Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 13 2021

NATURE MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE

Dec 13, 2021 (Monday)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any of

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**The December Nature Moncton meeting on shorebirds will take place this coming Tuesday evening at 7 o’clock virtually. All details in the write up at the end of this edition.

**Jean-Paul LeBlanc was able to get a photograph of the American Coot that has been spotted lately in Bouctouche Bay. It would seem like we are seeing more of the species in New Brunswick in recent years.

**John Inman had an Orange-crowned Warbler drop by his Mary’s Point Road yard on Sunday. We had at first felt it to be a Mourning Warbler but Gilles Beliveau straightened us out with an excellent explanation and will paraphrase Gilles. (Editors note: this is a nice learning experience for warblers that show up in winter. They sometimes need close scrutiny to confirm identification, and fortunately the experience of Gilles was able to be of great help. This bird seemed very bright to us for the more expected, Orange-crowned Warbler to make the correction valued for future identifications.)

Paraphrasing Gilles

“This bird just looks like a classic, Orange-crowned Warbler.

I can certainly see reasons why one may have thought Mourning Warbler as they have some similar plumage characteristics.

The bill doesn’t look heavy enough to me for Mourning Warbler. The legs also aren’t as stocky/heavy as Mourning Warbler and should be a nice pink colour on a Mourning Warbler. While the part of the legs and toes that are exposed to bright light have a slight pinkish-orange hue, the left leg and left hind toe which are in more neutral light appear gray (while that area is in slight shade, it still shows colour well as you can see on the branch and on the underparts).

I would also expect brighter yellow colour on the underparts for a Mourning Warbler.

The undertail coverts are also quite small on this bird. Mourning Warbler has fairly large undertail coverts that are thicker and reach about the mid-point of the tail.

Lastly, that pale line above the eye from the base of the bill to just a bit behind the eye is something I see on Orange-crowned Warbler all the time (though it isn’t always obvious and can depend on the angle). While some young Mourning Warblers can have a bit of a yellow supraloral, I don’t think it would extend that far back.”

**Brian Stone had a short walk-through of Mapleton Park on Sunday and found very little wildlife to photograph. Just so he would not go home empty handed (empty camera-ed?) he took some photos of the many new feeder stations people have been hanging throughout the park. Most were occupied by RED SQUIRRELS, some filling the entire feeders with their bodies. One large fancy feeder was hosting a BLUE JAY that was looking for the treats only to be disappointed with the lack of them. He left without leaving a tip.

**The write up for the Tuesday night Nature Moncton meeting on shorebirds is attached below:

Nature Moncton December meeting

December 14, 2021. 7:00 PM

Shorebird Investigations: Past, Present, and Future

Presenters: Diana Hamilton and Julie Paquet

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82543051296?pwd=c1R2QzBjOXNtVzhmZ3BuVVJZdVJLdz09

It’s December, but shorebirds – and all the joy they gave us in late summer and fall -- are still fresh in our minds.

While we as naturalists watch the amazing shorebird migration on our doorsteps, some dedicated observers are out there seriously studying and monitoring shorebird migration. In fact, many of us have probably taken note of – and photographed – tagged shorebirds at sites such as Petit-cap, not knowing the work and study that is behind all the tagged birds.

The December Nature Moncton meeting will present a tag team duo featuring two of the best: Diana Hamilton and Julie Paquet. Julie is the Atlantic Region Shorebird Biologist for the Canadian Wildlife Service. Diana is a professor and the current head of the Biology Department at Mount Allison University.

Their presentation will include an introduction to migratory shorebird use of the region, a summary of the past work they have done, discussion of current questions being addressed and their plans for the immediate future. Finally, they will comment on their big scale goals and the many ways their work is relevant to conservation in the region.

As naturalists, we don’t usually get a real look at what is going on behind the scenes.

Diana and Julie will have a lot of information of great interest to share.

A don’t miss presentation!

The zoom link open to anyone anywhere will be:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82543051296?pwd=c1R2QzBjOXNtVzhmZ3BuVVJZdVJLdz09

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton