NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, February
24, 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)
** Jane Leblanc comments that she has
at least 30 EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] coming to her St. Martins
feeder yard, but only 3 COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé]. Jane comments that
Tuesday was the first time that she saw the pair of BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à
tête blanche] in their favourite roost tree beside the nearby nest, seemingly
with housekeeping in mind.
** There has been discussion on the
GREEN PHEASANT (Japanese Pheasant) over the last few days. The literature says
it is unique for its distinctive dark green plumage, violet neck, red face, and
purple/green tail. This pheasant is endemic to Japan and is the national bird
of Japan. It apparently can hybridize with the Ring-necked Pheasant and can end
up with some surprising plumages that we see when these escapees hybridize.
John Massey sends some excellent photos to compare the two that he has taken in
the past.
** The recent discussion on Saw-whet
Owl nest boxes has been generating interest on where they are available. Nature
Moncton had Randy Lauff give a presentation on his very extensive work on
erecting and tending Saw-whet Owl nest boxes as a project out of St. Francis
Xavier University in Antigonish. His presentation on his experiences was very
enlightening and provided the plans for building the boxes, how to place them,
and where to place them to get the best results. A few folks used the plans to
build and erect their own boxes. Roger Leblanc has now erected over a dozen
nest boxes in the woods around his Notre Dame home and built some with/for
other folks. For folks interested, it would be best to contact Roger at parus@nb.sympatico.ca and he can email you the plans which
are not difficult to put together for an amateur carpenter who has the
woodworking tools. Roger comments that almost a third of his get occupied by
Flying Squirrels. Not many nest boxes will be occupied by a Saw-whet Owl or
even the much more unlikely, but possible, Boreal Owl but it is definitely
worth erecting and carefully monitoring the nest boxes.
** The RED FOX [Renard roux] is a wild
mammal that can get humans trained quite readily to provide them with food
treats which leads them to become quite comfortable around human habitation. We
don’t purposely feed them outside at our camp but several of our neighbors do.
A small, assumedly vixen, came to our camp deck on late Monday evening and
seemed to show no fear of a flashlight being on it but was wary of any rapid
movement. It seemed to be interested in the butcher shop sawdust that I
originally put out with the possibility of attracting Canada Jays that brought
a weasel instead and I suspect also the Red Fox.
** Some questions have come up about
the exact name of the ladder mentioned yesterday to Google it … it is
“LIVINGbasics 12.5ft Portable Aluminum Telescoping Extension Ladder”.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
