Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 31 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, December 31, 2019 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: david.cannon@rogers.com

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

** Louise Nichols shares some bird activities from around their Aulac home. They have many conifers in the woods behind their home and Louise has been experiencing WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL [Bec-croisé bifascié] almost every time she walks back there. On Sunday they were singing constantly and loudly, often a half-dozen to a dozen were sitting in the trees at the edge of a bog area. Louise stood there for 20 minutes and the sound never stopped; she wondered if some courtship was going on. The crossbills often stop and feed on the cones in the trees in that area. Louise took some photos on Monday but the light was dim and it was difficult to get a good photo. Also on Monday, a flock of approximately 30 to 50 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] was feeding on the cones of a TAMARACK tree in their yard. There were feeders in the yard and the goldfinch would go to the feeders as well, but it was nice to see them getting food from a natural source. Louise has also submitted some photos showing different angles of a BROWN CREEPER [Grimpereau brun] that shows up from time to time in their front yard. A Brown Creeper is always a special yard guest!

Georges Brun was again able to find Northern Harrier hunting the Riverview Marsh on Monday showing one to be an adult male and another in the same frame as a female or juvenile bird. A Peregrine Falcon was feasting on the top of Assomption Place logo. There were 3 adult Bald Eagles (one on trunk near Trans-Aqua, the other two flying just south of Saint- Anselme Church) as well on Monday.

** Everyone seems to have a favourite suet mix for their bird feeders. I don’t seem to have a real favourite, so I am currently hanging four types to watch for preference. The top one in the photo attached is Dwayne Biggar’s peanut butter/ suet mix that many folk use, the second is one put out by the bird feeder folk at Armstrong, the third is one called ‘Bird Pie’ which is made in Black Rock, Nova Scotia, and the fourth one is one purchased at Dollarama. It’s not really a good test as I only have 3 woodpeckers and several BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] as suet patrons. So far it is the Bird Pie that is very obviously getting the most visits from both the woodpeckers and the chickadees. The Bird Pie does not actually contain suet, but instead dough, wheat flour, vegetable oil, and a bird seed mix, that seems nutritionally adequate in reviewing the ingredient list.

Note the completely white side feathers along the tail of the HAIRY WOODPECKER [Pic chevelu], with no dark spots/ bars on it as the DOWNY WOODPECKER [Pic mineur] has, a feature that Alain Clavette pointed out in his recent Nature Moncton presentation, a feature many of us had not really taken note of.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton