Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 6 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, November 06, 2018 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com

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

**The planned evening session on the use of iNaturalist with Sean Blaney is coming up this Wednesday night, November 07, at 7:00 at the Sobey’s community room in Riverview. Sean and many others are now using this tool for recording and identifying items of naturalist interest. Sean, who uses this service a lot, will show us how best to use and navigate this site. Sean suggests that participants register at the iNaturalist site with the device that they will be bringing along to use by going to the iNaturalist official site ( iNaturalist.org ) and creating an account which is very easily done. This could be on a laptop, a smart phone, iPad or any other type of tablet. Sean will be able to help participants skip the learning curve of navigating the site to the best advantage. The write up is attached below.

** A CATTLE EGRET [Héron garde-boeufs] was spotted by Alan Wilbur on Monday morning with a few cattle near the road by the bridge that crosses Crooked Creek just as one turns out of Riverside-Albert on Route 114. He saw it again later farther off in a field on the other side of the road. David Christie went to check on the bird but someone was working with the cattle in that area and the bird had moved but he did see it a few times at a distance in the afternoon. As it moved about it often disappeared in tall grass or depressions. There is a good chance it may stay in that area around the cattle at various sites.

David also spotted a flock of 35 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal] at 26 Water St. in Riverside-Albert foraging on what appeared to be multiflora rose hips. David also had his first AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsonien] of the season at his Mary’s Point feeder yard. He had seen one in the company of SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur] and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] on October 27 in a bushy area towards the Mary’s Point beach. David also comments that he saw a BOREAL CHICKADEE [Mésange à tête brune], a species that he says he has not seen in months among the abundant BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] this year.

** Doreen Rossiter leaves an interesting update on the RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS [Pic à ventre roux] patronizing her Alma yard. A male had arrived on October 24 and was seen until October 31. A female then arrived, and is still present, but is quite timid and is only seen occasionally. Another male arrived on Sunday and Doreen wonders if it is the same male that was there earlier or not as the recent arrival seems to display a different behaviour. It does not appear to be as tame as the first male that appeared and is not using the same feeder that the first male used to leave the possibility of three Red-bellied Woodpeckers in the Alma area.

** Fred and Susan Richards in Memramcook got their feeder yard going over the weekend and had a very pleasant surprise on Monday morning to have a dozen EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] arrive. Let’s hope it is an early signal of their resurgence as there have been other isolated reports.

** Great to get two reports of a flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] at a feeder yard on the same day. Jane Leblanc had a flock of approximately a dozen arrive to her St. Martins feeder yard on Monday, getting a photo of a striking male. That makes it a double dozen day. Jane also saw a small flock of BUFFLEHEADS [Petit Garrot] near the St. Martins beach on Monday morning to get a nice photo of a male and female together. The Bufflehead duck is our smallest member of the Goldeneye group at an average length of 13.5 inches (34.3 cm.). The first winter male has the white head patch like the female but his patch is usually noticeably larger than the female’s.

** Shawn Cormier reports that his feeders are very active as well as many others this fall with lots of the expected regulars. We don’t often run photos of the very common birds but Shawn’s photo of a BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE [Mésange à tête noire] is such a striking photo in pose of our New Brunswick bird that it has to be shared.

** Yesterday’s whining session on the lack of Northern Cardinals was sure worth it. While sending out the Nature Information line I looked out the window and saw our first male NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] ever at our urban Moncton location. I called Pat to come over slowly to see the event and she asked what bird was that several yards away. Sure enough it was a female. The pair returned several times on Monday, always travelling together. They seemed at ease in the yard with the Cedar hedge close by so here’s hoping they continue to be patrons.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton