Nature Moncton Nature News: April 8 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 08, 2020 (Wednesday)

To view the photos mentioned in this edition go to http://nminfoline.blogspot.ca .

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling. Note that corrections, deletions, or delayed additions may not always appear on the Info Line and email transcript but will always appear on the BlogSpot. For this reason, it is recommended that those wishing to look at historical records use the BlogSpot rather than the email transcript. The BlogSpot can always be accessed from the website.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** GART Bishop mentioned finding CROWBERRY in bloom in the Cape Spenser, Saint John area recently. Gart took some documentary cell phone photos that are attached. Gart points out that this is a male plant that he has taken the photos of. Gart also points out that Crowberry is an evergreen member of the Heather family that is usually found along the coast as a dense ground cover. It does indeed bloom in April but its juicy, black fruit is not ripe until August. The sexes are on different plants. The small blooms are only 2 mm. and are nestled down in the needle-like leaves to be easily overlooked.

** Richard Blacquiere has been watching the rapidly growing waterfowl assemblage at the Hampton Lagoon. A pleasant surprise present on Tuesday was a male RUDDY DUCK [Érismature rousse]. Distance made the photo documentary but positive. That wedgewood blue bill of the spring male is striking!

** Anita and David Cannon spent much of the late afternoon on Tuesday watching a male PILEATED WOODPECKER [Grand pic] and were nothing short of impressed by how much of a tree one bird could decimate in a few hours. The attached photos show the few hour effort. I suspect that woodpecker did not retire hungry Tuesday evening.

Dave Christie comments he had his first male BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD appear to accept his yard ground offerings on Tuesday morning in the company of COMMON GRACKLES and a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. A bit later as he was watching the bay from his home, a male NORTERN HARRIER perched atop a conifer tree to briefly survey the area.

** Daryl Doucet and Gail Mills visited the Cassie Cape wharf on Tuesday to get a nice photograph of several male BLACK SCOTERS [Macreuse noire] with one female with them. COMMON EIDERS [Eider à duvet] were also there as well as a RING-BILLED GULL [Goéland à bec cerclé] watching over things.

** Pat Gibbs has a regular male RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de Colchide] patron and now lots of COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé] have arrived to the pheasant’s disgust. It took after one and caught it. She was not sure of the outcome, but found a chunk of black feathers later so the pheasant apparently got the point across. Pat also got a pleasant MOURNING DOVE [Tourterelle triste] photo as well as one of a SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur] chiming from the top of a Cedar tree.

** Bob Blake comments that they usually has about 5 resident EASTERN CHIPMUNKS [Suisse] during the summer. The first one appeared out of winter torpor on Monday.

** Brian Stone ventured cautiously out into his driveway from his isolation on Tuesday evening to await the arrival of the April full Moon which is the largest and brightest of the year. As he waited for the Moon to clear the low cloud cover he turned his camera to the opposite side of the sky to capture a wide angle view displaying the position of the bright planet Venus to demonstrate its height above the horizon. Back on the other side of the sky as the Moon began to climb above the clouds a neighbor decided to celebrate by adding his own light show to the natural one unfolding. Two for the price of one! Brian also included a picture of his CROCUS just coming into bloom, a bit behind some others in town.

** A portion of the Little Southwest Miramichi River in front of our camp is open and I was surprised to see an adult BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] at the edge of the ice looking into the water for some time. It must have had a reason to be doing so but it would seem like an unlikely spot to be able to capture anything.

On Wednesday morning, a pair of BLACK DUCKS was sitting in the same spot, no doubt with other things in mind. This waterfowl species is one of the few where genders are very similar except the yellow bill of the male and greenish bill of the female.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton