NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Nov.
30, 2020 (Monday)
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)
To respond by e-mail, please address
your message to the information line editor nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com.
**Gordon Rattray comments things have been
quiet at his Weldon feeder yard the last few days except for some RING-NECKED PHEASANT
[Faisan de Colchide] arriving. He went down to Edgett’s landing to visit the
regularly appearing Juvenile RED-HEADED WOODPECKER [Pic à tête rouge] at Dwayne Biggar’s feeder yard. Gordon got some nice photos of it from
different angles as well as a flight photo.
He also dropped by John Inman’s Mary’s Point Road feeder yard. A small flock of EVENING GROSBEAK [Gros-bec
errant] came in as well as an
AMERICAN
TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsonien]
to be photographed.
**Louise Nichols sure had her day start
off great when she got up to look out her window to see a BARRED OWL [Chouette
rayée] perched on a bird
feeder pole. It was very likely
surveying the area for possible shrews or voles. Shrews and voles are very common under our
bird feeders but we seldom see them as they are so nocturnal. It is great potential prey for a Barred
Owl. These mammals may seem like small
prey but they are like an all dressed Big Mac to us! Louise’s excellent photos show it very
intently surveying the ground area. It
must have liked what it found as Louise spotted it again at sunset on Sunday
evening scouting the same area from a tree branch. Louise saw it fly up from the ground then
another owl-like bird that seemed to be smaller fly up behind it but it all
happened so fast she was not able to be certain it was a Barred Owl however
with owls like most raptors, the female is significantly bigger than the male.
Louise also photographed what appears to be a
squirrel nest on their Aulac property that recently became clearly visible with
the leaf fall.
**Brian Coyle got some great video footage
with his trail camera on/ about September 20th that shows some
interaction between a sow BLACK BEAR [Ours noir] and her triplets. They were
getting quite large by that point but as you can see in the video they are
still nursing occasionally from their mother.
The interaction between the three cubs and the interaction with their
mother is very special to see. Something
we would be very unlikely to ever witness unless from the obscurity from a
trail camera. Take a look at the
activity in the 30 -second video links below.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbiptayfilsdny5/STC_0014.AVI?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zr6ninrbyksmcfv/STC_0015.AVI?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lm1tsdgcjgx553y/STC_0017%20%281%29.AVI?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/09p21jk1sneajt8/STC_0019%20%281%29.AVI?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wostkk6749u24cf/STC_0020%20%281%29.AVI?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9ejl4t4z6wxn8x/STC_0021%20%281%29.AVI?dl=0
**We do not see GREAT CORMORANT [Grand
Cormoran] near as much as DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT
[Cormoran à aigrettes] but
they do show up this time of year and spring in migration along the coast.
Verica Leblanc photographed a juvenile GREAT CORMORANT at Pointe-Sapin on November 12th
that shows a section of its secondary feathers that appear heavily worn or
twisted especially on the right wing. I
photographed a Great Cormorant on Nov. 27 that Elaine Gallant had seen earlier
at Pointe-du-Chene wharf. Oddly a
section of the secondary feathers are appearing the same as in Verica’s
photo. One would have to wonder of the
possibility of this being the same bird.
Verica’s photos in Pointe-Sapin and mine from Pointe-du-Chene are
attached.
**It’s a heads-up to mark on the calendar
the Nature Moncton December meeting will take place, virtually, on Tuesday
December 8th at 7 p.m. with David Palmer, author of the popular book
‘Great Trees of New Brunswick’, will give a presentation. The link for anyone to join in will be posted
on the blog spot for a few days before the meeting. The write-up is attached below.
NATURE MONCTON DECEMBER MEETING
“The Great Trees of New Brunswick”
Date: Dec.
8th, 2020
Time: 7:00
PM
Presenter: David
Palmer
** This will be a virtual meeting. Check the Nature Moncton Information Line
BlogSpot for updates on how to connect.
David Palmer
obtained his MSc in Forestry from UNB and is past president of both the
Canadian Forestry Association of New Brunswick and the Conservation Council of
New Brunswick.
Join David Palmer for a fascinating
journey that will take us across New Brunswick to learn about the many trees
that surround us and to appreciate the endurance and grandeur of some of the
province’s greatest trees.
** If we
were meeting in person, David would have copies of his books for members to
purchase. Undoubtedly, he will tell us
where best to order them.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
