Nature Moncton Nature News: April 27 2015

** Fred and Lynn Dubé had a bird arrive in their feeder yard to feed on black oil sunflower seed that led quickly to a bird guide search. It turned out to be a female RED CROSSBILL [Bec-croisé des sapins]. The Dubés live on the Niagara Road [at Lower Coverdale]. There has been a population of Red Crossbills not all that far from them via the woods, on the Caledonia Mountain Road this past winter. Some photos are attached.

** Mac Wilmot has a few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune] coming to suet in his Lower Coverdale backyard, as well as an arrived EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi]. Suet at feeders seems to have become a hot item for early warblers. The weather has not often been conducive to flying insects, and that may account for it.

** Bob Blake had a bright PINE WARBLER [Paruline des pins] arrive on Saturday at his Second North River yard, taking bread crumbs on a suet feeder. Bob also has a very healthy looking RED FOX [Renard roux] keeping a close eye on his backyard.

** Mike Plourde reports that the EASTERN TOWHEE [Tohi à flancs roux] he has had in his Moncton yard since before Christmas is still present. It has been a very faithful patron. Mike also reports seeing a LONG-TAILED DUCK [Harelde kakawi] in the Petitcodiac River in front of Chateau Moncton on Saturday.

** Anne Marsch got some nice photos of a pair of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] busy setting up housekeeping, excavating the top of a broken branch in her Lower Coverdale yard on Sunday.

** Peggy Bohus had a visit from an adult SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] in their Cape Breton Road [N of Moncton] yard on Sunday and was able to get a nice photo. Some of the population of Sharp-shinned Hawks will overwinter with us but most migrate south and are now moving back, in migratory waves.

** We made a spring pilgrimage to Upper Cape on Sunday to check the SKUNK CABBAGE [Tabac du diable / Chou puant] patch. It surely is having a good year. I was surprised to find the snow level melted much more than expected. Many plants were on ground free of snow, while others could be seen with their characteristic chimneys poking out of the snow.

Several NORTHERN HARRIERS [Busard Saint-Martin] were busy gliding over the fields and lots of AMERICAN KESTRELS [Crécerelle d'Amérique] were in evidence. Dave Robinson, at civic number 463, has a pair of Kestrels using a nest box along his driveway. The nest box is in a tall spruce tree.

** Linda Leclerc is in Fort Myers, Florida, at the moment and shares some of the water bird life of an estuary near where she is staying. There are lots of the heron group and I think I see the uncommon REDDISH EGRET [Aigrette roussâtre] in two of Linda’s photos.

Linda also submits a BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] photo. We have been waiting for a day that the Information Line was not already filled-up, in order to show eagle photos, age-classing them. We’ll try this one as a start. It is suspected that this eagle is in its second year due to the yellow starting on the base of the bill and the pale yellow eye.

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca