NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January 01, 2019 (Tuesday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** We have Black-backed Woodpeckers and
American Three-toed Woodpeckers in New Brunswick but seeing them is always a
special treat, especially the more uncommon AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER [Pic
tridactyle]. A male was found during the Christmas Bird Count on December 15 at
Wilson Point on Miscou Island. Carmella Melanson paid a visit to the area on
Monday to find it in the same area and got some wonderful photos of it going
about its day with no necessity to disturb it with today’s great zoom lenses.
Carmella’s whole body photo of it nicely shows the white and black barred back
vs the solid black back of the more common, but not commonly seen, Black-backed
Woodpecker.
Carmella got an incredible photo that
shows how this woodpecker forages by flicking off pieces of bark to leave a
telltale appearance to its feeding area. The photo also shows the third eyelid
(nictitating membrane) coming across that protects the eye during foraging. The
photo also shows the only three claws of this species that give it its name, a
feature that it shares with the Black-backed Woodpecker as the only two
woodpeckers in North America with three claws.
** Jamie and Karen Burris were enjoying
watching their Riverview feeder yard patrons when an exit frenzy exploded
except for one lone DOWNY WOODPECKER [Pic mineur]. The reason was soon spotted
to be a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] finishing its Mourning Dove meal.
The Mourning Dove is large prey for a Sharp-shinned Hawk so I assume that it
was the larger female. Note that the hawk has the adult, horizontal striping on
the chest to indicate adult and yet the eye is still yellow and not adult red
to suggest that it has just recently molted into adult plumage.
The Woodpecker crawled under a deck
railing and stayed motionless for three to four minutes until the hawk went
elsewhere on its day. The Woodpecker has its third protective eyelid covering
its eye as they usually do when foraging to prevent splinters and dust from
getting into the eye. The freezing in position is a tactic that often works for
woodpeckers. The closed eye membrane may look like it is offering prayers for
safety but may be more incidental.
It’s a great time of year to be
watching for sun and lunar halos, sun dogs, and sun pillars. Brian Stone got a
photo of a solar halo and a sun dog at the same time on Sunday. Kathy and
Harold Popma report the same day they saw the most spectacular sun pillar they
have ever seen on that same day in the same sunset from the Cobequid Pass route
from Nova Scotia. Sun pillars can be spectacular for the short time they can
appear as the sun rises or sets looking like a flare shooting up to the setting
or rising sun Kathy comments their viewing looked like a red- orange spot light
in the sky. It can be an awesome sky show that will usually last for a few up
to 15 to 20 minutes only.
** Up until a week ago I had fifty plus
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] and PINE SISKINS [Tarin des pins] using
our Moncton feeder yard making it look more like a beehive and suddenly they
all went elsewhere and the number went down to a half dozen. That all changed
on Tuesday morning when they were all back in frenzied feeding mode, stocking
up for today’s storm.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER Dec 31st 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER Dec 31st 2018 CARMELLA MELANSON
DOWNY WOODPECKER DEC 31 2018 JAMIE BURRIS
SHARP SHINNED HAWK DEC 31 2018 JAMIE BURRIS
