NATURE MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE
Dec 27, 2021 (Monday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**On Sunday Dec. 26, Suzanne and Yves Poussart enjoyed the nice weather to
visit different locations between Shediac and Cap-Pelé. It was interesting to
watch HARBOUR SEALS (Phoques communs), GREY SEALS (Phoques
gris), flocks of COMMON EIDERS (Eiders à duvet), COMMON
GOLDENEYES (Garrots à oeil d'or), BARROW'S GOLDENEYES (Garrots
d'Islande), COMMON MERGANSERS(Grands harles), BALD EAGLES (Pygargues
à tête blanche). Many photos of such species were captured under very
good lighting conditions. A very good day spent with plenty of fresh
air.
**On Sunday
morning at around 8:30 a.m., Brian Coyle was alerted to incessant cawing from a
few crows out front of his house. He went to a second story living room window
and to his surprise and delight, a lone Coyote was travelling around the
field, likely seeking small rodent prey, directly in front of his house, approximately 300 feet
away. Brian quickly grabbed his camera and quietly slipped the window up just
enough to point the lens out the window. Brian comments “Very exciting for me!”
.
Check it
out at the link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xijejl72zxrxioi/DSCN1247.MOV?dl=0
**Fred and Lynn Dube started putting a bit of cracked corn in their
driveway on Niagara Rd. in Riverview to test the interest of ducks 4 years ago.
At first, one pair of Mallard Ducks came to check it out the first year. The word spread and the number of visiting
patrons has increased each year to now 25+. They are predominantly Mallard
Ducks, but the occasional Black Duck joins them as well as the occasional Mallard X Black hybrid as Fred’s
photos show.
**Richard Perron is updating photos he took in September, 2019 in his
Dieppe yard.
One photo is an excellent photo of the Fall Field Cricket. As the
name suggests, this cricket is active in the fall with a very characteristic
loud chirp call (stridulation) that is often heard at nights in the fall as the
males search out mates.
The second photo is of a group of Scaber Stalk mushrooms. We have 3 species of Scaber Stalk mushrooms that resemble one another.
**A very loud explosion of activity took place on Sunday morning in our urban backyard. Every Blue Jay was screaming at top pitch and Black-capped Chickadees work in a tizzy. The source was quickly traced to a hawk taking a Blue Jay as prey just within a cedar hedge. The action was fast and furious but observable among the branches. It appeared to be a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk with hunting success. A juvenile bird is suggested due to the yellow eye and brown plumage. It appeared to be noticeably larger than the Blue Jay to suggest a female bird. The pencil thin legs also suggested Sharp-shinned Hawk. It proceeded to consume its prey before dispatching it (immaturity) and had a challenge carrying is prey away to again suggest Sharp-shinned Hawk over Cooper’s Hawk. I also suspect a Cooper’s Hawk would take its prey more in the open then in a thick cedar hedge. Photos are attached as attainable.
**I took note of a lone gull on the ice at the Bouctouche Lagoon a few
days ago. In flight, it appeared to be an obvious adult winter Iceland Gull.
When it settled, and was able to get a few quick photographs, the mantle seemed
darker than expected and the primary projection showing darkened areas. I feel
this is an Iceland
Gull of the Kumlien’s subspecies and welcome any comments. Richard Blaquiere looked at the photo as well
and points out the darker mantle and dark areas in the primary projection is
consistent with the variability of the Kumlien’s subspecies of the Iceland
Gull.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
