NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January
24, 2021 (Sunday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Frank Branch got his answer Saturday
afternoon as to why his doves were coming very late at the feeders for the last
few days. In fact, they were as late as
his male Northern Cardinal which is still a patron. A SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun]
was going after a MOURNING DOVE [Tourterelle
triste] and both
hit a solarium window which was fatal to both.
The photos show well the square tail of the Sharp-shinned Hawk compared
to the rounded Cooper’s Hawk tail apex.
Also notable is the complete dark crown and nape to give a hooded
appearance, the white tail apex is not as bright as it would be in a Cooper’s
Hawk, and the legs would appear slender for a Cooper’s Hawk.
**Brian Coyle
took a drive out to the Tantramar Marsh early Saturday afternoon and saw a duo of
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS. They exhibited their hovering behavior. The one that Brian
got a few photos of caught a small rodent and was eating it on the ground.
He also captured
a photo of a MERLIN perched on a post.
** Jim Johnson noted fresh excavations
in a tree to suggest woodpecker sign. It
appears like it did some bark removal then it found some perfect places to go
deeper. Jim also noted one to two-inch tips of conifer twigs scattered
under trees. This is very likely the
work of RED
SQUIRRELS [Écureuil roux] which
often go as far as they can to nip off twig ends (yes, termed “nip twigs”) to
fall on the ground. They then forage on
the nutrition-packed buds that are more numerous near the twig end.
** Jane LeBlanc shows photos of two
different WHITE-THROATED
SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] overwintering in her St. Martins feeder yard. Jane is suspicious that there may actually be
three.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
