NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, December
23, 2020 (Wednesday)
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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)
** Roger Leblanc leaves an up to the
moment report on the Moncton Christmas Bird Count on December 19th
with not all reports in yet. Some highlights are:
-3 AMERICAN WIGEONS [Canard d'Amérique] (only the 4th time in 60 years)
-2 SPRUCE GROUSE [Tétras du Canada] (only the 4th time in 60 years)
-6 GLAUCOUS GULLS [Goéland bourgmestre]
- 2 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS [Goéland
brun]
- 1 SWAMP SPARROW [Bruant des marais]
-
1 MERLIN [Faucon émerillon]
- 20 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES
[Sittelle à poitrine blanche] (lots everywhere this year and this is a record
for the Moncton CBC with the previous high number being 11 in 2003)
-
3 PINE WARBLERS [Paruline des pins] …
- 14 NORTHERN CARDINALS [Cardinal
rouge] (up to now, with possibly more coming in with other reporting feeders,
and another record with the highest number before being 7 in 1995)
-
1,163 COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé]
(the second highest number ever after 1,946 in 1993)
-
1 HOARY REDPOLL [Sizerin blanchâtre] (only the 3rd time in 60 years)
- 1 HERMIT THRUSH [Grive solitaire]
(only the 3rd time in 60 years)
-
2 GREAT HORNED OWLS [Grand-duc d'Amérique] (not reported since 2003)
- 1 CAROLINA WREN [Troglodyte de
Caroline] (only the 4th in 60 years)
-1
EASTERN TOWHEE [Tohi à flancs roux] (the 5th time)
- 1 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER [Pic à
ventre roux] (the 5th time in 60 years)
- 1 PEREGRINE FALCON [Faucon pèlerin]
- 1 CACKLING GOOSE [Bernache de
Hutchins] in count week.
It is now up to 56 species and 14,720 individuals. Roger also forwards Alain Clavette’s nice photos of a first winter
GLAUCOUS GULL [Goéland bourgmestre] (note the dark eye) and an adult winter
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL [Goéland brun].
** Brian Coyle was out to his trail
cameras on Monday and came upon a very fresh scene of where a BOBCAT [Lynx
roux] had dug out, captured, and carried away a MUSKRAT [Rat musqué]. You can
clearly see the trail drag as the Bobcat carried it away. Brian attempted to
track the animal to the point of feeding but it got too thick. The tracks and
gait are well within a Bobcat’s track parameters. The ideal substrate of fresh
wet snow show the feline prints nicely as rounded, the “C” shaped ridge between
the hind and fore pads, and the deviated slight angle to some prints. The lack
of claw marks is another clue. A Lynx print would be much larger and more
blurred by its hairiness.
** Jane Leblanc noticed nice track
prints in the soft, wet fresh snow in her St. Martins yard on Tuesday. They
appear to be those of a RACOON [Raton laveur] showing the hind paw with the
hind pad registering noticeably larger than the front paw and the finger-like
fore paws that are so finger-like and able to successfully create havoc with
our bird feeders.
** In follow up to the injured BLUE JAY
[Geai bleu] photo on yesterday’s edition that was doing fine, Stella Leblanc
photographed a EUROPEAN STARLING [Étourneau sansonnet] with one leg that was
showing that a second leg just was not necessary.
** Jamie Burris comments that looking
out his backyard Riverview window there was a sheen of yellow against the new
snow with 80 plus EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] paying a visit.
** Ron Steeves sends some photos that
he found quite unusual. Tuesday morning, at his Salisbury farm, there were
literally hundreds if not thousands of worms crawling on top of the snow. The
area where the worms were in the farm was over the mowed areas and not near any
of the sheds that house the animals. Ron comments that he has never seen this
before, and as a note of interest he didn’t see even one worm on the lawn around
the house. Interestingly the worms were very active in the morning and were
crawling along in all directions but in the afternoon they seemed to have lost
their energy. They were the size and appearance of regular earthworms, not
large like Nightcrawlers. Late in the day they all disappeared but nothing
spotted them for a feast. The Robins really missed out!
** Ray Gauvin comments on the nictitating
membrane (third eyelid) sometimes seen closed over in birds. Ray comments that
he has seen this occasionally in birds for a long time sometimes in wind, or
rain, or when they are just relaxing. I am assuming as this membrane is
translucent that it gives a bit of warning to nearby danger over actually
closing the main eyelid.
** We had our first COMMON REDPOLL
[Sizerin flammé] make a brief visit to our Moncton feeder yard on Tuesday
morning. It was only a quick check of the area so I expect it was the scout for
a flock that may soon take its food site advice.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
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