NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 26, 2021 (Monday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by Susan Richards susan_richards@rogers.com
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**A pleasant surprise for Marco Vachon as he was
having coffee Sunday morning on his deck, to notice a different sparrow than he
had never seen before. Marco was able to
get some distant photos and realized it was a FIELD
SPARROW [Bruant des champs] and a new
yard bird for him. He spent most of the
rest of the day working around the house and counted 28 species of birds during
the day. A pair of MERLIN [Faucon émerillon] have set up their nest within viewing distance when
standing on his deck. Six birders have
come to watch the Field Sparrow while maintaining Covid-19 distance rules. Marco’s photos nicely show the signature pink
bill, pink legs, white eye-ring and 2 white-wing bars of the Field Sparrow.
**Georges Brun got photos of water running under the,
under- construction Petigotiag bridge
over the Petitcodiac River to replace the causeway. The name of the bridge suggested proposed
naming that reflects the Mi’kmaq, Acadian, and Anglophone cultures. The final lap of construction appears to be
going smoothly and on schedule.
** Brian Coyle set up his portable
blind in a small marsh near his Lower Mountain Road on Saturday morning. No
luck on the first day but Sunday morning proved fruitful. The WILSON’S SNIPE
landed 6 feet from him and right in front of the camera. Brian had chosen this
spot for the blind, as he had heard a snipe calling from the ground at this
location. The photo shows the snipe displaying the dot on the tail.
An
AMERICAN KESTREL pair was further afield and he witnessed them at a brief
mating. They were a long ways off, but a photo did turn out.
A KILLDEER
was on the way to the blind and a male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD was also taken from
the blind.
Brian got
a video of the snipe calling from the ground right in front of him. Take a look
at the action at the attached link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/073bwqvjwpa6wyl/DSCN9515.MOV?dl=0
Brian sure does show what a
blind can do to watch nature up close without disturbance.
**Sybil Wentzell had at least
3 PALM WARBLERS in their yard Sunday flitting about the trees and at least as
many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. On April 21 two Yellow-rumped Warblers first
showed but she didn’t see any again until Sunday. About 10 WHITE-THROATED
SPARROWS remained throughout the day enjoying seed. A few bees were busy on a
Redbud bush out on the marsh. Sybil comments “How nice to see the warblers
returning!”
**Roger Burrows is seeking
other birder’s thoughts on the identification of a shorebird he found
travelling with a Willet on Long Point Beach, White Head on Sunday.
He initially thought BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, but several features (bill
shape, crown colour, back pattern, and underparts) made it a questionable fit
and could not find anything that really looked like it in several bird
guides. Roger wondered about a Red Knot still coming out of
1st-winter plumage? He didn't see the leg colour but it didn't
appear dark.
Gilles Belliveau studied
Roger’s photos closely and offers his thoughts that are too good not to share
so with Gilles’ permission am quoting his opinion below:
“I think Roger’s initial thought of
Black-bellied Plover seems like the best fit in my opinion.
I feel fairly confident in ruling out a Red Knot, the legs seem too long and appear grayish (similar to BBPL when light hits the from a certain angle).
The bill also does not look right to me for Red Knot, neither does the overall structure of the bird; however, the structure is consistent with BBPL and while the bill doesn’t look quite large enough, the angle could account for that.
The colour of the crown and face also just is not consistent with what I would expect of a Red Knot but looks OK for a non-breeding plumage BBPL. The white forehead, supraloral and lores and slightly darker ear patch are all consistent with BBPL.
BBPL is a bit shorter in total length (shorter neck and bill than Willet probably accounts for most of this) but with slightly more mass while Red Knot averages about 65% of the mass of a Willet.
Avg Weight (Sibley):
Willet = 232g
BBPL = 247g
Red Knot = 150g
In looking at the photo that has both bird in frame, both birds appear to have a similar body mass which is consistent with BBPL while a Red Knot would look considerably smaller.
Obviously, from these photos I cannot say with 100% certainty that the bird is a BBPL, but it certainly does seem like the best candidate from what I can see.
Just for some comparison, I’ve reviewed 3 photos of BBPL take in March or April from the Macaulay Library to show variability and similar colour patterns on crown and face with one having a very similar looking bill to the angle of the head”
Thank you Gilles for that study we all
can learn from and thank you to Roger for sharing the photos
**Wayne Corcoran in Chelmsford is
pleased the last few days are bringing
his normally very active yard back to usual. He is getting a lot of DARK-EYED
JUNCOS seeming to be everywhere with 30+. Wayne also got his first of the year
CHIPPING SPARROW, a NORTERN FLICKER, and a male PILEATED WOODPECKER. Wayne
comments “so nice to see a few more birds around.”
**Dale Gaskin was at a neighbour’s home in Dawson
Settlement on Tuesday and very surprised to get a clearly identifiable
observation of a WHITE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY flying about in April.
Dale also reports the TREE
SWALLOWS [Hirondelle bicolore] have
arrived to his property and immediately checking out houses.
**Gordon Rattray had 4 Sparrow species to his Weldon
yard on Sunday with the CHIPPING SPARROW [Bruant
familier] being his ‘first of the year’.
**The last of the 4 trial balloon Bat houses is now
erected. This is an interesting variation to location as it is not attached to
a building but high on a pole.
**The Scoters continue to trickle through on their
migration north.
Jane Leblanc photographed a lone male in the St.
Martin’s harbour on Saturday afternoon.
Jane also got a documentary underwater photograph of a
YELLOW-SPOTTED SALAMANDER [Salamandre maculée] in her yard pond as Ed held the flashlight. Being so nocturnal and underwater can be hard
to photograph this salamander during their short intense window of breeding.
To me, Jane’s photo of the day, was a flight photo of
a pair of AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard
d'Amérique] showing their backs only, so no white
belly visible as it is nicely covered by the placement of the wings and shows a
wing top view which we do not very often see just that way.
**Daryl Doucette had a nice diversity of patrons to
his Moncton feeder yard on Sunday to include SAVANNAH
SPARROW [Bruant des prés], WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche] and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD [Vacher
à tête brune].
**Aldo Dorio had a female EASTERN BLUEBIRDS [OISEAUX BLEU DE L'EST] arrive to his yard on Saturday and a male
arrived on Sunday so it appears a potential bond is about to take place. Arriving this early may allow them to nest
twice this season.
**Brian Stone paid a short visit to Wilson Marsh on
Sunday to see if anything new had wondered in but there was nothing much new.
Geese, sparrows, blackbirds and a few Mallard Ducks were still the only regulars
there. A NORTHERN
HARRIER [Busard Saint-Martin] flew past
but did not stay. 5 or 6 Tree Sparrows
were occasionally overhead, but not regularly.
Frog sounds were the dominate noise.
One Canada Goose had a sore foot and was limping and let Brian walk past
him on the trail while the others fled to the water. Also a MUSKRAT
[Rat musqué] swam past and crawled out of the water to
display that it too had a sore foot and it crossed land without putting his
foot down.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
