Nature Moncton Nature News: April 4 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 04, 2017 ( Tuesday )

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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)

** Ron Steeves has been one of the very faithful observers to monitor the spring migration at Cape Enrage and New Horton church area. Ron comments that he finds the best time for monitoring the movement is the first two hours of daylight which is exactly what he did on Monday, monitoring before many of us were up. Ron commented that it was a beautiful, cool morning with no wind. Birds were passing by closely and were easy to identify. Ron's tally was 1,940 COMMON EIDERS [Eider à duvet] in fifteen flocks, the largest being 300 birds ... 109 CANADA GEESE [Bernaches du Canada] in seven flocks, the largest being 44 birds ... 12 GREAT CORMORANTS [Grand Cormoran] in one flock ... 19 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS [Cormoran à aigrettes] in one flock ... 31 BLACK SCOTERS [Macreuse noire] in one flock ... 6 SURF SCOTERS [Macreuse à front blanc] in one flock ... also a few LONG-TAILED DUCKS [Harelde kakawi], RED-THROATED LOONS [Plongeon catmarin] and an active gull migration.

At the New Horton church a few hawks were moving, but were exceptionally high and appearing in and out of the cloud cover. The only raptors that he could identify with certainty were BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche], SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS [Épervier brun], MERLINS [Faucon émerillon] and NORTHERN HARRIERS [Busard Saint-Martin] that he believed were migrating. A couple other species were seen, but he felt that they were locals, being RED-TAILED HAWKS [Buse à queue rousse], adult BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche] and NORTHERN GOSHAWKS [Autour des palombes]. There were still a thousand plus CANADA GEESE [Bernaches du Canada] in the marshes near the rainbow bridge at Riverside, but no other goose tag alongs were noticed with them. Ron wondered where all the scoters were on Monday, seeing only the two small flocks. Ron did a three hour and forty five minute watch.

** Lark Doyle got some excellent photos of some of the several HARBOUR PORPOISES [Marsouin commun] on the move off Cape Spencer during the Nature Sussex field trip on Sunday. It was the only site that we saw them from and they were so graceful to watch from our vantage point high above them.

** Gordon Rattray did a round of the Hillsborough lagoon and the upper part of Grey Brook Marsh on Monday, to get some nice bird photos. An overwintering male BUFFLEHEAD [Petit Garrot] gave a great flight shot, and one on the water. The HOODED MERGANSERS [Harle couronné] were still present at Grey Brook Marsh and were joined by NORTHERN PINTAILS [Canard pilet], NORTHERN SHOVELER [Canard souchet] ducks, COMMON GOLDENEYES [Garrot à oeil d'or], AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS [Canard noir] and MALLARDS [Canard colvert]. Some RING-NECKED DUCKS [Fuligule à collier] were out in the distance. AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] seemed to be just moving in to Hillsborough.

** Dave Miller spotted his first KILLDEER [Pluvier kildir] of the season at the Salisbury treatment plant lagoon on Monday and got a documentary photo. This species should be arriving in numbers very soon. Dave also got a photo of an interesting frost formation on the shrubbery on Monday morning.

** Clarence Cormier comments that he is still seeing lots of Waxwings and on Monday he had an early morning flock of approximately seventy five, a flock in the mid afternoon of approximately thirty five, and a late evening flock of a hundred plus. Clarence was not able to see any Cedar Waxwings among them. Clarence still has his NORTHERN SHRIKE [Pie-grièche grise] around his Grande-Digue site and he has now heard it singing on six occasions.

** In follow up to Richard Blacquiere's photo of the Northern Pintail/Mallard hybrid at the Hampton lagoon on April 01, Joanne Savage comments that she, Karen Miller and David Putt saw the same hybrid at the Rockwood Park interpretation center pond last winter where it stayed for a few weeks and one would have to wonder if it might be the same bird.

** Annette and Brian Stone visited Mapleton Park on Monday to note some new things and changes. They saw both BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal] and CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d'Amérique]. There were significantly fewer ducks present and they were much more skittish than they were in the winter. There was one WOOD DUCK [Canard branchu] couple present but as well they were very skittish and retreated into deeper bush area where they tried to hide from Brian's camera. Brian also got a nice photo of a WINTER STONEFLY. This species can become very active especially along rivers this time of year. You can't see the tails in the image, but there are two on the Stonefly.

** The Waxwings coming to our Moncton yard fruit trees continue to have strong numbers at approximately sixty. They are all CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d'Amérique]. The six AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] that are coming have grown very polite and simply join them, finally seeming to realize that there is enough for everyone. The fruit blend now is nearly one hundred percent deer apples from Sterling's on the Shediac Rd. I was putting out raisins, currants and grapes but the large crowd quickly changed budgetary considerations.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton