Nature Moncton Nature
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**The camera on the peregrine falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When checking the link to watch the activity, scroll down to the first large image, which shows what is happening in real time.
**Leigh Eaton captured a
screenshot of the peregrine falcon nest at 10:23 AM on Wednesday morning
to find that a 4th egg was present/ being deposited. For the past 2 years that the camera has been in
place, the clutch size has been 4. The literature suggests that the typical
clutch size is 3-5; however, we will all be happy with 4, which is quite enough
for the parents to care for.
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
The female is on the A at
least 90% of the time, in the same right-top location. The male is usually
on the left side, but mostly on the lower inner side.
The female has her left
nostril (nares) misaligned, and this is the bird now on the nest.
(Editor’s note: Georges’
comment is one of the ways to distinguish the female of the pair. Both nares
are perfectly round in the male, but the nares on the left side of the female is
slightly misaligned and projects slightly, which is visible when she is in the right position to the camera. Another method to help identify the female
is the size. She is approximately 25% larger than the male, and when in the box, gives the impression of taking up more space.)
**A single Merlin showed
up in Brian Coyle's backyard on Wednesday, calling incessantly from the top of
a dead tree. Brian is fairly confident that this is one of the mated pair that
have nested nearby for the last two years.
(Editor’s note: this is a good
example of nest fidelity where birds can return to the same general area to
nest year after year, especially if that site has been successful in previous
years.)
Brian captured a nice
video clip with the audio of the Merlin vocalization. Check it out at the link
below:
**Shannon Inman
photographed a pair of Canada geese on their nest, a blue-winged teal,
and a pine warbler. They had a palm warbler go through the yard, but no
photo op.
Shannon also got a photo
of a distant belted kingfisher with a small minnow prey, a savannah sparrow,
and a bee house that had been damaged, possibly by a woodpecker.
John Inman spotted a new rusty
blackbird arrive to the yard. John notes the new arrivals seem to stop and
move on quickly.
**Brian and Annette Stone
joined family at Fundy National Park on Tuesday for a scenic outing and picnic
by the shore. A walk around McLaren pond and the campsite above it resulted in
several interesting sightings to report. Around the pond they saw Canada
geese acting up, a small group of ring-necked ducks, a kingfisher
that was too fast to be captured by the camera, a red-breasted nuthatch
defying gravity, feeding upside down under a branch, and coltsfoot flowers
that were too cool to open fully.
Up at the campsite, palm
warblers, eastern phoebes, and golden-crowned kinglets were foraging
in the trees, while a brown creeper was searching tree bark for tasty
tidbits, and yellow-rumped warblers were doing the same in the apple
tree branches. Other birds caught on camera were a fresh-looking savannah
sparrow, some American crows bringing attention to a caution
sign at the cliff's edge, and a song sparrow showing off on the
rocks at the beach in Alma.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
