Nature Moncton Nature News: April 19 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 19, 2017 (Wednesday)

Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Transcript by: Catherine Johnson johnson2@xplornet.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
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**A big thank you to Bruce Dougan for coming to the Nature Moncton meeting on Tuesday night to share the amazing evolution of zoos over his 40 years of being heavily involved with them. Bruce outlined how the wildlife in zoos no more comes from the wild, in fact the opposite is happening, to zoos saving and re-introducing endangered species to the wild. Cathy Simon joined Bruce to explain the very active educational component that is happening at the Magnetic Hill Zoo with a large expansion of the summer camp program to begin operation this summer.

A real eye-opener of a presentation with a lot of take-home information and thoughts. The Magnetic Hill Zoo welcomed 189,000 visitors in 2016, second only to the Hopewell Cape Rocks in NB paid entry tourist attractions.

**Tuesday morning Leo-Paul and Carmella Melanson made a road trip to Apohaqui to check out the EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL that was reported by Jennifer Day-Elgee on Monday morning off Jones Memorial Park Rd. The bird was very easy to spot with a group of AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL. The first photo, a ,is a comparison shot of the two teals, the top one being the Eurasian green-winged teal with the horizontal white stripe and the bottom one the North American green-winged teal with the vertical stripe.

As Jim Wilson commented, the Eurasian teal seems to have more defined pale lines on the head. The second photo, b, illustrates how it was constantly chasing the other male teals away.

**Some great EASTERN BLUEBIRD news on Tuesday. Dale Gaskin had a call from a very excited neighbour in Dawson Settlement that he had just seen one arrive to his yard on Monday.

Also Lois Budd reported at the Nature Moncton meeting that one had been spotted in the Salisbury lagoon area on Tuesday.

Great to hear of bluebirds arriving and hopefully will soon hear of real estate being taken.

Dale also mentioned he had a TURKEY VULTURE drop over his Dawson Settlement yard. Dale quips he kept moving briskly just in case the turkey vulture made any errors in his state of health!

**Brian Coyle had a PALM WARBLER flitting about his yard bushes on Tuesday. As palm warblers typically do, the tail was bobbing constantly. Palm warblers are among the early warblers to arrive.

**Gordon Rattray got a nice photo of an AMERICAN WIGEON pair to nicely show the gender plumage differences. He also got a photo of a DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT that shows nicely the tufts curving back on either side of the head behind the eyes in the breeding plumage. The photos were recorded in Hillsborough.

**NORTHERN FLICKERS have really been returning in number the past days. Mac Wilmont had one pose nicely in his Lower Coverdale yard that shows plumages from all angles.

A visiting BELTED KINGFISHER was much less cooperative as kingfishers tend to be around cameras.

**On April 13 Brian Coyle spotted a different looking duck in a ditch in his front of his Upper Mountain Rd home. We've got several opinions on it and there is a general consensus this bird has a domesticXmallard duck component to explain its plumage. A few documentary photos are attached and any other comments would be appreciated.

**Kevin Renton was noting a junco among their troop that was showing seemingly excess white on the back area and was wondering if it may be one of the subspecies of DARK-EYED JUNCO. Dave Christie looked at it closely and looked up information to find that some dark-eyed juncos go through a pre-alternate moult in the February-April time window that can leave whitish to pale grey edged feathers on the wing to explain what Kevin saw. Dave happened to note one in his own yard troop that matched that scenario to get a photo. Kevin's photo is also added.

** Ellen and David Close had a BARRED OWL appear in search of food around their Ammon Rd home yard on Sunday. It was quite able to fly but they comment it was acting strangely. They did get a few photos that show one eye is quite damaged. Hopefully it's incredible hearing and eyesight of one good eye will allow it to continue its mission.

**The RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS are arriving back in numbers with several reports now. Doreen Rossiter had been noting a small bird flitting around her Alma yard but not able to get a close enough look to identify it, to be rewarded on Tuesday morning to have it come to a nearby window to see it clearly, even to the point the raised red crown patch was visible which we don't often get to see was visible.

The male ruby-crowned kinglet has a loud, distinctive vocalization that is well worth learning to know when one is in the area.

**Aldo Dorio caught a humorous scenario with a red fox in a series of 4 photos that need little interpretation to what the red fox was thinking. It's obvious the geese and ducks are very confident of their safety in the water from foxes. Expect that attitude may change on land.

A snowshoe hare paid a visit to the Mapleton Rotary Lodge yard during the Nature Moncton meeting on Tuesday evening. Brian Stone got a photo of it to reveal its pelage change from winter white to summer brown well underway.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton