor spotted it.

** Louise Nichols got some excellent photos of the GIANT WATER-BUG [Hémiptère aquatique] that her husband Glen found while pulling grass. These are large and can give a good nip if handled. They are aggressive predators of tadpoles, small fish, small newts, etc. They usually over-winter under water as adults and can be seen this time of year, moving about on land to mate.

Glen’s honey bees [bourdon] are now flying and have been for at least a week. Even a week ago, he could see they were bringing back pollen. From where is a mystery but they guessed the bees were finding Coltsfoot [Pas-d’âne] flowers somewhere. A photo is attached of one of the bees in crocus flowers.

WOOD FROGS [Grenouille des bois] were loud and active on Saturday afternoon in a small pond in back of their house. This pond is only a foot deep and probably about 20 feet in diameter. Frogs of all types seem to love it. Louise could see about 4 or 5 Wood Frogs at a time in it on Saturday, vocalizing constantly. A photo of one is attached, but from a distance. She felt that if she got too close they would all disappear. She found Wood Frog eggs in that pond last year and expects them again, after Saturday’s commotion.

** The GREAT HORNED OWL [Grand-duc d’Amérique] is a very early nester and young owlets are now nest fledglings in most nesting scenarios. One known nest in southeastern New Brunswick now has two plump owlets looking out of the nest, but the location is not made public to avoid disturbance at this critical time.

** Yvette Richard photographed two handsome male COMMON EIDERS [Eider à duvet] sunning themselves at Caissie Cape wharf on Saturday.

Yvette also photographed a male EURASIAN WIGEON [Canard siffleur] that was out for a paddle in front of the Cocagne Motel, accompanied by NORTHERN SHOVELERS [Canard souchet] and AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d’Amérique].

** Brent Renton had a BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] experience from his home yard on the Shediac River. SMELT [Éperlan] are moving up that river in large numbers at the moment, and several Bald Eagles were after them. It seems like small fare for an eagle, but I suspect they know what they were doing.

** This message was missed for yesterday’s edition. Dave Christie reported that he had 5 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] that over-wintered in his yard area but moved off a few weeks ago. On a walk nearby recently he heard one vocalization. He has heard SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur] singing since March 16, but more so now. NORTHERN FLICKERS [Pic flamboyant] are now seriously ground-foraging in his yard.

Dave reports that John Inman at 225 Mary’s Point Road had his first YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER [Pic maculé] on April 15 and saw 3 TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] over the river. The NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] that John had during the winter disappeared for almost a month but returned to his yard on Friday.

** Daryl Doucet shares a whole-body photo of a GREAT BLUE HERON [Grand Héron] showing the black breeding plumes and the rufous thigh, then zoomed in close to show it more clearly. It is wearing its hair nicely, not like the rest of us that are in desperate need of a barber or hairdresser at the moment!

** Verica LeBlanc in Miramichi comments that she never tires of sunsets, pointing out that each one is different in formation and intensity. Verica comments that they are best taken from outside but they change so quickly that she often shoots photos of them from her bedroom window, like the photos attached that she took on Friday night, where at first there were some grays and blues showing that soon turned to violet.

Theresa McCready has had a Brown Thrasher patronizing her Cambridge area feeder yard most of the winter. On Saturday, it was joined by a Fox Sparrow. We would rarely see these two species side by side and at first glance, the new visitor looked like a miniature version of Theresa’s Brown Thrasher!

** I’ve got a MASON BEE [Mégachile] structure under an eave on our Moncton home. A photo is attached. I didn’t think it was attracting bees, so I took it down on Saturday to throw it away, as the bamboo tubes are 10 inches long and vary in hole size. Recommendations call for a 5-inch hole, 5/16 of an inch in diameter as choice. When taking it down I noticed a nest deep in the holes so laid it in the warm sun. Dozens of Mason Bees started emerging. The male bees emerge first and have white on the face that indicates gender. Some of those emerging were still covered with mud from the nest. The males emerge, then the females, and they mate. The female then gathers pollen, puts a packet of it in a mud-enclosed nest and lays an egg on the pollen. The egg will become an adult by early spring and emerge, as they did on Saturday.

I have found a new type of nest structure that has all the right specs and is not made of wood, to protect the nest from woodpeckers foraging. I have had the new nest structures for two years now at our camp and they are very productive, with many Mason Bees emerging on warm days in late April and May.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton