Nature Moncton Nature News: May 12 2016

** Dale Gaskin was very pleased to spot his first male EASTERN BLUEBIRD [Merlebleu de l'Est] on a fence post by his barn in Dawson Settlement. He has lots of TREE SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] and will be checking much more closely to see if some of the swallows might actually be bluebirds.

** Jean Renton has had her first WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS [Bruant à couronne blanche] arrive on Thursday morning, and also a pair of ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS [Cardinal à poitrine rose] have arrived. BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] are diminishing in number as they pair bond and go to nesting territories. The FINCHES continue in unexpectedly high numbers around her Stilesville feeder yard.

** The WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS [Bruant à couronne blanche] are really moving through in numbers this week. Elsie Cormier in Cap Pele has had White-Crowned Sparrows to her feeder yard on Wednesday. Elsie also shares a photo of a female PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré], a bird that often gets second place in photos due to its colorful adult mate.

Am also adding a photo of two White-crowned Sparrows that came to the feeder side by side this morning.

** Gordon Rattray attended the book launch of the Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas in Sackville on Tuesday night. He describes the book as awesome! It's a large book, 31 x 24 cm, and photos are colour and high gloss. When in Sackville he took photos at the Waterfowl Park to include both genders of AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d'Amérique], GADWALL [Canard chipeau], and GREEN-WINGED TEAL [Sarcelle d'hiver]. Also a PIED-BILLED GREBE [Grèbe à bec bigarré] and a photo of a freshly emerged HORSETAIL plant.

On Wednesday BARN SWALLOWS [Hirondelle rustique] returned to his barn in Albert Mines, and he made an evening visit to the old rail line in Hillsborough to find that YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS [Paruline à croupion jaune] and PALM WARBLERS [Paruline à couronne rousse] seemed to be everywhere along the two hundred meter path. A pair of CHIMNEY SWIFTS [Martinet ramoneur] were overhead and a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER [Paruline noir et blanc] was special. A pair of NORTHERN SHOVELER [Canard souchet] and NORTHERN PINTAIL [Canard pilet] were in the Grey Brook Marsh pond.

** Doreen Rossiter's BALTIMORE ORIOLE [Oriole de Baltimore] is enjoying its orange sections, but she was very surprised to find one of her WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS [Bruant à couronne blanche] doing the same, eating away with gusto at an orange section, something she has never seen or heard of before. Any comments from others?

** Louise Nichols shares some interesting photos of GREEN-WINGED TEALS [Sarcelle d'hiver] at the Sackville Waterfowl Park that show a few images we don't often see of the females. That bit of green in the wing, and one shows the color flashes that are most like purple or blue. Louise also got a photo of a MAGNOLIA WARBLER [Paruline à tête cendrée] and a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune] from a different angle.

** Brian Stone was sleuthing his Moncton yard on Wednesday to find some FIREFLY insects and get close up photos of them. We have several species of Fireflies in New Brunswick. The Glowworm is the larval stage of the Firefly, and one of Brian's photos seems to have caught what appears to be the larval Glowworm shedding its skin, possibly to move to the adult, or some other stage. We can look forward to seeing the glow of fireflies after dark on warm evenings, flashing their lights to each other, very soon.

Brian also commented that he seemed to startle a SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur] that is probably nesting in his yard. It stumbled and flapped wings as if hurt but when Brian did not pursue it, it flew off just fine to a branch. Sounds like it has been to Killdeer school!

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca