NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
January 23, 2025
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
**Isaac Acker shares a lucky full-body photo he was able
to capture of a Star-nosed Mole.
(Editors note: the
editor does not have the details of where and when the photo was taken but
assumes it to be local and fairly recent.
The Star-nosed Mole is common but very uncommonly
encountered by humans as it is very nocturnal in summer and tunnels under the
frost level in winter to remain active foraging on any grubs or insect life it
can find by the use of its insect detecting apparatus of 22 fleshy tentacles
which show in Isaac’s photo. The sparsely haired short tail and very fine,
thick body pelage are characteristic of this insectivore which is our only
native New Brunswick mole.
The Star-nosed Mole is the mammal that creates
“molehills” that can occur in late fall, sometimes on lawns, which are tailings
from it digging burrows to get below frost level for the winter. These tailings are often located near
water sources as it is also a very adept swimmer in search of underwater insect
life.)
**Gordon
Rattray had a busy day on Wednesday as many birds were looking to get energy
food. On the ground, eating corn, were about 15 Dark-eyed Juncos (the usual daily number), American Goldfinch in the range of 20, Mourning Doves daily
at 15-30; these large groups were joined by a male Ring-necked Pheasant, and Downy and
Hairy Woodpeckers. In total on Wednesday 15 different bird
types were present. The highlight of the day was a Pine Siskin, the first of the
winter. Gordon includes photographs of an American Tree Sparrow, male
Downy Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pine Siskin, and the daily
visiting White-breasted Nuthatch, usually two.
** John Inman notes the cold
weather left a good layer of ice on the mud on the banks of the Shepody
River after the tide went out on Wednesday. European Starlings are a bit of a nuisance but
nicely marked, and the Fox Sparrow is busy scratching in the snow for a
seed.
**Anna Tucker took photos of Ring-necked Pheasants
recently from her window seat at the A & W restaurant facing the Riverfront
Trail in Moncton.
**Brian Stone visited Johnson's Mills on Wednesday and
checked the Mountain Ash Trees that still had some berries left for hungry
birds. He found a large flock of several hundred American Robins
feasting on the berries with a few other species present in small numbers. He
noted one Cedar Waxwing also eating Mountain Ash berries and one Pine
Siskin foraging on alder catkins but assumed there was likely more of them
just not in sight. Some American Goldfinch were also eating from the catkins,
and a few White-throated Sparrows were in the same area.
(Editor’s note: note the Mountain Ash berry remnants on
the bill of the White-throated Sparrow which show that it is potentially more interested
in the seed of the fruit than the pulp.)
Past Johnson's Mills Brian stopped in at Slack's Cove in
Rockport to check out the scenery and hopefully any birds that might be
present. The road leading into the cove was not plowed for the last km. but it
was an easy walk in as there were deep vehicle ruts in the snow from earlier
visiting trucks. Besides the beautiful scenery, Brian was surprised and very
happy to photograph a single Canada Jay that was resting in a nearby
tree and a very distant female White-winged Crossbill that appeared to
be alone. The bright sunlight was also a very welcome companion for most of the
day.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
