Nature Moncton Nature News: April 9 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 09, 2020 (Thursday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** The Yellow-rumped Warbler and the Palm Warbler are often the first warbler species to join us. Sybil Wentzel spotted a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune] that touched down just only feet away from her deck in Harvey on Wednesday to get some good observations to confirm its identity. It was a very bright, adult spring male. Sybil tried for a photo but it did not wait long enough for that to this point.

** It is interesting to hear of the CEDAR WAXWING’S [Jaseur d'Amérique] interest in clinging Highbush Cranberry fruit as in Jamie Burris’s photos. This is supposed to be a fruit of last resort, but Cedar Waxwings don’t seem to think so at the moment. The fruit in the photos does not seem to be as dehydrated as the remnant Mountain Ash berries so possibly it becomes more attractive later in the season. Jamie also got a photo of a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] doing a circular, kettling flight very high on April 4^th. It was several hundred meters above his home so it seems small even at the limit of Jamie’s photo optics. It rather suggests that this raptor was in migration.

** GREAT BLUE HERONS [Grand Héron] are moving in. David Christie tallied 6 in the salt water marsh across from the fresh water Lars Larsen marsh at Harvey on Wednesday. They were quite spread out in the salt water pools.

TURKEY VULTURES are swelling in numbers in the Hopewell Hill and Harvey area as well.

** Jane Leblanc got 2 photos of GREEN-WINGED TEALS [Sarcelle d'hiver] that numbered up to a dozen in the St. Martins area on Tuesday. One photo shows 2 female Green-winged Teals with one nicely showing that bright, green wing speculum. Another photo shows a pair. Jane also sends a photo showing the high, full moon tide on April 08. A photo was taken from route 111 where it meets the West Quaco Rd. looking towards the Fundy Trail to show the extent of flooding.

** Daryl Doucet shares a photo of an exploding into bloom clump of CROCUS on his Moncton front lawn. Note the pollen obvious in the open blossoms that must be very welcome to early emerging bees and other pollen connoisseurs. Daryl drove down the coast from Bouctouche on Wednesday and comments that there were hundreds of Scoters. He got photos of BLACK SCOTERS [Macreuse noire] coming closer showing a group of 7, all males except for 1 female in the group.

** I was able to get around to check 11 Nature Moncton nest boxes from last year to clean them out and put in insecticide for flea control for the upcoming season. All 11 had been occupied by Tree Swallows and 2 had an unhatched or a broken egg. There was only 1 flea located so the insecticide treatment seems to have worked and all nests were examined carefully. One box had an apparent Black-capped Chickadee nest on top of the used swallow nest, made from a thick layer of ground moss which is typical of Black-capped Chickadee nests. Another nest box had a thick layer of Old Man’s Beard lichen above the used swallow nest. This was the only box that had a minor amount of chew marks around the entrance, but no clue as to who dunnit.

This scenario is similar to what David Cannon found when checking one of his Saw-whet Owl nest boxes recently. As with David’s find it was very clean with no evidence of food or soiling. Some critter out there likes building winter nests with Old Man’s Beard lichen. A Deer Mouse or Squirrel would be possible rule outs. I also put up 4 more nest boxes in the area. All are on utility poles, mostly roadside, and are very easy to install.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton