NATURE MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE
Dec 20, 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 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
** Louise Nichols and Lynda Leclerc also experienced a
slower-than-usual day on Saturday with the Moncton Christmas Bird Count.
Although they had fewer bird species than other years, they did have an
interesting encounter on one of the trails they walked with a Porcupine who was
sitting in the grass right alongside the trail. It was feeding on
something in the grass and stayed put even though it was well aware that Louise
and Lynda were present. They walked right by within a couple of feet of
the Porcupine without it moving at all, enabling Louise to get some close-up
shots. Louise also attaches some photos of a few bird species they
encountered, including both White Breasted-nuthatch and Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Despite the slow count, it was a beautiful day to be out and both Lynda and
Louise enjoyed it very much.
This experience was interesting to hear. I sat in on a
Zoom presentation by the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre who have
rehabilitated several porcupines. They commented this animal was very easy to
work with when not threatened. Apparently, they are very susceptible to
sarcoptic mange. The mange mite is not hard to treat but the scale left on the
quills has to be manually removed which the animals tolerate well.
**Brian Coyle’s trail camera was able to capture a Coyote
seemingly very interested in ferreting out a Red Squirrel as prey in a rock pile near his home. Take a look at
the action in the attached 3 links:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ybcti57qf78x9jv/IMG_0003%20%285%29.MP4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/youv25bsz2wmomm/IMG_0004%20%283%29.MP4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hhggbsrt4o3q213/IMG_0005%20%282%29.MP4?dl=0
**Due to Covid 19 restrictions, CBC tally up sessions
have had to be curtailed to make results very slow in coming in.
Roger LeBlanc reports he had a pretty good day (all by his lonely self) on
the Shediac CBC on December 19. Twenty-eight species was quite normal and good
for a snowy day.
A Merlin was a good bird and finches (like in Moncton) were in
good numbers, as were American robins and sea ducks.
**On the Moncton Christmas Bird Count, Brian Stone and I came across
several non-bird items of interest that a woods trek always seems to produce.
It was interesting to note the very active effort of cut deciduous trees make
by sprouting suckers to procreate.
Some tree galls and berries
encountered will take some more sleuthing to put a handle on.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
