NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
February 2, 2025
Nature Moncton members as well as any
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**Shannon Inman spotted a swamp sparrow under the forsythia shrub in their Harvey birdfeeder
yard on Saturday.
(Editor’s note: it is not very often that we see a swamp
sparrow at birdfeeders in New Brunswick in winter.)
**Louise Nichols was walking in their Aulac woods on
Saturday afternoon when she heard -- and then saw -- several white-winged
crossbills, all male, up high in a spruce tree. They were enjoying
the cones in the bright February sun.
**Susan Richards reports they finally got evening
grosbeaks to their Taylor Village yard. There were about 10 that came
to sunflower seeds on the window box. They were such a delight to see all
brightly coloured with the sunshine on them.
**Pat MacLauchlan contributes comments on a recent Nature
News observation that red squirrels have been seen feeding on already dead birds,
but they haven’t actually been seen killing the birds.
Pat agrees, “That sounds likely; I don’t think they kill birds; they do seem to be opportunistic and will eat what they find.
That being said, there may be exceptions. This past
summer, at the campground where we stay in Bathurst, we heard a mother
American robin in hysterics over our heads in a pine tree.
There was a red squirrel killing and eating the robin
chicks in the nest. It was disturbing to witness.
The squirrel did not stop until it killed and ate all the
hatchlings. If I hadn’t seen it, I would not have thought it could happen.
In this case, a squirrel learned how to prey on baby
birds.”
**Aldo Dorio photographed a northern shrike
perched in its expected vantage point at the summit of a conifer tree,
surveying the possibilities.
(Editor’s note: I am getting a vibe from reports that
there are fewer northern shrike observations in New Brunswick this season.)
** Brian Stone shares an interesting article he came
across entitled “Birding backpacks fly off shelves at Regina library” where the
library loans out backpacks containing binoculars and information on birding
that has become very popular in that city. An interesting idea. Check it out at
the link below:
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7446192
**On Saturday afternoon the Moon was approaching
the planet Venus for a close conjunction and was also very close to the
planet Neptune, which is a much smaller (visually) and dimmer object
that needs darkness and binoculars to be seen. Brian Stone took pictures of the
planetary conjunction starting in the bright afternoon light to demonstrate
that Venus is visible in daylight when it gets far enough away from the Sun in
the sky, and he sends a series of photos showing the pair at different times during
that day as they get closer and change positions due to the motions of the Moon
and the Earth. He also used a longer exposure in some photos to bring out dim
Neptune to visibility and added a bit of extra brightness to Neptune so it
would show well enough to be seen in the pictures.
(Editor's note: Brian has demonstrated that we should be looking skyward for more than birds during the day!)
Brian also photographed some of the hundreds of American crows that were gathering on Saturday evening down the street from his place before heading for a roost at some spot. They have been congregating in that area over the last few evenings.
In the morning on Saturday Brian photographed a grey squirrel struggling to find the ground under the deep snow in his backyard, seemingly confused at the ground's disappearance.
(Editor's note: could Brian's grey squirrel be checking for shadows on Groundhog Day??)
Brian also noted some tracks leading to and from one of the Riverview Marsh red fox dens that he suspects are fox tracks but was unable to get close enough to confirm that suspicion.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
