Nature Moncton Nature News: March 20 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, March 20, 2017 (Monday)

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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)

** Gabriel Gallant watched and heard an interesting scenario in his Sainte-Marie-de-Kent yard on Sunday morning. A NORTHERN SHRIKE [Pie-grièche grise] was perched in the tallest tree overlooking his yard. It was obviously a male, as it was loudly vocalizing the special song we only hear for a short time in spring. a EUROPEAN STARLING [Étourneau sansonnet] that didn’t seem to know how aggressive a shrike can be, joined it in the tree. The shrike went on the attack, chasing the Starling from branch to branch until it managed to get away. The shrike then returned to its original perch, to continue its scan of the yard.

On Sunday afternoon, Gabriel spotted a flock of approximately 50 COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé]. He watched for them to land but they seemed to be passing through. Gabriel also had his first two RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à épaulettes] of the year arrive in his feeder yard on Sunday afternoon.

** Carolyn Vankampen is enjoying trying out her new Nikon B700 camera in Costa Rica at the moment, and shares a photo of a CHESTNUT-MANDIBLED TOUCAN. I suspect it will be a long while before we get that one on our New Brunswick list!

** Brian Stone and I made a Sunday afternoon run up the coast from Shediac to Bouctouche. The trip started great when a SNOWY OWL [Harfang des neiges] was spotted, on an ice floe off Pointe-du-Chêne wharf. It was a long way out but Brian got some photos as it got quite lively when two AMERICAN CROWS [Corneille d'Amérique] started to harass it.

From the wharf we saw two GRAY SEALS [Phoque gris] a long way off on the ice. I suspect they were males as they were quite large and there was no sign of pups, which should be a few months old by now. Some BLACK SCOTERS [Macreuse noire] were in the bay; we saw males only.

We stopped at the Chisholm’s feeder yard in Bouctouche. The BOREAL CHICKADEE [Mésange à tête brune] did drop in at the orange mesh suet bag for a brief visit. The mixture must be an attractive one, as a HAIRY WOODPECKER [Pic chevelu], BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire], a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] and EUROPEAN STARLINGS [Étourneau sansonnet] all visited it while we were there. A PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] was also in the feeder yard.

** Nature Moncton's March meeting will take place tomorrow night Tuesday, March 21 at 7 o'clock, at the Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge. Presenter for the first half of the meeting will be Beth MacDonald, from the Canadian Wildlife Service, speaking about the WHIMBREL [Courlis corlieu], especially on the Acadian Peninsula. The write-up is attached below.

The second half of the meeting is devoted to recent sightings by members. Please bring any photos on flash drives to share with the members, as well as oral reports of anything going on in the area.

Nature Moncton March Meeting

March 21, 2017 at 7:00 pm

Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge

Presenter: Beth MacDonald

“Whimbrel: The blueberry bird of the Acadian Peninsula”

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus) use the Acadian Peninsula in New Brunswick as a stopover site during migration in late summer and early fall. During this period, they spend much of their time in commercial blueberry fields which makes them a concern to berry growers who fear that too many of their berries are being consumed by birds. To better understand this issue, the Canadian Wildlife Service, in collaboration with Mount Allison University and the Center for Conservation Biology, initiated a study in the summer of 2014 to document habitat use, diet, behaviour and migratory connectivity of Whimbrel during stopover on the Acadian Peninsula. This presentation will briefly discuss what we know about Whimbrel populations in North America and outline the main results of the Acadian Peninsula research project.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton