NATURE
MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE, Oct. 21, 2021 (Thursday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Great to hear the cardinal word again. After noting the surprising
number that overwintered with us in northern and eastern areas of New
Brunswick last season, few seemed to stay and set up housekeeping.
Paula Lansdale had a male Northern Cardinal to her Alma home yard for a day this week. Paula also was pleasantly surprised when she spotted a
small flock of birds in her Hydrangea plants to find they were Golden-crowned
Kinglets.
**Don Pellerin came across a small, Blue-spotted Salamander out on a
mission on Wednesday. This salamander can be quite variable from a lot of pale
blue spotting to very little. This little guy seems to have had part of its tail
removed, assumedly a bite from a predator. However, it has the ability to
regenerate that section so will likely end up being a short cosmetic incident.
**It’s that time of the season we can expect to see lots of Black-bellied
Plover in nonbreeding plumage. Aldo Dorio noted 9 at Hay Island on
Wednesday, some more of a brownish cast seeming to travel together so
interesting to rule out American Golden-Plover with a more distinct pronounced
white supercillium, smaller bill than the Black-bellied Plover, and the
American Golden-Plover has more of a ‘petite look’. The American Golden-Plover
tend to favour open fields more than the Black-bellied Plover.
**It’s that time of year when our gulls molt into their winter plumage
and immature gulls will take on their plumage of their 1st to 4th
winter plumage depending on the number of years that particular species takes to reach
mature plumage. Gull watching now can be interesting to see the newest winter
plumage as well as northern gulls will be arriving to spend the winter with us.
Depending on winter severity some of the Ring-billed Gull population may
migrate southerly but many may not. Brian Stone recently got a photo of an
adult winter Ring-billed Gull aside a 1st winter Ring-billed Gull. The Ring-billed
Gull takes 3 years to reach mature plumage.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton