NATURE MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE
Dec 2, 2021 (Thursday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**On
many occasions, Clarence Cormier has noticed Ring-necked Pheasants both male
and female eating Burning Bush berries as well as the American Robins.
There
is an abundance of Mountain Ash berries in the Grande Digue area. There is
obviously something about Burning Bush berries that is interesting to birds.
These berries have a large seed with very little pulp. It is interesting to
note the
Ash-throated Flycatcher that Clarence had
visiting earlier in this season also went for Burning Bush berries.
**Gordon Rattray
reports the activity at his Weldon bird feeder yard for the first day of the
winter count, Dec 1. The American
Goldfinches are just getting back with 2 present on Wednesday. They
were joined by: Hairy Woodpecker, Downy
Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, many of Black-capped Chickadees, 11 Mourning Doves,
Red-breasted Nuthatch and Blue Jays. The snow and colder weather seem
to be making the feeder food supply more important. Gordon also made a
trip down to Gray Brook marsh and reports it is completely frozen over.
**Brian Coyle decided to head out to the woods to see if there were any
fresh tracks on Wednesday. It wasn’t long before he came upon the tracks of a
pair of Coyotes, and where they
scent marked.
Next, he found
the tracks of a White-Tailed Deer in flight, likely from a predator. From bound
to bound he measured 18 feet!
Highbush
Cranberries are still plump and plentiful and will provide a late winter food
source.
There was a group of what look to be large Oyster Mushrooms growing
on a wild Cherry tree.
Next, Brian
found a set of Coyote tracks that went across a rock pile where he had a trail
camera set up and hoped that it would show up on video. Indeed it did. Take a
look at the action in the attached link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6xby5a7n3lvxala/IMG_0003%20%284%29.MP4?dl=0
**Weather on Riverview Marsh was suitable to venture out
on Wednesday for Georges Brun to photograph a Short-Eared Owl. He also photographed a Ground Spider and a Caterpillar on the road that leads to the
Trans-Aqua outlet pipe.
When Georges first saw the Short-Eared Owl it looked
like a gull from a distance with underside very white. I am including several
of Georges’ photos. These are not easy to get!
Sue Berube reported what she felt fairly sure was a Short-eared
Owl a week ago from the Riverview side, but not able to get a photo.
**Brian Stone drove to Upham on
Wednesday for a visit with his sister and family. He didn't get a chance to
have an outing there yet but after the lack of wildlife on Mountain Rd. in
Moncton his sister's rural yard was just as good. In the snow just outside the
house there were trails in the snow caused by a SHREW or VOLE
type of little critter. At the feeders were BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, BLUE
JAYS, HAIRY and DOWNY WOODPECKERS, PURPLE FINCH,
DARK-EYED JUNCOS, and at least 20 MOURNING DOVES. In the trees
beside the yard a couple GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS were following the
chickadees around. At 10:00 pm Brian stepped outside to stargaze a bit and a
bright meteor streaked across fully half the sky as if to reward him for
braving the cold.
**From yesterday’s edition, Roger LeBlanc comments
“Looking
at the 2 photos of the hawk Brian Stone saw in flight on Tuesday, I would say that it looks
like a Sharp-shinned Hawk to me. For sure ID by photo is always iffy and all
the more when you only have one shot, or in this case 2 but practically the
same and at an angle from the back rather than straight on and of a notoriously
hard ID. But this bird shows a couple of
features that to me that make it look more like a Sharp-shinned Hawk than a
Cooper’s Hawk. First the fact that the head does not seem to stick out like it
should on a Cooper’s Hawk but is just in line with the bend the wing like a
Sharp-shinned Hawk. At the other end of the tail, it does not look long enough for
a Cooper’s Hawk which I always had a feeling looked like a flying cross while a
Sharp-shinned Hawk is more like a T . Also the bird looks to me bulky and
compact in flight like a Sharp-shinned Hawk but not elongated and tubular like
a Cooper’s Hawk. As for the shape of the tail it does not tell us much since it
seems like it’s molting with the central rectrices sticking out. That said, it’s clearly an immature with no
rusty barring showing and a pale head. All in all the general gizz of the bird
says Sharp-shinned Hawk to me rather than Cooper’s Hawk but for sure it would
be nice to have more angles. But that is birding. They just don’t know they are
supposed to pose for us.”
I have reposted Brian’s photos today
for that second look.
**Jane
LeBlanc was driving in West Quaco (St. Martins) and saw a NORTHERN HARRIER hunting the marsh. She got horrible (Jane’s words)
photos she is not sharing. Further along the road, she put up a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, and even though she
followed it to the end of the road, didn't get a photo. Finally, heading back
towards the village, she spotted one of the resident pair of BALD EAGLES sitting in a tree, and got
many photos of it.
**We
are republishing the list of events
happening in December prepared by the New Brunswick Environmental Network
as the December 14 Nature Moncton meeting has been changed and the link to join
me is attached.
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Nelson
Poirier
Nature
Moncton
