NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January
28, 2021 (Thursday)
To respond by e-mail, please address
your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any
errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .
Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** On Wednesday afternoon Suzanne and
Yves Poussart drove along the coast to the Cap Pele area having in mind to get some
fresh air walking along the beach at the L’aboiteau wharf. It did not take long
before they spotted a HARP SEAL [Phoque du Groenland] resting on the ice about
80 meters from the beach. It provided to Yves an excellent opportunity to take
a lot of photos where the whole body can be seen. Recently Yves took a photo of
such an individual at Pointe-du-Chene wharf where only part of the head was
emerging out of the water. The appreciation of the overall size of an adult is clearly
noted. Yves captured some magnificent photos!!
** At 3:30 AM on Wednesday morning
Brian Coyle was awakened by a single GREAT HORNED OWL [Grand-duc d'Amérique] in
the top of a dead Tamarack tree near his home hooting its typical 5 note call.
Within a couple of minutes it was joined by a second owl. There was a raucous
bunch of hooting between them until they settled back into a duet of 5 note
calls. They interacted in the trees for a good 10 minutes and were silhouetted
against the dark sky. Suddenly one of the owls took flight and then began
calling from farther into the woods. The second owl left a few minutes later.
** Brian Stone was on Victoria Rd. near
Moncton on Wednesday to note a group of 25 to 30 SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des
neiges] and got a nice photo of 2 that went to a wire perch.
**Georges
Brun spotted 2 RED FOXES on the Riverview Marsh on Wednesday.
It would be assumed this is a pair with spring preparations on mind. It is interesting
to note this is the first reports of this pair on the marsh which must have been
somewhere nearby earlier. The male was close to the bank nearest Chateau
Moncton. The female was out by the Trans-Aqua outlet. Georges nicely
captured a photo of one in that classic fox leap to surprise prey.
A SHORT-EARED OWL was on the property marker
northwest of the large pond at the Riverview Marsh.
Georges thought for a moment a snow squall had started that turned out to be a
flock of COMMON REDPOLLS feeding on suspected Golden Rod seeds in the Dieppe
Marsh closer to Amirault St.
** Kevin Renton reports that the flock
of SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des neiges] that they have around their feeder yard
seldom land now to forage, assumedly due to the light snow cover over the weeds
in the fields to let them get to a natural supply of delicious wild seeds.
Kevin is hoping that they will start to come down for observations soon as he
looks forward to a Lapland Longspur being with them as has occurred in other
years. A SHARP-SHINNED HAWK [Épervier brun] patrols their Stilesville yard and
is choosing EUROPEAN STARLINGS [Étourneau sansonnet] as haute cuisine.
** I apologize for the error in timing
on the Monarch Butterfly webinar on Wednesday evening. I had mistakenly assumed
this was coming from Ontario but was in Central Time which is 2 time zones from
us, not 1. I also now know, as I assume many already did, that there is Central
Time, Eastern Time, and Atlantic Time. For those of you who were confused as I was,
we know what time it is now!
It was a great webinar and the
organizers sent out warning emails to registered folk an hour before it was to start to save the
editor’s hide.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
