NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Dec 16, 2024
Nature
Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and
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**Fred and Susan Richards did a walk on Sunday
about their Taylor Village property to find the perfect Christmas tree.
They noted a cache of nuts that a Red Squirrel
had stashed by an old spruce tree.
The little runways that were under the
snow made by Deer Mice/shrews/, and Meadow Voles were very obvious after the
snow melt recently. These animals do not hibernate but they make trails at ground
level under the snow to leave them cozy and warm,
possibly more content when more arrives.
And yes, Fred and Susan found a perfect tree!
**At approximately 7:30 am on Sunday, Lisa
Morris watched an adult Bald Eagle as it was having its morning sustenance (gull suspected) on Jones Lake
under the watchful eye of an American crow who brazenly pranced around the
eagle for potential leftovers. Lisa comments that it always amazes her the gall
crows have around birds of prey, owls etc. Perhaps crows aren’t as appetizing
to larger birds. The ducks nearby obviously felt safe knowing the eagle was
going to have a full belly and wouldn’t be a threat for a while.
Lisa also took a short video of the eagle and
ducks at the link below:
(Editor’s note: fresh crow would probably be as appetizing as
anything to raptors, but the skillful, intelligent crow seems to know all the
tricks on how not to become the prey!)
Lisa also photographed the full Moon setting
on Jones Lake on the beautiful crisp morning.
(Editor’s note: Lisa’s photo shows a Mountain
Ash shrub laden with untouched berries. Reports are that the Bohemian Waxwings
and Pine Grosbeaks are finding a good crop of these berries to the west of us.
We hopefully will see them drop by in later season when these nomadic species
may move east as the food supply dwindles there.)
**We don’t get the opportunity to observe the
relatively common weasel that often, as it tends to be secretive and
very quick in its movements.
Lori Forbes got that special moment on
Saturday while walking a woods trail by her Whites Lake home near Halifax when she
had a surprise encounter with a weasel that appeared to be as interested in
seeing her as she was in seeing it to give time for a photograph.
(Editor’s note: the brown and white
pelage of the weasel in summer changes to completely white with a black tail
tip in winter. This very effective ploy helps protect it from potential
predators against a white snow background but doubles up as camouflage when hunting
its prey, usually small rodents.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton