Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 19 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January 19, 2017 ( Thursday )

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Jamie and Karen Burris visited the duck group at Mapleton Park on Tuesday to find again interesting birds. Jamie was able to get the leucistic female MALLARD [Canard colvert] beside a normal female mallard, a MALLARD/BLACK DUCK HYBRID beside a normal drake Mallard, an AMERICAN BLACK DUCK [Canard noir] seemingly splashing about with content, and noted a male and female Mallard acting very affectionately with one another. They saw the female WOOD DUCK [Canard branchu] looking fine but there was no sign of the male.

** Georges Brun got some nice photos of a colourful sun dog in the sky on Wednesday, along with a very cooperative posing pair of MALLARD [Canard colvert] ducks.

** David Christie was driving past the Lars Larsen marsh at Mary's Point on Wednesday as the tide was coming on high to note approximately thirty MALLARD [Canard colvert] ducks in the creek draining the marsh and was surprised to see a female AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d'Amérique] traveling with them. He notes that he may see Wigeon in other areas like Saint John in January but very rarely in Mary's Point area. David also comments that his bird feeder area is very quiet with all the bare ground available for birds to find wild food more easily.

** Janet Cormier shares some recent photographs of a BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] taken around the Saint Thomas wharf that was soon harassed by Crows after the photo. Also a pair of female RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS [Harle huppé] and a recent photo of a COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] overwintering and traveling with a flock of European Starlings.

** Jim Tingley reminds folks that the fantastic recent show on The Nature of Things about the Great Horned Owl is available on YouTube for those that may have missed this show.

** Marlene Hickman comments how blessed that she is to be able to see what she can from her Dorchester window. Other than her bird feeder yard she gets the chance to see a RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse] fly by from time to time, WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] come to left over apples, and on Wednesday morning watched two COYOTES [Coyote] hunting mice in a field, watching them jump and pounce. Marlene comments that the animals and birds seem to be benefiting from the lack of snow that has buried their dinners and has allowed quick and easy travel to their food.

** Brian Stone, Danny Sullivan and I spent time on Wednesday sleuthing the area from Moncton to Bouctouche and the shore area. We tried to see a Gray Jay family that regularly visits a Cocagne family for scraps, however we missed them by fifteen minutes. We moved on to the Bouctouche lagoons to enjoy the duck activity at the only open area at the lower town side area of the lagoon. There were many MALLARD [Canard colvert] ducks, a few AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS [Canard noir], two CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada], a very sharply dressed male NORTHERN PINTAIL [Canard pilet] that Jean-Paul Leblanc had reported earlier, and BARROW'S GOLDENEYES [Garrot d'Islande] and COMMON GOLDENEYES [Garrot à oeil d'or]. Everyone was in bright breeding plumage ready for Spring.

Some open water at the Saint Thomas wharf netted some great observations of LONG-TAILED DUCKS [Harelde kakawi] and COMMON MERGANSERS [Grand Harle] with RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS [Harle huppé] blended with Goldeneyes at the now restrictive areas of open water, especially around bridges.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton