NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April, 12, 2021 (Monday)
To respond by email, 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 Susan Richards susan_richards@rogers.com
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**While birding around Memramcook on Saturday, Marco
Vachon found out that 2 BEAVER [Castor] had set up territory at the Reid McManus Nature
Reserve and was able to get some good photos of the activity. On Sunday morning it was a MINK [Vison d'Amerique] that
greeted Marco around Memramcook Lake.
Nice to see these furry animals. These
sites have been very kind to naturalist’s observations the past week.
**Lois Budd had a near fallout of DARK-EYED JUNCO [Junco ardoisé] on Sunday afternoon.
She counted 50 of them at the front and side of her house and the ones
bobbing and scratching over by a dead Elm tree, she didn’t get to count but
perhaps another 30 or so. A lot of
scratching going on and millet disappearing. She also has a pair
of EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi]
starting to nest in her old barn and EVENING GROSBEAK [Gros-bec errant] and COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin
flammé] are still present in significant numbers.
**In follow up to the discussion yesterday on Avian Keratin
Disorder, Frank Branch had a EUROPEAN STARLING
[Étourneau sansonnet] appear in
his Paquetville yard with this disorder in April of 2015 with photos attached.
**Shani Jones was very pleased to have a male NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] singing in her Moncton yard on April 9th. Shani comments she has been waiting for years
for this visit. The appearance of more
Northern Cardinals in a much wider range of New Brunswick this season has been
a real treat and hope there is lots of successful housekeeping.
**Daryl Doucette’s female EASTERN TOWHEE [Tohi à flancs roux] continues to be a regular faithful patron to his
Moncton feeder yard and posed for a photo on Sunday.
**Paula Lansdale in Alma also had her first of the
year Eastern Phoebe arrive right to her deck and enjoyed feeding on Cluster Flies
near the roof area where this fly often overwinters and starts appearing now to
the delight of fly connoisseurs.
Sometimes NORTHERN SHRIKE
[Pie-grièche grise] find them very
attractive as well.
**Jamie and Karen Burris were checking and cleaning swallow
nest boxes on Sunday. They had 3 nest
boxes set up; one was taken by wasps; one was empty and another had been
occupied and the old nest cleaned out. They
were a bit surprised only one was successfully occupied as they saw TREE SWALLOW [Hirondelle bicolore] checking all 3 boxes last season. They were pleased just as they were leaving
the site on Sunday to see 4 Tree Swallows circling over them. Great to hear lots of reports of Tree
Swallows arriving in good numbers.
**Fishing buoys
hanging in a yard may provide more avian interest than we stop to realize. Art
Bateman has been noting a pair of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADDEES appear to be
actively excavating a nest cavity chipping away at pieces and removing them to
create a cavity of their liking. Art was not able to capture a sharp photo with
them moving in and out so robustly. This is not the first-time fishing buoys
have been reported of getting use by birds as Brian Coyle had a woodpecker use
an excavated hole in one as a night perch all winter.
I wonder if
it would be an interesting idea to hang one in our yards and excavate some
man-made holes in them to encourage birds to use them as one more tool to
attract birds to our yards.
**The TREE
SWALLOWS and EASTERN PHOEBES are moving in fast and suddenly from all the
reports the last few days. Dave Christie reports he saw 3 Tree Swallows
foraging over Lars Larsen Marsh in Harvey on Sunday and an Eastern Phoebe was
enjoying flycatching around his home.
**Brian
Stone went through the Memramcook area once again on Sunday as the sunny early
light turned to a dull, misty, windy afternoon. He checked out the lagoon at
the Reid McManus Nature Reserve site first but only found a busy MUSKRAT there
near the viewing blind. He then went to the Arthur St. lagoon and spent an hour
watching for any interesting arrivals. Nothing rare showed up while he was
there but he was happy to see 4 NORTERN PINTAILS enjoying the cold waters and
an active NORTHERN SHRIKE patrolling the length of the lagoon fence. There were
30+ RING-NECKED DUCKS friskily pursuing single females (Editor’s note: an
excellent photo of a pair to show the gender plumages) but only a few BLACK
SCOTER were still there. A wave of fear spread through the lagoon population as
an immature BALD EAGLE made a low flyover of the area but it didn't hang around
for long. The Memramcook River behind the lagoon was crowded with Canada Geese.
While heading back home along the Old Shediac Rd. he was lucky to spot a male
AMERICAN KESTREL (another great photo) perched
**All the nest box cleaning discussion got me to start checking mine in Miramichi on Sunday. I checked 5 swallow boxes and 1 AMERICAN KESTREL [Crécerelle d’Amérique] box. All had been occupied. They were all mounted on utility poles near an open field. At the Kestrel site I heard an American Kestrel vocalizing loudly but could not locate it but, it did seem close. There are approximately 10 more to get to tomorrow and hoping we’ll have a similar level of activity as last season. Permethrin and Diatomaceous Earth were in all the boxes to control fleas which seemed to work as found none among the nesting material.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
No comments:
Post a Comment