Nature Moncton Nature News: December 3 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Dec 3, 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 of Nature News

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Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**John Inman was able to photograph some of his surprisingly large flock of Rusty Blackbirds ground feeding to show their plumage variations.

(Editor’s note: this is quite unusual to have this many Rusty Blackbirds in one feeder yard. This species has plummeted in numbers considerably over the past years, so it is rewarding to see this number. The colour variations in John’s photos are predominantly gender-related. The winter plumage of the females tends to be paler brown than the darker males.)

**Lance Harris did a walk along the marsh in Dieppe Monday morning. A pair of Bald Eagles were hunting and watching a nervous flock of Mallard Ducks in the stream. He also saw several Ring-necked Pheasants sunning themselves in the willows.

Lance also has some interesting activity at his Dieppe birdfeeder yard. A Pileated Woodpecker is a regular patron taking about two days to decimate a bird pie with content Morning Doves enjoying the ground droppings. He also has a Northern Flicker visiting the yard as well as the regular troop.

Downy woodpeckers appear to have adopted a Nature Moncton nest box as a winter hideout.

**Jane LeBlanc had more species join her yard birds, including Purple Finch (photo in a still blooming Witch Hazel shrub) Evening Grosbeak, Northern Cardinal, and American Goldfinch. The Ruffed Grouse was also back. Jane notes "It was a partridge in a birch tree...not a pear tree."

**Aldo Dorio photographed a male Red-breasted Merganser buddying up with several Long-tailed Ducks at the Neguac wharf on Monday.

**On Monday Brian Stone drove along the coast from Shediac to Petit Cap and found a few seagoing birds to photograph in the cool but sunny weather. At Pointe-du-Chene some fellow birders helped Brian get some close photos of a bright male Harlequin Duck that was swimming close to the wharf in the company of a female Long-tailed Duck. An immature male Common Eider swam past just as close, temporarily joining the group. At the Robichaud wharf, a small group of four Horned Grebes were trying their best to figure a way across a pipe of some type without taking the long way around. One managed to hop over while the rest swam around.

At the Petit Cap Wharf more than a dozen Long-tailed Ducks were diving for food while surrounded by dozens of gulls that were eager to steal the ducks' catch before they could swallow it. Most attempts at thievery were not successful while Brian was there, but the ducks were working extra hard diving to avoid losing their lunch, and sometimes they came back up without it. A few Red-throated Loons were present at most of the stopping points, as well as Black Scoters that were mostly far out except for one female, or young male, who was alone at the shoreline.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton