** On Sunday afternoon, Paul Langelaan had an AMERICAN KESTREL [Crécerelle
d'Amérique] perched atop their home at Second North River [N of
Salisbury].
** Steve Marshall reports spotting 5 SNOW GEESE [Oie des neiges] flying
over his Harvey, Albert County, home late Sunday morning, travelling from east
to west in the direction of the Calhoun Marsh and Germantown Marsh.
** On Sunday, in Dave Christie’s yard, Song Sparrows swelled to 100+; the
10 Fox Sparrows were still present, and the blackbird clan were around but not
as frequent as on Saturday. On the Mary's Point Marsh Dave noted lots of
AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS [Canard noir], but also 11 GREEN-WINGED TEAL [Sarcelle
d’hiver], 2 pair of NORTHERN PINTAILS [Canard pilet], being the first that he
has noted, and a single male AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d’Amérique].
AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d’Amérique], SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur], and
DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé] flew up from roadside here and there in his
area, but at New Horton he encountered approximately 200 Juncos along a short
stretch of road. At Waterside, he saw his first NORTHERN HARRIER [Busard
Saint-Martin] of the year [a male].
** Linda Banks has AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] continuing to enjoy
the apples placed out for BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal], of which she still
has lots there [at Riverview]. Linda also photographed a WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLAR
on April 3; it is the overwintering, larval stage of the ISABELLA TIGER MOTH
[Isia isabelle]. [Transcriber’s note: Interestingly, I found a woolly bear
curled up just inside my porch entrance on Apr. 2; on the 3rd, it was crawling
around on the floor. I had seen one just outside the porch on Jan. 13, before
winter hit us hard; perhaps it was the same individual and hibernated under or
inside the porch. — DSC]
** Susan Atkinson’s huge flowering crabtree always attracts winter fruit
connoisseurs to her yard [in Moncton], but some of the BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur
boréal] are dropping down to feed on her home-made suet block, made of suet,
over-ripe fruit and peanut butter. Susan notes that the fruit-laced suet block
was not particularly popular all winter, but the waxwings have now found it much
to their liking.
She reports they are also drinking from her heated water dish, an
interesting comment because I have rarely seen the huge flock of waxwings in my
own yard actually drink water, although it is right beside them. I have seen a
few taking peanut butter, so maybe Susan’s combo of peanut butter and fruit is
much more attractive to Bohemian Waxwings.
** Marlene Hickman is another who has had two FOX SPARROWS [Bruant fauve]
arrive in her Dorchester feeder yard. She had DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé]
all winter but the numbers have suddenly increased notably. A bright male
AMERICAN ROBIN [Merle d'Amérique] has arrived and the BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur
boréal] have found her apple cache. Also COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé] have
taken to the Scott’s seasonal suet mix, at which other birds seemed to have
turned their bills up.
** Roger LeBlanc reports that he had no sign of blackbirds around his
Notre-Dame residence, until he suddenly looked up Sunday morning to see the trio
mixture of COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé], RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à
épaulettes] and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS [Vacher à tête brune], all seeming to have
arrived overnight, along with the SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur]. The VESPER
SPARROW [Bruant vespéral] is still present there, to greet all the
newcomers.
** Several of us made a snowshoe trek on the beautiful fresh snow in mild
temperatures in woods west of Rogersville on Sunday. The fresh snow had lots of
stories to tell. RUFFED GROUSE [Gélinotte huppée] seemed abundant, as they did
on another recent snowshoe run with Brian Coyle. It would appear that they are
having a good year. It was a good day to look at the large variety of tree buds
soon to start swelling. It was interesting to find a VIREO [viréo] nest low
enough to get good observations. Take note of the spider webbing component of
the nest in the photo.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
.JPG)
.APRIL%2B3%2C%2B2015.LINDA%2BBANKS.jpg)
