Nature Moncton Nature News: March 13 2016

** Ron Steeves and Connie Colpitts paid a visit to the New Horton hawk-watch site on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. They observed one RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse], 2 resident BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche], and one Bald Eagle they assumed to be in migration from its deliberate flight along the bay. Other birds of interest included a flock of 140 COMMON EIDER [Eider à duvet], 5 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS [Cormoran à aigrettes], one GREAT CORMORANT [Grand Cormoran], along with significant numbers of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à épaulettes], COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé] and AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d’Amérique]. Nine HORNED LARKS [Alouette hausse-col] were seen, a species we heard very little of this past winter. CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada] were significant by their absence, with none seen during the watch period, and even none on the Albert Marsh.

** Brian Stone photographed a 22° solar halo at 7:47 a.m. on Saturday morning.

** After hearing the recording of calling TURKEYS that Jean Renton got by holding her phone out their camp window near Canaan, I couldn’t resist heading there on Saturday to see the action. So Brian Stone, my grandson Matt and I headed there Saturday afternoon, and what a show!

Jean took us to a spot where 3 tom turkeys were displaying for a seemingly unimpressed hen turkey. The toms put on an incredible plumage display, complete with red, blood-filled wattle, and periodically breaking into a chorus of gobbling.

Zoom cameras captured lots of action, and Brian got some video, complete with sound, that he will show at Tuesday night’s Nature Moncton meeting, after the break and speaker of the evening, Becky Whittam. There will be complete details about that in tomorrow’s edition.

Also noted on Saturday, en route, was a CEDAR WAXWING [Jaseur d'Amérique] nest from the past summer. Several WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] were out in one field in Second North River, and a small group of SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des neiges] were showing breeding plumage coming on nicely.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton