NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
May 21,
2022 (Saturday)
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Edited by:
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** So great to hear of another pair of Northern Cardinals visiting a yard. John Inman in Harvey, Albert County has had a pair arrive and got some great photographs. Baltimore Orioles continue to arrive, and the males are being joined by females/immatures. The females and immatures can sometimes be hard to differentiate. John also had a leg banded Rock Dove join the mix.
Wednesday was a big day at the Inman’s. John was away and Shannon was able to record the
action when several Baltimore Orioles were present, 4 male and 2 females!
Adding to the show was one male Orchard Oriole, one Northern
Mockingbird, 2 White-crowned Sparrows remaining and to top it off a male Indigo
Bunting.
What an amazing avian display of visitors most of us
could only hope for!
Susan
Richards was very pleased to see a bright
orange bird on the oranges that she had put out 2 days ago in their Taylor
Village yard. They looked in the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of
North America and it looked like a female Baltimore Oriole. She
enjoyed the orange, liking one half out of the 4 halves there, then flew
into the spruce tree and sat in the sun for a while then flew back to the same
orange half and stayed there for a while. Susan thinks the sunshine was
helpful for her to find her favourite drink! She did not hear any singing
from the bird but will listen again tomorrow if she returns.
**Louise Nichols was sitting on their front porch in
Aulac when she saw a bird that had bright yellow markings fly into a maple tree.
She realized the bird was a Baltimore Oriole, a new yard bird for
her. The bird flew to the willow tree in the back of the yard where it
stayed for some time, foraging on insects. Louise was able to get a few
photos. Like Susan Richards, Louise felt this was an adult female after
checking with the Sibley guide.
Four nice photos from different angles help with the
gender identification. It would be expected that adult males and females would
arrive before the immature birds.
**Fred and Lynn Dube got some pleasant photos of birds
and a Flying Squirrel around the feeders and yard of Nelson Poirier’s
camp Wednesday night and Thursday. The Flying Squirrel cooperated nicely for its
photograph as well as both male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeak nicely
showing the plumage of the conservatively dressed female.
Lynn also got a photo of a Cape May Warbler foraging
through the spruce foliage.
**Bob Blake
woke up
Thursday morning and saw a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird stuck in a screen of
their gazebo. It was going to fast to stop and Bob suspects lodged his beak in the
screen to far to back out. Bob gently took the little guy out and he wasn’t
long heading to the woods.
**Gordon Rattray went
to the Whiterock Recreation Area on Thursday to collect some Ostrich Fern
fiddleheads for the table. On the trip Gordon was surprised by a Wood
Frog that jumped when he got too close: its coloration blends very well
with the old leaves on the deck. Gordon also photographed a few plants in
flower to include the Dewberry and the Forget-me-not which were
plentiful. Gordon also took pictures of three shrubs in bloom: the Hawthorn,
Serviceberry and the Pin Cherry. The last two are making
the tree lines very white and are shown to show the difference in these two
shrubs.
**On the way to visit his sister at
Upham Brian Stone stopped in at Penobsquis and McCully to check for new
arrivals. In the field a Red-winged Blackbird was chasing a Crow
away from its territory with acrobatic attacks and Bobolinks were
calling with beautifully liquid sounds. An Eastern Phoebe paused to
survey the area with a beak full of nesting material. Yellow Warblers
were plentiful in the trees along the roadside and a Tree Swallow poked
its head out of the often-photographed nest box. In the marsh a distant Wilson's
Snipe was calling loudly as was the well-hidden and not seen American
Bittern. A Black Swallowtail Butterfly was nectaring among the
Dandelions lining the roadside. One of the several American Redstarts
seen came close for a well-posed portrait.
The woods behind Brian's sister's
place were alive with warblers and other birds. A Blue-headed Vireo was
cooperative for a photo as well as a couple of Ovenbirds. Black-throated
Green Warblers were the most common seen and heard birds and seemed to be
just about everywhere. Northern Parulas were the second most populous
birds, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch stopped by to show off its freshly
caught spider lunch. On his sister's lawn a pair of Gray Comma Butterflies
nectared on Dandelion flowers just like the Swallowtail was doing at McCully. Tri-coloured
and Common Eastern Bumblebees were doing the same, along with Flower
Flies and other flies. A Northern Azure Butterfly was hopping and
flitting along in the gravel driveway, enjoying the bright Sun and warmth. At
the hummingbird feeder both male and female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
were sharing the sugary drinks it offered, sometimes perching on the handrails
for a break.
**Susan Atkinson
forwards the notice below for naturalists to participate in:
|
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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