NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
November 10,
2022
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Edited by
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Gordon Rattray captured a photo of a White-breasted Nuthatch that has been visiting his yard in Weldon, Albert County. Gordon has also been visited by a Brown Creeper but could not get it cooperating for a photo. Both of these have been regular visitors in other years.
Gordon received a call from a friend in Shepody who had a suspected Red-Headed Woodpecker coming to her yard. Gordon went down and was able to see the bird feeding to get great photographs. The homeowners note that the woodpecker seems to be hiding food all around the yard. This may mean it has decided on their yard for a winter stay. After this visit Gordon and Kelly (the friend) drove over to John Inman’s in Harvey in hope of finding the Rusty Blackbirds, but found immature Red-winged Blackbirds gathering as imposters. There were also American Tree Sparrows that stood for a photo.
Of note is that the two sites are directly across the
marsh from each other.
**Jamie
Burris shares some interesting photo finds. Karen and Jamie visited Highland Park
in Salisbury on Monday and located the 2 American Coot that have been tarrying
at that area. There were also many Green-winged Teal there as well as a
White-throated Sparrow.
On
Wednesday, Jamie had another visit from their resident Northern Cardinal.
They comment “So nice to see this bird in our yard. We hope it stays around!”
Later they went for a walk at Turtle creek and spotted a late season Great Blue Heron flying down the middle of the river.
Karen and Jamie also
observed a Greater White-fronted Goose in the field with a flock of
Canada Geese. (Editor’s note: monitoring Canada Goose flocks for unexpected
tagalongs is paying off this year as it often does this time of year).
**Heads up on a Nature Moncton field trip scheduled for this coming Saturday. At the moment, Mother Nature’s forecast suggests rain on Saturday and Sunday. This field trip may be weather postponed with alternatives announced tomorrow, Friday. Stay tuned.
Nature Moncton Field Trip - Northumberland Coast Outing: Port
Elgin to Cape Jourimain
Date:
Saturday, November 12th (rain date: November 13th)
Time: 8:15 AM (or 9:00 AM) to
late afternoon (or as long as folks want to stay)
Meeting Place: a) Behind Burger King at
Champlain Mall (8:15 AM)
b) Shell gas station, Port Elgin
(9:00 AM)
Guides: Roger Leblanc and Louise Nichols
When
you think of great birding, what comes to mind first is the migration periods
of May and September. But although those are times when birds are moving in big
numbers with such breathtaking phenomena as the return of warblers in spring
and the passage of shorebirds in fall, did you know that statistically the best
month for mega-rarities is actually November? But at any time, location,
location, location is the magic word. And one of the best places to go looking
around here in November is the most south-easterly part of the province along
the Northumberland coast from Port Elgin to Cape Jourimain National Wildlife
area. And so that is where Nature Moncton is proposing a full day outing.
What to expect and where:
At this time of year, variety will be lower than it would be in spring, but
lots of species are on winter territory or still on the move, in particular
water-loving birds like ducks and gulls that can be in huge numbers at specific
spots. For that reason, our first stop will be the Port Elgin water treatment
lagoon where high numbers of sea ducks and Bonaparte’s Gulls could be present
with whatever else might have followed them there. From there we will follow the
coast, stopping at many well-known spots (and some maybe not so well known) on
the shore but also inland. There we will look again for water birds but also
upland species. We will continue our adventure with a stop at Cape Tormentine
where the village and the infrastructure of the closed down ferry terminal as
well as the still active wharf have proven time and again to be attractive at
that time of year to many interesting species. We will then finish our day with
a stop at the Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area where the many ponds and
trails on the peninsula have also been magnets in the past for some very good
birds in late fall. So all in all, we should be in for a good number of species
and who knows what “rare one” might be present at some of those spots that have
proven over the years to be very productive in November.
Where to meet and when:
Those in the Moncton area who wish to carpool to Port Elgin can meet Roger
Leblanc at 8:15 AM behind the Burger King in the Champlain Mall parking
lot. Others can meet Louise Nichols at 9:00 AM in the parking lot of the
Shell gas station on Hwy 16 at the Port Elgin roundabout.
Bring a lunch. All are welcome, Nature Moncton
member or not.
Nelson
Poirier
Nature
Moncton
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