NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 22, 2021 (Thursday)
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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)
** Clifford Twist got some photos of
the FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER on Monday
that showed a yellow stripe on the crown that had not been seen on other
photographs. A net search says that males sometimes show a yellow crown stripe
and suggests that it is seldom seen. Clifford saw what appears to be a female BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRD that was threatening and
eventually chased the flycatcher to make one wonder if this stripe could appear
when it is intimidated. They are some very interesting documentary photos.
** Don Lutes got a brief video of a FISHER at Theresa McCready’s Young’s Cove
property last summer to show nicely the bushy tail and un-humped body when
travelling that we saw in the River Otter video that was on the last few
editions. Take a look at the action in the attached video. The Fisher is also
an arboreal animal, so the placement is right on.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12xYn-attkGAwyUQQf6esCEEp11BlNTis/view?usp=drive_web
** Georges Brun got a photo of a RING-BILLED GULL struggling with a BROWN BULLHEAD FISH as prey at the
mouth of Hall’s Creek. This is not only a large fish for this gull but is
adorned with many very sharp spines. Normally this fish would be found in more
brackish water of less saline content.
** Jane Leblanc sends a photo of a WILLET she got while doing a shorebird
survey with Jim Wilson in West Quaco, just outside of St. Martins. It was with
a duo of SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS.
The documentary flight photos show the flag flash of white on the wing when
this drab bird takes flight. Jane also got a photo of a SANDERLING at the same beach as the Willet.
** Janet Kempster and Brian Stone made
a run to check the site for the Fork-tailed Flycatcher on Tuesday, but had no
luck. However they got consolation prises at the Memramcook lagoons. An AMERICAN KESTREL family was flying
about and perching on fences and wires to give some great photo ops. They found
BARN SWALLOWS nesting in a nest area
waiting to be fed and a short distance away 6 CLIFF SWALLOW nests under the eaves of a house. Five nests seemed empty,
but a nestling was seen in one but no further photos as the parents seemed
agitated. They also got a male RUDDY
DUCK at one of the lagoons.
** On the Tuesday Nature Moncton outing
unfortunately Brian’s camera had to stay in a plastic bag most of the time due
to showers but did get a photo of a PINE
CONE GALL on a willow (where it always occurs) and also a LEAFCUTTER BEE. The young female HOODED MERGANSER was still present at
the pond and Brian did manage a shot
of it resting between showers.
**Andrew
Darcy leaves a report on Tuesday night’s Nature Moncton outing and photos:
“A few
die-hard naturalists did manage to make it out for the weekly Nature Moncton
outing this week. We were lucky enough to dodge the rainstorms for the most
part and only got slightly wet. The birds and insects were fairly inactive due
to the rain, but we did manage to spot a lone juvenile HOODED MERGANSER amongst
a large group of female MALLARD DUCKS, looking a little left out I must admit.
On the entomology side of things, we found a great example of WILLOW PINECONE
GALL MIDGE. We also heard AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, SONG SPARROW, and PURPLE FINCH.
Mapleton Park did however host some interesting botanical observations,
including several new species for me and even a lifer for Gordon. This
being a flower called SNEEZEWORT, which is an introduced perennial from
Europe that has naturalized in scattered places across North America. Other
finds included VIRGIN'S BOWER (a native species in the Clematis family),
FRINGED LOOSESTRIFE, ROADSIDE AGRIMONY, COMMON HEMP-NETTLE, LINDLEY'S ASTER,
WHITE AND YELLOW SWEETCLOVER, WORMSEED WALLFLOWER, SPOTTED LADY'S THUMB, PALE
SMARTWEED, and FLAT-TOP WHITE ASTER. At the end of the hike a MARITIME GARTER
SNAKE was also spotted on the trail by part of the group (not me haha). The
snake was very cooperative for photos and fairly inactive, most likely due to
the lack of sun. The Maritime sub-species is quite handsome indeed, compared to
the usual Common Garter Snake I am used to seeing back in Ontario.”
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
