NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, February
03, 2021 (Wednesday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Jamie Burris sends a Groundhog Day
feeder update from his Riverview yard. The last time he reported was on Dec. 22nd
when a flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] arrived and they have been
visiting every day since then, arriving in flocks of 25 to 80 birds. He also
has flocks of COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé] ranging from 10 to as many as
100 birds on some days. Jamie has gone through 100 lbs. of black oil sunflower
seeds which is a record for him, and the winter has really just begun. Several
other expected species are in good numbers and patronizing as well.
He had an interesting encounter with a SHARP-SHINNED
HAWK [Épervier brun] on Tuesday morning. While he was watching a GRAY SQUIRREL
[Ecureuil gris] digging up a seed a young Sharp-shinned Hawk swooped in from
his neighbor’s driveway and grabbed a Common Redpoll right in front of his
eyes. It took the bird up into a spruce tree and began consuming its prey. It
stayed there under the cover of the spruce for half an hour before moving on.
He got a few documentary photos because of the storm and shooting through a
window but documentary nevertheless. Jamie wonders if it’s not the same bird
that I have been seeing and getting photos of at our place. There are
similarities between the birds and our feeders are essentially several good
flaps apart, so just may be.
** There seems to be more reports of AMERICAN
ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] coming in. I am not sure whether they are just
suddenly being noted or if there is a movement in from elsewhere. Audrey Goguen
at 16 Northview Ave. had a lone robin arrive to her flowering crab clinging
fruit, the first that she has seen.
** We all rose to a different world on
Tuesday morning. Anna Tucker sends the view of what it looked like out her
Church Court window with snow free bushes the morning before. (Editor’s note:
and here we are today with yesterday’s fine snowman melting!)
** I suspect that lots of different
things happened in feeder yards on Tuesday. My sparrow troupe decided not to
challenge each other but peacefully get every bite they could together. My AMERICAN
TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien] were not particularly amused sharing things
with an overwintering WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche] which
sure changed on Tuesday, with a photo to back it up. The White-throated Sparrow
has been interesting. It has been in very dull plumage until approximately 10
days ago when it suddenly started to brighten up its facial bands and throat
and its yellow lore is becoming more pronounced. It is still showing some
striping of immaturity on its breast. I also noted the American Tree Sparrows
picking at peanut butter, bird pie, and roasted shelled peanuts on Tuesday,
which I only occasionally see them do. Maybe they were classing it as ‘storm
chips’!
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
