Nature Moncton Nature
News
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**Early Saturday morning at 07:30 am, Brian Stone went to the Salisbury Wetlands area off
Government Rd. hoping to catch a glimpse of the rare tundra bean goose that
has been thrilling birders over the last few days. In heavy fog, he saw a
small group of Canada geese at the edge of the larger pond. He was looking east
from the edge of the smaller pond off Jill St. A difficult scan with binoculars
through moderately heavy fog soon revealed a different-looking goose that showed itself to be the tundra bean goose in enlarged photos. A very nice
rarity and "lifer" for Brian and most other birders lucky enough
to get a view of it. A spotted sandpiper was also seen along the edge of
the smaller pond.
(Editor’s note: Brian was
very fortunate to get such nice photos of the tundra bean goose in the dense
fog. Determination and persistence were no doubt a major factor!
This tundra bean goose,
originally spotted by Gilles Belliveau off the Homestead Road, is a long way
from home, where it breeds in northern Siberia)
**It’s a great time of
year to see caterpillars. They are often on the move, looking for places suitable to go through their winter stage, often creating a pupal cocoon, with a few overwintering as caterpillars.
On a walk near the water
tower in Riverview, Barbara Smith and her husband spotted a large, dark
caterpillar, perhaps 3 inches long, with a spotted body and a red spike on its
rear end. They put a stick on the ground to see whether it would like a ride to
the side of the trail, but it declined.
The caterpillar was a bedstraw
hawk-moth caterpillar, a.k.a. galium sphinx. The adult moth is large,
beautiful, and colorful; it's not uncommon but not commonly seen, as it flies
nocturnally or near dusk and dawn (crepuscular) and uses the common plant bedstraw as
its host plant for laying eggs.
**Lisa Morris was caught
by surprise by a large shadow when a great blue heron's feet nearly grazed
their heads as it came overhead to land at the oval pond at Centennial Park by
the water gates. It did a flyby, circled the runway, then softly landed.
Unfortunately, there was a fair bit of tree debris and refuse where it
landed. It seemed nonplussed by the number of people and noise around that corner
of the walkway. Many were surprised by how tame it seemed, since herons often
fly off when there's too much activity nearby.
(Editor’s note: this bird
has the dark on the head dorsum and dark upper mandible of a juvenile bird,
possibly the reason for its lack of wariness.)
**Deana and Peter Gadd’s
recent visit to Vancouver included several hours at the Maplewood Flats
Conservation Area in North Vancouver. The woodlands area was alive with shy
birds according to the Merlin app, but the west coast species seemed to ignore
the easterners. A number of spotted towhees were present. On the mudflats and low-tide
areas were gulls and cormorants, as well as a horned grebe that we don’t
see often on the east coast. Of particular interest was a black-tailed deer
(probably the Columbian subspecies) wandering across the tidal area.
Chasing a late lunch, they
bused to Deep Cove, a little further along. (Public transport in the whole
Vancouver area is splendid.) This is a very tourist-friendly spot, a big
marina, lots of active paddle boarders, formal flower beds, but all was not
lost. Two more west coast species showed up. Amongst the planted shrubs were
the non-stop bush tits, small, delicate bluish birds that travel in small
numbers. Nearby in a quieter, more natural area, a golden-crowned sparrow
was seen foraging with a white-crowned sparrow.
Daily trips across
Vancouver Harbour on the SeaBus invariably resulted in spotting pelagic
cormorants hanging about the dock along with their double-crested cousins.
While visiting Deana’s brother’s home in Vancouver, the Gadds finally caught up
with the elusive Anna’s hummingbird.
(Editor’s note: the golden-crowned
sparrow is a rare visitor to New Brunswick as an accidental. Study Peter’s
excellent photos carefully to be ready!
We can expect to see some
nonbreeding horned grebe during the winter off our coast, but they can be few
and far between.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
