NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Oct.
6, 2020 (Monday)
To view the photos mentioned in this
edition go to http://nminfoline.blogspot.ca
Please advise editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com
Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Susan Richards susan_richards@rogers.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
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your message to the information line editor nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Jane LeBlanc got a great photo of a
male BLACK-THROATED
BLUE WARBLER [Paruline bleue] that
shows no change from Spring breeding plumage.
Note that distinct small white patch at the base of the primaries that
is a nice ID feature in the bland females and immatures as well.
An EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi]
also dropped by for a portrait. Note the lack of wing bars in this
flycatcher.
Jane also got an excellent photo of a fall
version of the BLACKPOLL WARBLER [Paruline rayée] a warbler that makes significant change
in its fall plumage as an adult (at least to some of us). We had to call on Gilles Belliveau with Jane’s
bird photo and he comments that we see more Blackpoll Warblers in the Fall than
in the Spring when they move through to breed further north and then back in
the Fall. He comments “This bird is
probably a first-fall bird so it ‘technically’ has not made a change yet”
meaning an adult fall bird would have yet a different plumage.
**Aldo Dorio continues to see
young-of-the-year WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW [Bruant à couronne blanche] at Hay Island. This is the only time window we will see this
plumage as they migrate south from northern breeding grounds. They will all be in mature breeding plumage
when they pass through next Spring, occasionally stopping for refueling at
feeders.
**Periodically Ducks Unlimited donate
Wood Duck boxes to Nature Moncton to go to interested members. Fred Richards took 2 early this Spring and
erected them near a newer Ducks Unlimited pond at the end of Rockland Road in
Taylor Village near his home. Fred reports
that one appears to have been successful.
The ducks that use these boxes can so easily go undetected when they are
in use that opening them at this time of year may be the only way to know that
the boxes have been used. The species
that use these boxes are usually WOOD DUCK [Canard branchu], GOLDENEYE [OEIL DORÉ], HOODED MERGANSER [Harle
couronné] and
sometimes COMMON
MERGANSER [Grand Harle]. I had a Hooded Merganser nest in one right in
our yard in Shediac River and, did not know until I saw a female zoom in at
breakneck speed. I checked the box and
eggs were present but left it unchecked again until Fall when all the eggs had
apparently hatched and fledged, by the appearance of the nest, but yet never
saw her again even keeping an eye on the box.
These boxes are large, heavy and expensive to build properly, so the
donated boxes by Ducks Unlimited are appreciated.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
