NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 22, 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)
** A big thank you to Shelby Heath, Engagement
Coordinator for the NB Invasive Species Council, for coming to Tuesday night’s Nature
Moncton meeting to give a very enthusiastic and informative presentation on
invasive species with lots of very useful information to be aware of by
naturalists.
Also Michele Nadeau gave a presentation on a
very striking bird calendar that she has done as a fundraiser for the United
Way that supports the YWCA women and children, a center of which she is the
executive director. More information will follow when we get the calendar
availability locations.
** Louise Nichols shares some very
special photos that she took over the past weekend on a Grand Manan Island
visit. Many of the bird highlights were present in Castalia Marsh, an immature YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, a SNOWY EGRET ( she could not get a
decent photo as it was very distant), and the LECONTE’S SPARROW. Warblers were present on the island on Saturday,
especially many BLACKPOLL WARBLERS (note the very different fall plumage of this
species). Louise visited South Head and was happy to see a number of MONARCH BUTTERFLIES flying there
getting ready for their long trip across the water utilizing thistle blooms, a
very popular nectaring plant for Monarch Butterflies migrating to Mexico.
On Sunday she joined Alain Clavette’s
tour to Kent Island. It was very lively with birds so they were busy the whole
time they were there. A big highlight was a PRAIRIE WARBLER that they were all able to get a good view of
because it stayed in the same group of trees along with many other warblers for
quite some time. A LINCOLN’S SPARROW
was also seen in that group of trees. Russel Ingalls was able to pull one of
the LEACH’S STORM-PETREL chicks out
of its burrow to show the group. These seabirds nest in large numbers on the
island in burrows that they dig in the wooded areas. Many of the chicks are
fledged but some still remain.
** On September 14, Pam Waters and Phil
Riebel had the opportunity to participate in an amazing HAWKWATCH on Greenlaw
Mountain in St. Andrews. Pam and Phil joined Todd Watts at the top of the
mountain and helped him locate migrating hawks. The weather was great and the
winds were very favourable for migrating hawks, so favourable in fact that it
was the highest hawk count in the 13 years that Todd has been doing this
survey. 5,032 birds … wow! The majority were BROAD-WINGED HAWKS for 4,930 of them. What really amazed Phil and
Pam was the large numbers of birds and their migrating behavior. They were
forming kettles and towers containing sometimes over 100 birds. Their ability
to use the thermal air currents and then stream across the sky with no effort
(no wing beats) is really fascinating. The numbers recorded, based on Todd’s
report, are below as well as Phil’s photo site where he has posted photos of
the day.
Here are the numbers
recorded based on Todd’s report:
Osprey 10
Bald Eagle 18
Northern Harrier 4 (2 unknown, 1 female, 1 male still holding numerous juvenile
feathers (presumably a second year bird and probably the most interesting fall
harrier they have ever seen)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 47
Northern Goshawk 1 (immature)
Broad-winged Hawk 4930 (single day record high count)
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 20
Merlin 1
Total 5032 (single day record high count)
Phil’s gallery of photos is here: https://philriebel.smugmug.com/Private/Trips/Hawk-Watch-September-2021/n-5v2n6f/
** Verica Leblanc re-checked the photos
of the SANDHILL CRANE group that she
got distant photos of at Miramichi Bay to see if some lacked the red crown of
maturity. It would appear that at least 1 and possibly 2 lacked the red crown
to suggest immaturity.
** Rosita Lanteigne reports that there
has been a GREAT EGRET present on
the marsh of Petit Pokemouche Bay for a week now. There would seem to be a
significant number of Great Egrets in New Brunswick at the moment.
** Aldo Dorio got a photo of the muted
plumage of the YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
that is suspected to be a young-of-the-year female.
**I am attaching a photo of an ASIAN
MULTICOLORED LADY BEETLE taken earlier this month that shows the
variability of this species of Lady Beetle. It typically has 19 black spots which can
vary in appearance from well-defined to no more than faint traces on its wing
covers (elytra). The ‘M’ mark on the pronotum does not vary to give
reliable ID. This is a non-native Lady Beetle and is the one we see gathering
in crevices in houses to overwinter, sometimes in notable numbers. Our native
Lady Beetles overwinter outside.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
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