Nature Moncton Nature News: March 2 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, March 02, 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)

** Anna Tucker got an underwing flight photo of a RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse] recently. It may be a documentary photo, but it shows the dark bar on the leading edge of the wing next to the body known as the patagial bar that is specific to the Red-tailed Hawk in adult and juvenile plumage.

** Jean Paul Leblanc reports that the male NORTHERN PINTAIL [Canard pilet] and the two CANADA GEESE [Bernaches du Canada] continue to overwinter at the Bouctouche lagoon.

** Doreen Rossiter leaves a nice summary of winter bird activity around her Alma yard. She comments that bird patron numbers have been high, but have been all expected species. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] topped the number count with almost a hundred every day that included one to three PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins]. Three AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] overwintered. DARK-EYED JUNCO [Junco ardoisé] numbers were low at two to three and not every day. AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS[Bruant hudsonien] at twelve to fifteen but they have dropped back with the warm spell. BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu] came and went with six some days and none other days. Woodpeckers were rare, but a pair showed up at suet on Wednesday.

RING-NECKED PHEASANTS [Faisan de Colchide] with three males and seven females, and the dominant male now getting up on high places in the yard and starting to wing flap and crow. Last year it started pecking at its reflection in a sunroom window on March 12th and continued to do so until August. Three WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] overwintered and the first two COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé] of Spring arrived on Wednesday. RAVENS [Grand corbeau] and AMERICAN CROWS [Corneille d'Amérique] are into aerial conflicts and the BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal] seem to come and go. The one surprise with all the small birds present was the complete absence of Hawks or a Shrike.

** Brian Coyle and I had one of the best COYOTE [Coyote] experiences we've ever been fortunate to be part of on Wednesday morning. Brian had spotted Coyote scat and tracks foraging on apples a few days before and found a young calf that had died and been put out by a local farmer in a back field. Brian assumed that the Coyotes would find it and went back through the wooded area to the back field the next day to get close enough to see two Coyotes checking it out. He returned the next day to see three Coyotes there. After he called to tell me about it we decided to make an early morning run on Wednesday morning. Conditions then were very gray and threatening rain but the wind was in the right direction for any animals that might be there to not catch our scent too quickly.

We got all we could ever hope for with six Coyotes present in the area. They would not allow us to get close but a long zoom camera did get some documentary photos of the memorable scenario of which maybe too many are attached, but it was hard to hold any back. One of the six seemed to be the group leader and seemed to be very dark in color. The pelage variability was quite noticeable. There were also two RED-TAILED HAWKS [Buse à queue rousse] that Brian sees there, and hears one vocalize in flight most days. We did see one of them on Wednesday, but it did not vocalize for us. All a very memorable experience that will never be forgotten thanks to Brian Coyle who after a few visits knew the best route to get to within binocular distance without being detected.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton