NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Dec 19, 2024
Nature
Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and
descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition
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**On Wednesday, near Saint John, Richard Blaquiere watched a Peregrine
Falcon circling, then making a dive into a flock of European Starlings.
Richard didn’t see if it was successful. Richard comments “One of those
rare times that he had his camera in hand just as a photographic opportunity
presented itself!
(Editor’s note: it sure was. When a beautiful
photo of one of the fastest birds in the world on hold for an instant.)
Richard was also back
at the McAllister Mall again on Monday (16 Dec 2024) and had time to check
through the roosting gulls for anything interesting. There were about 20 gulls
in the parking lot, mostly Ring-billed Gulls with a few Herring Gulls. A few
minutes after he got there, a truck drove in, and the occupants began throwing
bread scraps out the windows. Gulls started flying in from all directions,
their numbers suddenly increasing by at least 3-fold. After the truck left,
Richard was able to have a better look at the new arrivals. One young gull
immediately stood out.
It was
intermediate in size between the Ring-billed Gulls and Herring Gulls. The head,
neck, and upper breast were a pale base colour with dense dark streaking. The
belly was a more diffuse and mottled brownish. The eye had a dark ‘smudged’
appearance. The bill was black except for some paleness at the very tip. The
dark primaries had a long projection beyond the tail compared to the nearby
Herring Gulls. Though Richard didn’t see it at the time, in the photos, the
pinkish legs had dark shins. In flight, the wing lacked the prominent pale
window of inner primaries seen in Herring Gulls. The tail was black with white
upper tail coverts and rump. Some of the juvenile pale-edged scapular feathers
have been replaced with more solidly grayish feathers with black shaft streaks.
After working through descriptions in the identification guides Richard had at home, the features noted for this gull support the conclusion that it was a 1st cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull.
(Editor’s note: the Lesser Black-backed Gull
is not in adult plumage until the fourth year of life. Richards's commentary is
worthy of slipping into your field guide if you suspect a first cycle/winter
Lesser Black-backed Gull. Better yet, a visit to McAllister Place Mall in Saint John
with a loaf of bread as chances are it’s going to be around for a while.)
Richard has sure provided some interesting
fodder for today’s edition of!
He came across and photographed a 1st winter Iceland
Gull Wednesday in the head area with what he thought may be some sort of external parasites in the
feathers around its eyes and his suspicions were spot on.
A consultation with Dr. Megan Jones at the
Atlantic Veterinary College Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative promptly
brought the answer and quoting Megan below:
“Those are lice - not sure the species but we
see them fairly frequently. They do seem to show up very clearly in this case -
nice photo! There is nothing to be concerned about for this individual; I don’t
think”
Megan also shared a website link, the first
part of which deals with Richard’s observation. That link is:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-59054453.amp
**Aldo Dorio captured a photo of a male
Common Goldeneye off Hay Island on Wednesday, with the sunlight showing the
green iridescence of the head of the male that we don’t often see. The male Barrow’s
Goldeneye, in similar light conditions, would have a purple hue.
**Norbert Dupuis shares more special moments
with his male Northern Cardinal, checking out American Holly berries as
well as buddying up with some of Norbert’s other patrons.
(Editor’s note: this is indeed American Holly
in Norbert’s photo which merits a bit of explanation. American Holly is not
native to New Brunswick but can survive as a cultivar in ideal conditions. This
branch of berries was given to Norbert by a neighbour who was successfully
growing American Holly which obviously caught the interest of the Northern
Cardinal.)
**Norbert Dupuis and Nelson Poirier both
photographed quite different plumages of the Ring-necked pheasant in different
locations on Wednesday. Norbert’s photos were in Memramcook, while Nelson’s
were on Goose Lake Rd. on the Tantramar Marsh. These variant plumages are
uncommon but regular in the area leading to a bit more sleuthing as to the
reason. A consultation with Ron Arsenault brought some interesting comments to
be considered when we encounter these variations. Ron’s comments are quoted
below:
“The Ring-necked Pheasant has a native range
stretching from the Caspian Sea to eastern Asia, at least as far as Korea.
Within this large range, 31 subspecies have been described. In addition,
there is a closely related species, the Japanese Green Pheasant (Phasianus
versicolor), for which 4 subspecies have been described. Note that some
authorities consider the Japanese Green Pheasant to be conspecific with the
Ring-necked Pheasant. More recently, there was a proposal to split the
Ring-necked Pheasant into four species, but I do not know if this has been
widely accepted.
Whether considered a separate species or
not, the Ring-necked Pheasant and the Green Pheasant will hybridize,
particularly where both species have been introduced. This is apparently not
the case in Japan, where attempts to introduce the Ring-necked Pheasant have
not been successful.
Were these birds seen in the Dorchester-Sackville
area? (yes) I have seen them in that area when I lived in Memramcook. I also
recall the Japanese Green Pheasant being released at the China Point Hunting
Preserve on PEI in the 1970's. I suspect they were also released in other
locations in the Maritimes, but I cannot confirm one way or the other.”
**Brian Stone drove around the Johnson's Mills
area on Wednesday afternoon and saw 3 raptors that he managed to photograph.
One Red-tailed Hawk was perched in a tall tree way off in a field and
took off when Brian stopped for a photo. A second Red-tailed Hawk was hovering
in a strong wind out at the edge of the Bay of Fundy and was completely
motionless for minutes at a time. It was an odd sight. (It was windy, but Brian
was able to get a documentary video of the bird hovering which can be viewed at
the link below.)
The third raptor was an adult Bald Eagle (white tail tinged with Bay of Fundy silt)
that obligingly flew straight overhead at a leisurely pace and a low level as
if it was happy to make it to this Nature News edition.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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