Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 25 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, for February 25, 2019 (Monday)

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Editor: Nelson Poirier

Transcript by: David Christie

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

** Rick Elliott captured a very interesting goldeneye photo on Saturday’s high tide at Waterside. It very nicely compares a side by side view of a male COMMON GOLDENEYE [Garrot à oeil d'or] and BARROW’S GOLDENEYE [Garrot d'Islande], with a female Common Goldeneye as a value-added bonus. A rare moment to get these three in line to compare.

** Yves Poussart got a photo of a raptor near the Foch Bridge in Shediac on Saturday. The COOPER’s HAWK [Épervier de Cooper] and SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] can be a real challenge in photos, with the possibility of a male Cooper’s Hawk and female Sharp-shinned Hawk being closer in size. This raptor is on a Rock Pigeon [Pigeon biset] as prey, which is usually considered large prey for a Sharp-shinned Hawk. It does seem to have very heavy-set legs, the dark head crown and paler nape of a Cooper’s Hawk, and appears pale on the lower breast, also suggestive of a Cooper’s. The yellow eye suggests immaturity or early in the moult process to an adult. The tail is very long, but the tail tip is not showing enough to provide helpful detail. One photo shows the eye appears to be placed nearer the beak than the center of the face as it would be in the Sharp-shinned Hawk. There is reason to call this a Cooper’s Hawk, but the jury of certainty remains out.

Yves also got a nice photo of a group of COMMON MERGANSERS [Grand Harle] at the still very limited open water there. They all appear to be adult females, with the sharp white throat patch. First-winter males should show dark spotting there. The usual flock of MALLARD [Canard colvert] ducks was also present.

A Snowy Owl has been frequenting the Saint John area. Carol Shea shares a photo while driving by it on Sunday.

** Brian Stone is starting to get back in the saddle, recovering from a back injury, to get some photos from the easy chair of our sunroom on Sunday. Some photos of the feeder area show a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche] that appears to be moulting to breeding plumage with what appears to be the bright yellow eyebrow starting to show now, which we hadn’t been noticing. COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé] continue in large numbers, some showing some very bright chests and berets, assumedly males. Most show little if any red on the breast, assumedly females or young males

I have two CHRISTMAS CACTUS [Cactus de Noël] plants blooming and am transferring pollen with a Q-tip to unrelated blooms, which will proceed to form a magenta berry, in the red-blooming plant. In Brian’s photo of one, the pollen has not yet ripened to yellow with the stigma, or female part, buried in the middle.

** The re-scheduled date for the Nature Moncton GULL WORKSHOP and FIELD TRIP at the Southeast ECO 360 Landfill site , with leader Alain Clavette, is on for this coming Saturday, March 2nd. It’s a bit far in the future for forecasting with accuracy but weather at the moment is forecast to be good. Make sure to register with Louise Nichols at , if planning to attend. The write-up is attached below:

GULL IDENTIFICATION WORKSHOP
Saturday March 2, 2019
10:00 am (bring a lunch). We should be done around 3:00 pm
Southeast ECO 360 Landfill site -- community room

100 Bill Slater Dr., Berry Mills Road
Presenter and Guide – Alain Clavette
Cost -- $8.00

(Please reserve a spot with Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca)

For many birdwatchers, both beginners and more seasoned birders, the group that is the most challenging to identify in the field is often the LARIDS ...the GULLS! In fact, they can be so challenging, they are often totally overlooked.

‘’That's really a shame because the possibilities of finding wonderful vagrants in the Maritimes are always there with these great hardy travelers’’ Alain Clavette, a convinced LARIDOPHILE, will tell you: ‘’Remember the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull? “

Gulls are strong, powerful, hardy birds that can travel long distances without touching land. They can rest on the water and they can survive very intense storms. And who is more resourceful than a gull when it comes to finding food it can survive on pretty much anywhere?

On February the 16th, COME GULLING!! And learn the basics of NB’s gull identification. Join birder and U. de Moncton ornithology teacher Alain Clavette at the Moncton landfill where there are a lot of gulls to learn from. We will start the day at 10:00 am in the community room where Alain will show you a few tips on gulls via a PowerPoint presentation. After lunch, we will go outside amongst hundreds of birds to watch and learn.

*Bring appropriate clothing as it is usually QUITE A BIT COLDER over there on the hill in the wind.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton