Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 2 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, February 2, 2017 (Thursday)

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

Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com

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

** The TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE [Solitaire de Townsend] has not left. Brittany Crossman spotted it again at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in her Riverview yard. The Winterberry Holly bush that it was coming to was almost devoid of fruit, so last week I took some mountain ash berries that had been stored from fall and attached them to the bush. Brittany commented that they had fallen to the ground during the ice storm and that was what the Solitaire was foraging on Wednesday afternoon. I will try to place some more berries there today.

** Dale Gaskin reports that he was pleased to see a RED FOX [Renard roux] trotting along a fence line, checking for mice on his Dawson Settlement property. Dale says it was significant because for some reason he has not seen a fox on his property for a very long time. It was in excellent shape. Dale also comments that his feeder yard seems very active at the moment.

** Aldo Dorio shares a photo of a lone COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin flammé] visiting his Néguac feeder yard on January 26 and of a BLUE JAY [Geai bleu] perched on remaining ice on February 1st.

** Danny Sullivan, Brian Stone and I made a run to Green’s Point and Deer Island on Wednesday. It is always a good idea to check the weather where you are going, not where you’re leaving from! It was a nice, sunny day in Moncton but it was snowing on our chosen route for the day. We checked every eider we could see but no KING EIDER [Eider à tête grise] was spotted. It was nice to see several RAZORBILLS [Petit Pingouin] on the ferry crossing, lots of BLACK GUILLEMOTS [Guillemot à miroir], and winter COMMON LOONS [Plongeon huard]. Ralph Eldridge’s St. George feeders were very busy with the regular expected birds. A male and female NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] made it special. AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien] were very abundant there. The weather may not have been ideal for photos but it was great to be in that area for the day. The photos reflect the snowy conditions but are documentary.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton