Nature Moncton Nature News: 2016-03-13

Saturday, 19 March 2016

March 19 2016

**Anna Tucker had a very pleasant surprise to step outside her apartment building on St George Street on Friday evening to find a fruit tree loaded with a blend of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal] and AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] enjoying their feast as much as Anna enjoyed them.

**The FOX SPARROWS [Bruant fauve] seem to be really on the move into New Brunswick en route to more northerly breeding grounds later. Sally Jackson is another that has had one arrive to her Saint John feeder yard.

**Brian Stone shares some birds he’s noting around his relatives’ home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at the moment, including NORTHERN CARDINALS [Cardinal rouge], DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé], SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur], and WOODPECKERS [Pic], including a PILEATED WOODPECKER [Grand Pic]. And Brian has noted BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu] picking dead branches from a tree, obviously with nest construction in mind.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

BOHEMIAN WAXWING.MARCH 18, 2016.ANNA TUCKER

BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS AND ROBINS.MARCH 18, 2016.ANNA TUCKER

BOHEMIAN WAXWING.MARCH 18, 2016.ANNA TUCKER

DARK-EYED JUNCO. MARCH 18, 2016. BRIAN STONE

NORTHERN CARDINAL.MARCH 18, 2016. BRIAN STONE

SONG SPARROW. MARCH 18, 2016. BRIAN STONE

Friday, 18 March 2016

March 18 2016

** Glen Nichols' rich garden area in Sackville was very attractive to an AMERICAN WOODCOCK [Bécasse d'Amérique] a few days ago, and Louise Nichols was there to catch the action with photos of a Woodcock probing in the soil and getting a nice fresh grub. Louise has been out a dusk a few nights to listen for displays, but had not heard any as of Thursday night. They seem to be more interested in the garden booty at the moment. The American Woodcock sometimes gets the name Timberdoodle.

** Lois Budd had a great St. Patty's day at her Salisbury feeder yard. First a female NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] dropped by along with 60 EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] that she thought had left her. In the afternoon, a male NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] came by as well as a FOX SPARROW [Bruant fauve]. Late in the day, a BROWN CREEPER [Grimpereau brun] decided to visit the tree just outside her window. Lois was able to capture a photo of the Brown Creeper and the male Cardinal skulking in the bushes.

** When the Nature Moncton field trip last Sunday visited the Hampton sewage lagoon, 5 TURKEY VULTURES [Urubu à tête rouge] were floating over the area. One had a tag on the right wing, but the flight photos of Sunday were not clear enough to read the tag. Carmella Melanson was in the area on Tuesday to find the bird perched on a fence and got a photo to read the letters. Richard Blacquiere has been following the scenario of this bird and I'm adding Richard's words on the background of this bird.

“Last year, on 19 April 2015, a Turkey Vulture with a wing tag was spotted
roosting with 22 other Vultures at the Hampton Sewage lagoon. A photo
revealed that the lettering on the tag read HTP. After submitting the
sighting to the Bird Banding Laboratory, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center,
in Maryland, it turned out that this bird had been tagged near Key West,
Florida on 3 Feb 2013. An additional piece of information was that the
Vulture hatched in 2012. So, this bird was approximately 3 years old when
first seen in Hampton. The tagged Vulture was seen intermittently after
that, the last sighting being on 13 July 2015.

This past Sunday, 13 March 2016, a small group of birders spotted some
apparently newly returned Vultures soaring over the Hampton lagoon. One of
these birds clearly had a wing tag, but photos of the bird in flight were
not of high enough resolution to read the tag. A couple of days later (15
March), Carmella Melanson was travelling through the area and stopped at the
Hampton lagoon. She found the tagged Vulture sitting on the fence and
managed to get a photo where the tag could be clearly seen. The letter
combination, HTP, confirmed this was the same bird as last year.

The Vulture tagging program is part of a research project being conducted by
the US Department of Agriculture. More information can be found at:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/programs/nwrc/research-areas/sa_invasive_wildlife/ct_avian_invasive_species

** Brian Coyle had his flock of BLACKBIRDS [Red-winged and Common Grackles] arrive on Thursday morning along with nearly 20 bright male AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] to his lower Mountain Rd. feeder yard. He also had 5 WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] walk by his window nose-to-tail, in a row, on Wednesday morning and two on Thursday morning followed the exact same route. Brian's YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune] that arrived to his suet feeder approximately 10 days ago continues to be a daily patron.

** Jean-Paul and Stella LeBlanc report some first-of-the-year birds have arrived to their Bouctouche feeder yard this week to include COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin flame], PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins], BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS [Vacher à tête brune], RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à epaulettes] and COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronze].

** Janet Cormier has also had a busy feeder yard at her location off the Salisbury Rd. As others are suddenly seeing, PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins] have arrived for Janet as well as a swelling of expected regulars.

** Brian Stone captured a nice photo of a male PILEATED WOODPECKER [Grand pic] in Mapleton Park recently and also had an AMERICAN CROW [Corneille d'Amérique] very intent on picking every edible morsel of a bone it had found.

** This week's Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this transcription, courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, March 19 – March 26
This being the week leading up to Easter, let us look for signs of it in
the sky. Lambs have long been associated with spring and Easter, so we
can start with Aries the Ram in the west. For many, the symbol of Easter
is Peter Cottontail, the Easter Bunny. When darkness sets in we can see
Lepus the Hare below the feet of Orion. I see the constellation as three
vertical pairs of stars, with the brightest pair in the middle and the
widest to the right. With a reasonably dark sky you can see the bunny
ears between the widest pair and Orion’s brightest star, Rigel.

In Germanic mythology, Ostara, the goddess of spring, found a wounded
bird and changed it into a hare so that it could survive. This animal
was allowed to run as fast as it could fly and retained the ability to
lay eggs, which it did in spring to honour its rescuer. The Saxon name
for the goddess was Eostre.

Sunrise services are a popular way to celebrate Easter, and perhaps a
good time to look for religious Easter symbols in the sky if you are an
hour or two early. The Northern Cross, the most recognizable part of
Cygnus the Swan, is high in the east among the procession of
constellations. Look for semicircular Corona Borealis to the southwest,
one third of the way from the bright star Arcturus toward equally bright
Vega. Can you picture this as a cave with an open door? It does play the
role of a cave in a local aboriginal legend of the Big Dipper.

I think the best symbol is seen on the Moon when it is full or nearly
so. When it rises in spring, look for the dark bunny ears to the upper
right. With them identified, isn’t difficult to picture Peter Cottontail
clutching a giant egg.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:23 am and sunset will occur at
7:31 pm, giving 12 hours, 8 minutes of daylight (7:28 am and 7:36 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:10 am and set at 7:40
pm, giving 12 hours, 30 minutes of daylight (7:15 am and 7:45 pm in
Saint John). The Sun crosses the equator at 1:30 am on Sunday, marking
the vernal equinox or the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere.

The full Worm Moon occurs on Wednesday. Since this is the first full
Moon in spring, the following Sunday is Easter. There is a caveat to
this, in that to determine the date for Easter it is assumed spring
always occurs on March 21. Easter can occur any time between March 22
and April 25, inclusive. The Moon passes a thumb-width below Jupiter
after midnight on Monday evening. If you look at Jupiter in a scope
before 9:37 on Wednesday evening you might notice an oddity: only one of
its four large moons is visible. The other three are either in front of
or behind the planet and all will have reappeared by 10:46 pm. Mars
moves to within 10 degrees of Saturn this week, with the pair making an
ever-changing triangle with Antares below. Mercury is at superior
conjunction behind the Sun on Wednesday, and Venus has gone on vacation
until summer.

The provincial astronomy club, RASC NB, meets at Moncton High School on
March 19 at 1 pm. All are welcome. Some RASC NB members will be teaming
with the Science East planetarium staff at Regent Mall in Fredericton
from 11 am to 2 pm on March 19, and offering public solar viewing near
Wal-Mart if the Sun is visible.

Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

AMERICAN CROW EATING FROM BONE 01. MAR. 17, 2016. BRIAN STONE

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH - MARCH 17, 2016 - JANET CORMIER-CHURCHILL

AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES & PINE SISKINS - MARCH 17, 2016 - JANET CORMIER-CHURCHILL

AMERICAN WOODCOCK (a). LOUISE NICHOLS. MARCH 14, 2016

BROWN CREEPER.MARCH 17, 2016.LOIS BUDD

COMMON GRACKLE - MARCH 17, 2016 - JANET CORMIER-CHURCHILL

COMMON GRACKLE AND RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD FLOCK.MARCH 17, 2016.BRIAN COYLE

Lepus

Moon-Easterbunny

NORTHERN CARDINAL.MARCH 17, 2016.LOIS BUDD

PILEATED WOODPECKER ( MALE ) 01. MAR. 13, 2016. BRIAN STONE

RING-NECKED PHEASANT - MARCH 17, 2016 - JANET CORMIER-CHURCHILL

TURKEY VULTURE (TAGGED WITH HTP).MARCH 15, 2016.CARMELLA MELANSON

Thursday, 17 March 2016

March 17 2016

** The activities committee of Nature Moncton has arranged for a combined "owl prowl" and workshop coming up next Thursday evening, a week from today. A full write up is added to this transcription. Also as a heads up to mark off on your calendar, a pond life workshop is scheduled for May 14th, and the write up is added as an attachment.

Nature Moncton Owl Prowl

Workshop and Outing with Roger Leblanc

Thursday March 24, 2016

(Bad weather date: Monday March 28, 2016)

With spring approaching, some birds are already coming back while others will join later when the full extravaganza of migration comes around. But other species have been with us all winter and this is already a time for courtship and even nest tending for them. Such is the case for most of our owl species. And since, for a creature of the night like an owl, a lot of the breeding behaviors have to do with vocalization this is also a good time to go looking but mostly listening for them. But wandering around at night, in wooded areas without knowing where to “listen” can be a challenge, so Nature Moncton is offering a short workshop to get you familiarized with our owl species and their calls, followed by an owl prowl where hopefully we can put to the test what we have learned indoors. Our guide will be Roger Leblanc who has been “giving a hoot” for owls for more than two decades and “knows where they live” and so will do his best to help us share just a bit of the lives of these magnificent but hard to find raptors of the night. As “owling” has a lot to do with timing and weather, the Nature Moncton owl prowl is scheduled for March 24th with a “rain date” of March 28th. Whether you have always been interested in owls or are just getting to know them and would like to learn more, come and join us for a night out with the owls in the safety of a group setting and with an experienced leader to maximize your chances.

Thursday March 24^th: Workshop from 6:00 to 7:00; outing from 7:00 to approx. 9:30.

(If weather is not good, alternate date is Monday March 28^th, same time)

Workshop at the Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr.

Registration with Judi Berry-Steeves at jbsteeve@nbnet.nb.ca or phone Judi at 387-4778.

Cost of workshop is $5 payable at the door . All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

** The wonderful sound of the AMERICAN WOODCOCK [Bécasse d'Amérique] doing its spring ritual! David Christie was very fortunate to have four Woodcock doing their evening performance of the twittering flight to land on the ground to emit their "peent" call, and repeat it. All four were within sight of his back yard at approximately 7:45 pm on Wednesday evening.

While down surveying the beach area approximately 250 Blackbirds did a fly pass en route to Mary's Point and probably on to Grindstone Island, Point Maringouin, and Sackville. However the water crossing may have stopped them as they all reversed to come back to the area of the Mary's Point Interpretive Center, and shortly after approximately 150 of them in David's yard.

** Gabriel Gallant reports on activity in his Sainte Marie de Kent yard. He has had RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à épaulettes] and COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé] for about a week now, but did see one female COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin flammé] come in to the feeder on Saturday. On Tuesday he saw approximately a dozen Redpolls fly over. As Gabriel is away at work during the day, he is not sure if they visited his feeder yard or not.

** Georges Brun noted a COMMON EIDER [Eider à duvet] on the Petitcodiac River at the Bend on Wednesday. Moments later a BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] came over, appearing with intent to check it out. The Eider was not long in making its exit.

** The EASTERN CHIPMUNKS [Suisse] must be near the end of their winter siesta from the many recent reports. Anne Marsch had her first two arriving at her Lower Coverdale yard on Wednesday.

** Georges Brun got a photo of a group of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] on Wednesday. A few in the photo seem to be showing noticeable bright yellow patches of the oncoming change to breeding plumage. Georges is also noting [ AMERICAN CROWS [Corneille d'Amérique] snapping off twigs on a bush near his home, expecting a nest is in progress nearby. Brian Stone also got a photo of a male American Goldfinch in plumage transition yesterday while in Halifax.

** Aldo Dorio got photos of male COMMON MERGANSERS [Grand Harle] in their bright, breeding plumage both in flight and on the water at Hay Island on Wednesday.

** The generosity of Jim Wilson to provide packets of SWAMP MILKWEED seeds to plant in yards to encourage MONARCH BUTTERFLY [Monarque] use, at the Tuesday night Nature Moncton meeting was a major success to say the least. Jim advises he still has a limited supply left for interested folk.

** The Chignecto Naturalist Club is arranging a field trip to visit the SKUNK CABBAGE [Le chou puant] patches this coming Sunday. The note from president Pam Novak that was sent for our attention is added below to advise how to join them.

From the Chignecto Naturalists’ Club

“Skunk Cabbage and Birding Field Trip”, SUNDAY MARCH 20TH

With the unusual weather we have been having this winter; we find that the Skunk Cabbage is way ahead of schedule. So, we have planned our annual field trip to go and see how they're doing for THIS Sunday (20th). Afterwards, we will take a birding field trip, led by Andrew MacFarlane.

Sackville participants who wish to car pool can meet in the parking lot behind the Sackville Post Office at 9am on Sunday March 20th. We will meet up with everyone else at the building beside the Port Elgin rotary at 9:30 am.

As usual, dress for the weather, including waterproof footwear. Bring your binoculars, a scope if you have it, a bird book (or app), and your lunch.

The weather forecaster is predicting a sunny day with a high of 1C, so it should be a wonderful day to get some fresh air, soak in the coming spring, see if there is any snow for the Skunk Cabbage to poke through, and spot those early migrating birds.

** An astronomy presentation in the "Starry Sackville" series of talks will take place this coming Friday evening, March 18th. A PDF is attached for those with astronomical interests who may want to put that on their calendar.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH MARCH 16 2016 GEORGES BRUN (1)

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. MAR. 17, 2016. BRIAN STONE

BALD EAGLE MAR 16 2016 GEORGES BRUN (1)

COMMON EIDER MAR 16 2016 GEORGES BRUN (1)

COMMON MERGANSER (MALES) MARCH 16, 2016.ALDO DORIO

AMERICAN CROWS MAR 16 2016 GEORGES BRUN (1)

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

March 16, 2016

* A big thank you to Becky Whittam for coming to Nature Moncton on Tuesday night to share the many activities of The Canadian Wildlife Service in Sackville covering many different programs in progress and completed. The work being done from that office is huge and our contributions as birdwatchers and naturalists is used extensively. Becky pointed out 2016 is the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Birds Convention Act that resulted in major protection to many bird species and still is very effective today and celebrations will be taking place this year. A name change after the recent federal election to Environment and Climate Change was noted which may be more apparent where the name is used where it will be appearing in new publications.

* Anna Tucker got photos of the moon in the early hours of Tuesday at 12:30 and 1:30am to show it in its first quarter with 37% of the moon visible.

* Aldo Dorio submitted a photo of RED-BREASTED MERGANSER with plumage that made for second looks with one of the birds showing a dark rim around the eye. Dave Christie took a look at the photos for commentary and his check of the literature is added below.

In “The Birds of North America” series, No. 443, Red-breasted Merganser (Rodger D. Titman, 1999), the description of female Definitive Alternate plumage, includes this: “Variable amount of black on head around eye, near gape, on chin, and on forehead.”

So that’s on adult females from winter through late spring. This one is probably in the mid range of amount of black.

David Christie

Roger Titman has done a lot of work with RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and particularly in the Kouchibouguac National Park area. Also Dave adds the males can look like this when they go into eclipse after breeding.

* Paula Lansdale, near Alma, comments on a sudden spike in DARK EYED JUNCOS in her yard to 15 as well as SONG SPARROWS up suddenly to 10-12. The DOWNEY WOODPECKER pair that had been absent for the past 2 months suddenly reappeared acting like they had never left.

* Dave Christie and John Inman spotted their first KILLDEER in the Mary's Point area on Tuesday. Dave also comments the FOX SPARROW presence in his feeder yard increased from the 1 of a few days earlier to 3 on Tuesday along with continued swelling of SONG SPARROW number up to 20-25.

* Clarence Cormier was yet another to have his first arrival of BLACKBIRDS at his Grand Digue site with 2 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and 5 COMMON GRACKLES. ROBINS are still very much present with approximately 30 on Tuesday.

* Many folks are mentioning some of the very early appearing cultivar plants are appearing. Bob Blake comments that they have tulips up 6 inches in height but suspects it may just be too early for them to bloom.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

MOON.0030 A.M..MARCH 14, 2016.ANNA TUCKER

MOON.0130 A.M..MARCH 14, 2016.ANNA TUCKER

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (FEMALES) MARCH 14, 2016.ALDO DORIO

Tuesday, 15 March 2016

March 15 2016

** The Nature Moncton meeting is on tonight, Tuesday night, with details repeated at the end of the message. Don’t forget Jim Wilson’s Swamp Milkweed seed packets and instructions will be available at break time.

** Sally Jackson comments some LADY BEETLES were becoming active on her window sill on Monday morning.

** Dale Gaskin reports he heard a big raucous outside his Dawson Settlement Rd home on Monday evening to look out and watch a MERLIN [Faucon émerillon] subdue a ROCK PIGEON [Pigeon biset]. That seems like huge prey for a Merlin. As could be expected it did not carry off such a large prey and feasted on the spot.

** Brian Stone got lots of nice photos from the Sunday Nature Moncton field trip to Saint John and area which are shared today to include a subadult BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tote blanche] at the Cardwell Farm site, the BOREAL CHICKADEE [Mésange à tote brune], NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge], the TURKEY VULTURE [Urubu à tote rouge] with the tag attached to the right wing, and a MALLARD HYBRID duck. The photo so far has not been clear enough to read that tag.

** Marlene Hickman comments she is enjoying very much the iridescence of the arriving COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] and the plenty of sun on Monday, along with newly arrived DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé], and SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur]. Marlene comments as many others have on how she misses all the Redpolls and Pine Siskins of last winter.

** The March Nature Moncton meeting will take place tonight, Tuesday night, March 15, at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge, at 7 pm. The presenter this month is Becky Whittam from the Canadian Wildlife Service in Sackville who will discuss the value of the data naturalists and birdwatchers collect in the delivery of all the CWS programs. She will touch on many different CWS projects like sea ducks, Chimney Swifts, shorebirds, swallows, Piping Plover, Roseate Tern, and more. Becky will have lots of information to share on what’s happening with CWS that many of us may not be aware of.

After Becky’s presentation and the break, the venue of the meeting after is about to change drastically. At a recent Nature Moncton board meeting it was decided that the business of Nature Moncton should be the duty of the board at board meetings and put more emphasis on what’s coming up with the active slate of activities planned for Nature Moncton, a major emphasis on sightings, with members’ photos and videos of what they have seen, with discussion on them, events happening with other groups which may be naturalists groups or other local events to know what’s going on around us that we may be interested in. This new “sunny ways” approach to the second half of the meeting will be expanded in the upcoming months.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

BALD EAGLE 01. MAR. 13, 2016. BRIAN STONE

BOREAL CHICKADEE 01. MAR. 13, 2016. BRIAN STONE

CANADA GEESE. MAR. 13, 2016. BRIAN STONE

MALLARD HYBRID DUCK 02. MAR. 13, 2016. BRIAN STONE

NORTHERN CARDINAL 01. MAR. 13, 2016. BRIAN STONE

TURKEY VULTURE (TAGGED). MAR. 13, 2016. BRIAN STONE

Monday, 14 March 2016

March 14, 2016

** Nature Moncton’s monthly meeting will take place tomorrow evening, Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in the Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge. The presentation will be given by Becky Whittam from the Canadian Wildlife Service in Sackville. She will discuss the value to the Wildlife Service of information that birdwatchers and naturalists collect. She will touch on many different CWS projects like sea ducks, Chimney Swifts, shorebirds, swallows, Piping Plover, Roseate Tern, and more. Becky will have lots of information to share on what’s happening with the Canadian Wildlife Service that many of us may not be aware of.

After Becky’s presentation and the break, the program will change drastically. At a recent board meeting it was decided that the business of Nature Moncton should be the duty of the board and that the emphasis at meetings of members should be placed on what’s coming up in the slate of activities of Nature Moncton, also with emphasis on sightings, member’s photos and videos of what they have seen, with discussion of them and what’s happening with other groups, whether they be naturalists or other local events, in order to know what’s going on, that we may be interested in. This new “sunny ways” approach to the second half of meetings will be expanded each month in the future.

Jim Wilson has very kindly sent 60 packets of Swamp Milkweed seeds to be given out at the meeting and if anyone wants some and will not be at the meeting, leave a message to have some put aside for you.

** Louise Nichols spotted 8 new species around the Sackville area over the weekend. On the lagoon at Donald Harper Road she noted a pair of NORTHERN SHOVELERS [Canard souchet], 4 AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d’Amérique], a male WOOD DUCK [Canard branchu] and 6 RING-NECKED DUCKS [Fuligule à collier]. She saw the first GADWALL [Canard chipeau] pair at the Sackville Waterfowl Park, with MALLARD [Canard colvert] pairs. The waterfowl park is still basically unoccupied as of Sunday, with approximately one third of the water open. A flock of CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada] flew over the park on Sunday and some were present in a field along Folkins Drive.

** Jean-Paul and Stella LeBlanc reported that they had the first PINE SISKIN [Tarin des pins] of the year at their feeder yard in Bouctouche on Sunday. What a difference from the huge numbers at feeders last winter!

** Louise Richard had a visit from a male PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] at their Acadieville cabin feeder on Sunday. Numbers of this species should increase at feeders any time now.

** Dale Gaskin comments that he noted a few of his male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] visitors starting to take on their more brilliant summer plumage, showing that moth-eaten look. Also the first PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] that Dale has seen in a while showed up on Sunday.

** Dave Christie reports that the blackbird troop swelled considerably at his Mary's Point feeders on the weekend and is eating twice the amount of food that he had been putting out each day. Dave’s population swelled to approximately 80, while nearby John Inman’s yard reported about 200, including two male BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS [Vacher à tête brune], on Sunday.

** Georges Brun heard his first CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada] of the season on Saturday evening in the Moncton Hospital area, and heading towards Halls Creek. He saw a lone bird flying at the junction of Halls Creek and the Petitcodiac River on Sunday. Chances are that will soon change as large numbers settle in any time.

** Also on CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada], Paul Nickerson reports that the first flock arrived on the field below White Frost Village mobile home park off the Salisbury Rd. on Sunday.

** Doreen Rossiter saw another spring entrant to her Alma yard on Sunday; less welcome than returning birds for her, it was a groundhog (WOODCHUCK [Marmotte commune]), eating cracked corn that had been placed out for the pheasants. She suspects it’s the same one that last year enjoyed eating her garden.

** A huge thank-you to Richard Blacquiere for leading a very keen group of Nature Moncton participants on a birding field trip to Saint John and area hotspots on Sunday, starting off at the Hampton lagoon, where NORTHERN CARDINALS [Cardinal rouge] greeted us. This may have been common for Richard, but the Moncton visitors went wild photographing and enjoying them.

Richard took us to a Rothesay lagoon that is in use and another decommissioned one. Both of them had lots of overwintering ducks, such as BUFFLEHEAD [Petit Garrot], of which there were many, COMMON GOLDENEYE [Garrot à oeil d'or] and BARROW'S GOLDENEYE [Garrot d’Islande] early Green-winged Teal and Canada Geese. A stop at Indiantown beach was quiet with a stop at Fallsview Park with the tide roaring out was special.

A round of a back way to the Lancaster lagoon gave great observations of itwith lots of goals and especially gadwall pairs.

Next stop was Marsh Creek to see more Gadwall pairs., other ducks, and gulls. Then onto Norton Shore Road to see the huge number number of scaup staged along the Kennabacasis River. Many of the 1-2000 birds were near enough for great observations with some Ring-necked Ducks, Common Merganser and Goldeneye with the.but dwarfed by the sheer numbers of scaup to decipher whether they be Lesser or Greater Scaup. The majority appeared to be Greater Scaup. A return visit to the Hampton lagoon had some Gadwall and Bufflehead and five Turkey vultures that stole the show. One of which had a marker on its right wing with hopes some of the photos could read it. A call on a possible different woodpecker sent the group scurrying to Titusville . No woodpecker was found but a very cooperative Boreal Chickadee was the consolation prize appreciated by many.

This was an excellent first spring outing of Nature Moncton and Richard led us to lots of new sites to monitor and explore .

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nature Moncton