Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 5 2021

NATURE MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE

Dec 5, 2021 (Sunday)

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

**Cathy Simon and her family were walking in Halls Creek on December 4th and came across two very vocal and active

Red-breasted Nuthatches. While having difficulty attempting to take a photo, husband Evar spotted a BARRED OWL in the same tree under the nuthatches and got a great photo moment. At the end of their walk, they also counted at least 350 Canada geese flying overhead.

**Jane and Ed LeBlanc were out for a drive on Saturday, Dec. 4th, 2021, and saw a raptor on the wing. Looking at the photos after they got home, they believe it to be an immature BALD EAGLE. There was a mature Bald Eagle flying nearby.

Jane’s photo shows the wide variance in plumage of the immature Bald Eagle.

**Louise Nichols was eating breakfast on Saturday morning when a hawk flew into the front yard and gave chase to the Blue Jays and Mourning Doves at the feeders. The hawk then settled for a minute or so on a nearby maple tree where Louise was able to get a look at it through binoculars and snap a few photos. The hawk is a juvenile accipiter. Louise felt that it was larger than a Sharp-shinned Hawk and the fairly thin streaks on the breast made her label it as a Cooper's Hawk. There is also a white eyebrow, (supercilium) similar to the hawk Elaine Gallant photographed and shared a few days ago. Louise was pleased to add a Cooper's Hawk because that would be a new species for her Aulac property list.

The Cooper’s Hawk is a species that would appear to be doing very well and extending its range northward.

**Brian Stone tried again to photograph Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) at 6:20 am on Sunday morning but the same problem soon occurred. When he went outside the sky was completely clear and conditions were excellent, but before he could get the focus and light settings set on the camera the clouds rolled in and blocked the sky once again. It's a real battle sometimes to get a win against the weather. Brian sends the one result he did manage to get before the viewing conditions deteriorated which makes it still very clear what his target was.