Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 26 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, February 26, 2019 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** Jim Carroll captured an awesome display from one of our most beautiful duck species as four adult male HARLEQUIN DUCKS [Arlequin plongeur] performed to get the attention of a feigning, indifferent female as she preened on a rocky pinnacle. Occasionally she would get washed off her perch and then get back on. The parade then began when she swam off with her suitors in tow. Jim comments that no apparent suitor got the attention of the female, but I suspect that will change soon as spring is on the way. It is great to know that with recent discoveries our Harlequin Duck population is doing much better than once thought.

** In follow up to Rick Elliot’s Goldeneye photos of yesterday, Peter Gadd shows a photo of a BARROW’S/COMMON GOLDENEYE hybrid that he photographed in the Tracadie area on February 01 as part of the Nature New Brunswick Barrow’s Goldeneye survey. There is a small craft navigation channel at Pointe-a-Bouleau where the water runs fast and does not freeze. Peter recorded 41 Barrow’s Goldeneye there and a few Common Goldeneyes with them. The blend of features of both species shows nicely in Peter’s photo of the hybrid.

Peter also comments that he has been hosting a COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] for the past month that has been taking seeds and peanuts from a dispenser feeder. He suspects that the Grackle caught on to the technique by watching Blue Jays.

** Sarah Chouinard-Horne’s xanthochromic EVENING GROSBEAK [Gros-bec errant], which had disappeared after being a regular patron for some time, is back and is fine acting as if it had never left.

** Wayne Corcoran maintains a feeder operation near Quarryville that not only includes many birdfeeders around his home but also along a short woods trail. He normally gets CANADA JAYS [Mésangeai du Canada] coming to him on the trail with the feeders. This year he has only seen one until Sunday when three appeared. Normally by this time of the season they are in pairs after sending the third one that had been allowed to stay with the parents for the first several months out on its own. Maybe they haven’t actually started nesting yet or one of them was from another pair. It’s always great to be around Canada Jays.

** In follow up to yesterday’s photo of the WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche] showing a bright yellow lore David Christie comments that one of his four overwintering White-throated Sparrows at his feeder area has shown the bright lore since January at least, but the other three still remain gray/brown in that head area. A nice sign of the changing season that David noticed on February 16^th was the weak but recognizable song of one White-throated Sparrow and one Song Sparrow near his yard. It will be so nice to hear all this again, soon.

** Carol Shea, along with Janet Kempster, got a nice photo of the REDHEAD [Fuligule à tête rouge] duck that has been chumming with MALLARDS [Canard colvert] at the ponds in front of the Rockwood Park pavilion in Saint John. Carol also photographed the RED-SHOULDERED HAWK [Buse à épaulettes] that has been faithfully lingering in Saint John City. She also photographed WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] in the Saint John area as well as a pair in her own Upham yard. A HOUSE SPARROW [Moineau domestique] also got in the eye of Carol’s camera, a Sparrow we don’t see much in New Brunswick at the moment where it was almost over abundant at one point. I suspect that the Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds are quite approving of that population decline!

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton