Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 17 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

November 17, 2022

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**The first snowfall the season brought on lots of action. Sit back and enjoy!

Saturday’s Nature Moncton field trip with sunny weather arranged is repeated at the end of this edition and upfront tomorrow.

**Peter Gadd in Miramichi comments it was nice to see some snow Wednesday, particularly in that it adds so much diffused light for photography, in this case, birds. There are no deep shadows and good shutter speed. Peter was able to photograph some birds from inside the house which was quite comfortable. He almost felt like he had a patio studio with some feeders just outside the window! Some of the birds were thus very co-operative. (Editor’s note: the massive bill on the Red-bellied Woodpecker never fails to be noted.)

They have a suet cage which keeps some birds away. European Starlings are the greediest and they seem to have a bit of hard time with it. Photos attached and here are two video links.

https://flic.kr/p/2nZCacy

https://flic.kr/p/2nZEEAt

The music is accidental. Peter had the radio on!

(Although the feeders are close to the house their windows have “dots” on a 2-inch grid which is very effective in preventing strikes).

(Technique encouraged by Pam Watters and purchase places described in an earlier edition which can be repeated for those who wish to review it again)

**A feeder report from Clarence Cormier in Grande Digue: on Wednesday a few flocks of Evening Grosbeaks (gros-bec-errant) descended on his sunflower feeder. He counted 20+ around 13:30pm followed by another 8 (4 males/4 females) at 14:00pm. Later, many smaller groups keep dropping by, some for samaras, others for the remaining Hawthorn berries while others for the mixed seeds on his patio. A definite joy to observe!

Clarence also questioned Kendra Driscoll on some lichens he noted in his yard and roof and submitted photos for Kendra’s comments. Her reply was as below:

“Those are indeed lichens on the shingles (amidst some lovely bright green mosses). Both the birch dwellers and roof dwellers appear to be some species of the ever ubiquitous Shield Lichens we discussed last night (Parmelia).
The precise shade of grey can vary with hydration status and the amount of sun exposure (lichens basically get tan), so the species on the roof and the one on the tree may be the very same. The pink colour on the shed-top lichens is a sign of poor health. It could be that conditions have changed from when the lichens first colonized, leaving them stressed/moribund (if the shed roof has started to rot the substrate could be too wet too often?) or they may be infected with one of several common diseases causing fungi that infect these lichens and turn them pink. Or both may be happening; the lichens could be stressed and poorly, leaving them open to opportunistic infection.

Fungi that grow exclusively on lichens (lichenicolous fungi) are a specialty of mine, but the ones that most often cause these symptoms on Parmelia are impossible to identify at this scale. The symptoms are evident in this case but the fruiting bodies of fungi that most often cause such symptoms are tiny, non-descript and at least partially immersed.”

**Yolande LeBlanc reports the following birds were observed at her Memramcook birdfeeder yard in the last 3 days; Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches too numerous and fast to count correctly, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, at least 3 Hairy Woodpeckers, at least 2 Downy Woodpeckers, American Goldfinch, male Northern Cardinal, 1 Dark- eyed Junco, and Yolande suspects there is a male and female White-breasted Nuthatch. On Wednesday there were a Tree Sparrow and a Song Sparrow together. A good day to count birds!

**Anna Tucker noted a large leaf nest high in a deciduous tree on Church St. in Moncton. It would appear to be made by a Grey Squirrel.

**Brian and Annette Stone visited the White Rock Recreational Area trails on Wednesday for a fresh air outing and were surprised by the first snowfall of the season while deep in the park. Before the snow started Brian was trying to locate and photograph interesting lichens but the oncoming snow clouds had dimmed the light to an unacceptable level and only a couple of the larger, more prominent lichens were imaged before the flurry began. Lung Lichen and Old Man's Beard Lichen were the two photographed and there were many examples of those. Some trees were heavily draped with Old Man's Beard and trunks were covered with Lung Lichen. Brian also photographed his first Icicles of the season and some of the thin Ice skin on the ponds. Also photographed was the new, lush growth of the Watercress plant growing in the streams beside the trails. He then made video of the new snow falling with the beautiful scenery as a background.

On the Gray Brook Pond outside the White Rock Park Brian got distant photos of a group of American Wigeon Ducks and of a smaller number of Gadwall Ducks.

Join the video action at the links below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3zgfzfhlsmdfdes/NEW%20SNOW%2001.mp4?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mrqyhomv053n0hd/NEW%20SNOW%2002.mp4?dl=0

**A photo of a fall edition Red-breasted Merganser Brian Stone photographed on Monday is added today. Some duck species plumages this time of year can be confusing. This would appear to be a female in nonbreeding plumage or a juvenile female/ male.

**It’s a special time to do some gull watching.

Our northern winter gull visitors, the Iceland Gull and Glaucous Gull are arriving with our resident subadult gulls molting into their next stage towards adult plumage over the next few months.

Brian Stone got a photo of a first winter Iceland Gull showing the all black bill and cinnamon spotted plumage.

He also photographed an adult Ring-billed Gull showing the streaked head of winter plumage as does the adult Herring Gull. The Great Black-backed Gull maintains a clean white head winter and summer.

Brian also got a photo of a Herring Gull that appears to be molting into its adult plumage with the basal part of the bill still flesh coloured.

**Nelson Poirier had 6 Evening Grosbeaks visit his urban feeder yard on Tuesday which is the first time he has had this species visit his urban feeders.

He also had a winter plumage Chipping Sparrow visit on Wednesday to note the black eye line extending right to the bill base as a signature field mark of the Chipping Sparrow. The winter plumage of this species also has a pale bill except for a small dark area on the upper mandible. It also showed the median crown stripes not present in summer plumage.

Dark-eyed Juncos went from 0 to 10 on Wednesday as well.

**NATURE MONCTON FIELD TRIP – NORTHUMBERLAND COAST OUTING: PORT ELGIN TO CAPE JOURIMAIN

Date: Saturday, November 19^th

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)

Guide: Roger Leblanc

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 at 9:00 AM in the parking lot of the Shell gas station on Hwy 16 at the Port Elgin roundabout where Roger will meet them to begin the outing.

Bring a lunch. All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton