Nature Moncton Nature Information Line. Sunday, May 16
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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)
**
Louise Nichols had a great day on Saturday and never left home. Various species of butterflies were flying on
their property, particularly some elfins.
She got a photo of a BROWN ELFIN [Lutin brun]. Later in the day, she got another that she
photographed on a dandelion that turned out to be the more uncommon HENRY’S
ELFIN [Lutin grisâtre].
The butterfly is a bit ragged, but it appears to have a tail, a frosted
hindwing edge and white in the line.
Louise also saw her first dragonfly of the year, a BEAVERPOND BASKETTAIL
[Épithèque canine]. A WOOD FROG [Grenouille des bois] was in the wet area near the bog. Lots of activity from TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle
bicolore] these days
and all 5 nest boxes seem to have takers, including the one that is a bit farther
from the pond which didn’t get taken last year.
Louise is happy to see they are being used. Louise also observed one swallow repeatedly
coming to the ground in a patch of dried mud and realized that it was gathering
pine needles for its nest. A photo shows
a bundle of pine needles in its bill.
Louise comments “nice to see life happening again.”
** Twenty birders participated in the
Nature Moncton outing in Hillsborough led by Gordon Rattray with visits to the
old rail line and the White Rock Recreational Area. They started at the old rail line at 9:00 AM
and by 10:30 had logged 9 warbler species, all visually seen by the party,
including PALM
WARBLER [Paruline à couronne rousse], YELLOW WARBLER [Paruline jaune], YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune], MAGNOLIA WARBLER [Paruline à tête
cendrée], BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER
[Paruline noir et blanc], AMERICAN REDSTART
[Paruline flamboyante], NORTHERN PARULA [Paruline
à collier], BLACK-THROATED GREEN
WARBLER [Paruline à gorge noire] and BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER [Paruline bleue].
Also of interest was a migrating flock of over 50 BLUE JAYS that buzzed through without
stopping. The TREE
SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] were in large number, and a SWAMP SPARROW [Bruant des
marais] was seen
by a few. They moved to the White Rock
Recreational Area and saw several of the same warbler species, but also a BLUE-HEADED VIREO [Viréo
à tête bleue], DARK-EYED JUNCO [Junco
ardoisé] and YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
[Pic maculé]. The weather was perfect after a bit of a cold
start.
****Maureen Girvan was able to get 2 of
the lively warbler species on the field trip to settle down for a brief moment
to capture nice photos of a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER and a YELLOW-RUMPED
WARBLER. Although a nice selection of warblers were seen, they were too fast
moving for folks to get photos.
** Clarence Cormier’s YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
[Pic maculé] was more
cooperative on Saturday. The photo
nicely shows the series of holes this woodpecker drills to let sap flow for its
sweet tooth. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
are often seen taking advantage of the sap holes, both the sap nectar and the
insects that are attracted to it as well.
The sapsucker has a unique set-up in getting sap plus the insects
attracted to the sap. The insects are a
value-added bonus to the initial sap sample.
The male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has the complete red throat while the
female has a white throat.
** Jane LeBlanc sends another great BALTIMORE ORIOLE [Oriole
de Baltimore] photo. It also shows the set-up that her neighbour
has that has been so successful at attracting various orioles.
** Evan Smith was up in Wickham on
Friday. As he was leaving the marsh, a
bird landed in a tree. He stopped and took a quick couple of photos
and the bird left. Evan realized it was
a swallow as there were other TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] flying around and so he just figured that is what
it was. When he downloaded the photos
and came across the bird, he was very surprised to find it looked quite
different from what he expected. The
photo is poor as he was looking right into the sun.
Evan’s photo was studied very closely
to be sure Rough-winged Swallow was not what it really was. Gilles Belliveau did
a very close scrutiny to offer an opinion which is so good am going to quote
Gilles and the photo he used to base it on so we can all learn from Evan’s
photo.
Quoting
Gilles “The
swallow is one where I wish there were more photos but I see what looks like a
patch of slightly iridescent blueish feathers on the crown and possibly a tiny
spot above the eye (see the attached cropped photo) which should not be present
on a Rough-winged Swallow.
This could be a first spring
female Tree Swallow, some of which can appear quite brownish above. The dusky
colour on the upper chest could be a darker shadow or maybe still some immature
feathers on the chest (immatures can have some dusky feathers on the chest but do
not know if they would typically retain them this late). Also, I would
expect more dusky coloration in the throat as well while this one looks quite
white in the throat.”
** Aldo Dorio got a photo of a pair of NORTHERN SHOVELER [Canard
souchet] ducks at
Hay Island and the sharply-dressed male alone.
He also photographed a male YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à
croupion jaune]. Note that it shows the under view of the tail
to show the white underside with the dark spot in the apex corners. Many other warblers’ undertails are similar,
but most are just slightly different enough that they can be helpful in
identification if looked at closely enough.
** Rheal Vienneau’s pair of GROUNDHOGs [Marmotte
commune] disappeared
from his backyard when a skunk took over the den under his shed. However, a minute walkabout located the
female in a separate den and she was also willing to cooperate for a cell photo
this time.
** Brian Stone went to the Highland
Park in Salisbury and the Wilson Marsh on Saturday. His first bird seen at Highland Park was a
new lifer for him – a WARBLING VIREO [Viréo mélodieux]. I am
attaching several of Brian’s photos as it seems like a hard vireo to get a photo
of. Interesting to learn it was in
Salisbury. The Wilson Marsh trail has
been a traditional nesting area for this species for some years. Two duckling families were seen, one in each
spot, and some CANADA GOOSE [Bernache du Canada] families at Wilson Marsh, a female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
[Carouge à épaulettes] at Wilson
Marsh, a male COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] sitting on a nest at Highland Park, a SWAMP SPARROW [Bruant des
marais] at Wilson
Marsh, and an excellent photo of a Tri-colored Bumblebee.
****Anna
Tucker reports that many of the nest boxes erected around Jones Lake seem to be
occupied. RING-NECKED DUCKS are on the lake and Anna enjoyed the proliferative
WHITE VIOLETS in bloom as well as the more sparsely spread out PURPLE VIOLET
species.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
