Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 20 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, November 20, 2018 (Tuesday)

To view the photos mentioned in this edition go to http://nminfoline.blogspot.ca .

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling. Note that corrections, deletions, or delayed additions may not always appear on the Info Line and email transcript but will always appear on the BlogSpot. For this reason, it is recommended that those wishing to look at historical records use the BlogSpot rather than the email transcript. The BlogSpot can always be accessed from the website.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com

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

**Dale Gaskin advises that the truckload of sunflower seeds is arriving to tonight’s Nature Moncton meeting at 5:45 pm. It is sold out at the moment, so Dale encourages folks who have ordered to be there in good time to pick up their order so the truck can be unloaded before the meeting starts at 7:00. The Nature Moncton November meeting is on tonight as has been advertised for the past few days. Mother Nature is forecasting snow for tonight but at the moment it is forecast to be light for the duration of the meeting tonight so hopefully it will have little effect. If there are any changes then notice will be sent out separately.

** Great to hear about EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] coming to an urban feeder yard. Jamie Burris had a flock of ten arrive to his urban Riverview feeder yard on Monday. There is a sports field adjacent to Jamie’s yard but is otherwise in the midst of a subdivision. Jamie comments that it has been 23 years since he has had Evening Grosbeaks to his feeder yard. Jamie also had three PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins] arrive on Monday, another species that appears to be swelling in numbers at feeder yards.

Jamie added a few more arrivals later in the day, an AMERICAN ROBIN [Merle d'Amérique] and a CHIPPING SPARROW [Bruant familier]. The Chipping Sparrow in winter plumage is easily misidentified. Note the pale lower mandible of the Chipping Sparrow in winter as well as the stripe developing on the crown. The dark eye line continues right to the beak to help confirm Chipping Sparrow but that feature is present in the summer plumage as well.

** Louise Nichols photographed an excellent, fresh animal track in the snow in the woods of her Etter Ridge Rd. property. It is very strongly suggestive of feline by the C shaped curvature between the toe and heel pads, the roundness of the prints, and the slight sideward deviation of the toe pads. The heel pad does seem to show a slight indentation at the front of it to suggest wild feline vs domestic and the edges suggest a less hairy paw to favor Bobcat over Lynx which by default is more likely. The stride length and paw size if measured would be very helpful. Louise has promised to start carrying a tape measure like the one shown in the attached photo to take those measurements.

** Shawn Cormier again shares some of his full frame images of a FOX SPARROW [Bruant fauve] and a DARK-EYED JUNCO [Junco ardoisé] that visited his Moncton yard on Monday.

** The feeder yard of Isaie Comeau in Tabusintac continues to keep a male NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] as a regular patron along with EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant]. Aldo Dorio took pictures of Isaie’s feeder yard to include a tail spread view of a female Evening Grosbeak to show its striking markings.

** Brian Stone took a video of a HAIRY WOODPECKER [Pic chevelu] very intently doing something with a previously made entrance hole. Several possibilities come to mind … is it making/using a food cache, cleaning out a hole for a night roost, or something else? Take a look at the attached link. (Transcriber’s note … this woodpecker has been doing this action over the three days that I have been here so far. He seems very intent on whatever it is that he is doing.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ya1qqahfh60onjg/Hairy%20Woodpecker.MOV?dl=0

** It seems hard to believe that it is already time to be thinking of, and making plans for, the annual Nature Moncton Christmas Bird Count Day, this year on Saturday, December 15^th. Roger Leblanc is again acting as coordinator for the Moncton count as he has done so faithfully for so many years. If things continue as reports have been going the past few weeks it looks like it is going to be a great Christmas Bird Count period. Roger is always looking for new participants, especially in three categories.

1. Experienced birders to take on a zone as leader.

2. Folks who would just like to be able to join in with a group to cover a sector for a day, or part of it, as an extra pair of eyes to spot birds.

3. Folks who have feeder yards and would like to participate by counting and recording what they see at home.

To contact Roger you can email him at parus@nb.sympatico.ca or touch base with him at tonight’s meeting.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton