NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Feb 8, 2023
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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Nature Moncton nest boxes are rapidly coming off
the assembly line of Fred Richards' workshop. A 2023 model is shown in the first
of photo lineup this morning. These will be available free of charge to all
Nature Moncton members and for $20.00 to the public. These are mainly designed for Tree
Swallows but are sometimes used by Black-capped Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds,
and Flying Squirrels.
They should be placed and ready for new patrons in
early April ready to accommodate ‘early birds’.
Place your order for as many as you can accommodate
to Fred Richards at fredrichards@rogers.com or phone
334-0100. They can also be picked up in town by leaving a message with nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Barb Curlew found an AMERICAN PIPIT on Wednesday Feb 8th
in Waterside and was able to get a beautiful photo. It was in the
very same place she photographed 2 American Pipits on Oct 3, 2022. American
Pipits migrate southerly along our coastline in late fall which is usually our
best time to see them. However, a few will linger into winter, and obviously Barb's find was able to handle the recent cold weather.
The American
Pipit is a sparrow-sized bird and could easily be confused with a sparrow at
first glance. The pointed bill and pumping tail are our quick differentiation
clues.
(Editor’s
note: Brian Stone and Nelson Poirier felt very fortunate to spot several
American Pipits feeding on kelp flies along the coastline kelp beds in February
several years ago in the Crescent Beach area of Nova Scotia).
**Yolande
LeBlanc saw two, same-sized, hawks at a time Wednesday morning from her
Memramcook yard. One was perched on a branch while the second one came to perch when the first one flew off to a nearby tree. They were
too distant and far up the tree, so Yolande couldn’t be 100%
certain, but the orange-striped belly suggested to her they were either Sharp-shinned Hawks or Cooper’s Hawks. No wonder there were no birds around the feeder yard at the time!
Yolande did
see a Cooper’s Hawk take a Mourning Dove a few days ago.
**Brian Stone
photographed a Red-tailed Hawk high up in a distant tree on Scott Rd.
near Lewis Mountain on Wednesday afternoon. The bird was quite distant at first
but then flew from the tree and headed straight over Brian's car. Brian
scrambled to get out to get a flyover photograph but managed to get caught up
in the seatbelt and also jam the camera in the gap between the car door and car
body and only managed to get out in time to capture a few very distant images
as the hawk circled in the sky at a frustrating distance, likely enjoying the
view of the photographer vainly attempting to make the camera perform an
impossible zoom.
**An error was
made in the address of the 2 popular crabapple-laden tree-feeding sites of
Bohemian Waxwings, as entered in yesterday’s edition but it was corrected. It is
actually 80 Upland St. in Moncton, just up the hill and on the left from
Frampton Lane.
**Heads up on
the ever-popular Nature Moncton Birdfeeder Tour on for this Saturday,
February 11. Mother Nature is calling for snow on Friday to hopefully make birdfeeder yards
busy on Saturday. All details are below:
Nature Moncton’s Annual Feeder Tour
February 11th, 2023
General schedule:
1.
8:30
am: Meet at the Moncton Coliseum parking lot to organize car-pooling.
2.
8:45
am: Leave promptly for Jean Renton's on 1460 Gorge Rd., Stilesville. Jean has
once again offered to host participants for a delicious breakfast with able
culinary help from Fred Richards. Arrive hungry as the menu consists of baked
beans, pancakes, maple syrup, and sausage. While feasting on the good food,
everyone can view the many birds visiting the Renton’s feeder yard.
3.
After
the visit at the Renton’s, the group will travel to Riverview to visit the
feeders of Jamie and Karen Burris at 21 Henderson Ave. Take the new bridge across. Continue on Findlay Blvd and turn right onto
White Pine Rd, then left onto Henderson.
Directions on how to approach the yard from the back (so as not to
disturb the birds) will be given on-site.
4.
The next stop will be Sue and Steve
Berube’s at 212 Summit Drive, Riverview.
Travel back up to Coverdale Rd.
Turn right and continue past the Gunningsville Bridge. Turn right onto Court St., then left onto Old
Coach Rd, right onto Diligent Drive, right onto Peck Drive, then left onto
Summit Dr.
(editor's note: there are rumours of hot chocolate waiting at this stop!)
5.
Next, the group will travel back to
Moncton to the home of Yves Poussart at 111 Weyburn Rd. Take the Gunningsville Bridge across. Continue up Vaughan Harvey past Mountain Rd
where it changes to Macbeath Ave. Turn
right on Connaught Ave. Follow Connaught
until after it changes to Morton, then turn left on McLaughlin Rd. Turn right on Hennessey Rd. Follow it almost to Elmwood Dr. Turn right on Monaghan Dr. and then turn left
on Weyburn Rd.
6.
The final stop will be at Nelson
Poirier’s home at 85 Mount Royal Blvd. for French Onion soup and end-of-the-day
socializing while watching Nelson’s feeders.
Take either Elmwood Dr. or McLaughlin Rd. back to Morton. Turn right on Morton and follow back to
Macbeath Ave. Turn left and travel past
Mountain Rd. continuing on Vaughan Harvey until St. George Blvd. Turn right onto St. George Blvd. and then left on Mount Royal Blvd. (crossing Jones Lake bridge)
Contact Number (if anyone gets lost or wishes to join later in the day): Nelson Poirier – (506) 866-2752.
Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
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