NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Feb 14, 2022 (Monday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**John Inman had a Northern Cardinal arrive to his Mary’s Point Road feeder yard over the weekend. He is not sure whether it is a new individual or one that has been in the Mary’s Point area.
Red-winged Blackbirds went up by one and they and the resident Rusty Blackbird were quite vocal on Sunday as a signal of things to come.
The Fox Sparrow is still present and posed for a photo.
Shannon Inman saw their recent Bobcat visitor
grab a Mourning Dove.
As chance would have it, a male Northern Cardinal
appeared briefly in my own yard just before I opened John’s message! It was
midday and it did not feed on anything but seemed intent on picking fibers from the grapevine. Hoping it has homesteading on its mind.
** Cathy Simon kindly offered to pick
up 4 reserved duck nest boxes from Ducks Unlimited in Fredericton on
Sunday and they are now in Moncton ready to be homed in suitable spots. It happens
to be the ideal time to place these boxes in trees in or around wet areas that
are now frozen over and easier to travel on. For pickup directions to anyone
willing to participate in placing a nest box up, send an email to
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
While Cathie was picking up the boxes,
she spotted 2 Bald Eagles in the trees immediately behind the Ducks Unlimited
head office that backs onto the Saint John River.
**Last weekend Brian Coyle found a Porcupine trail,
and after following it a short distance found the entrance to a den. He then
set up a trail camera at this location to end up with many videos of what he
suspects to be a young individual that is hanging close to the den. He moved
the camera back a bit since then and includes a few sample videos at the links
below. (Editors note: note the reddish\yellow staining and quill marks in the
Porcupine trail to help identify.)
Brian got several videos of a White-tailed
Deer yearling on a Beaver dam pond. With the recent deep snow and the mild temperatures,
the deer were floundering in the snow and going right down to the forest floor.
This certainly gives predators the advantage.
We are more accustomed to seeing
crossbills, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Pine Siskin feeding on cone seeds at treetops. Brian noticed American
Goldfinch working the now nicely opened spruce cones near his home.
When he was on that small
lake/pond near Berry Mills on Friday, there were 2 American Robins
feeding on the surface of the snow on the pond for emerging insects. They
appear to be Winter Stone Flies ( approximately 2 cm long) that can appear on frozen surfaces on
warm days this time of year.
A Coyote plays
"peekaboo" with the camera at "Coyote Rock"
Review all the action at the
links attached below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kpz35fuof8p4rhg/Brian%20Coyle%20Feb.13%2C%202022%20%281%29.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xp4ki6ms4ulspgu/Brian%20Coyle%20Feb.13%2C%202022%20%282%29.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rawrc3nv06ixlhu/Brian%20Coyle%20Feb.13%2C%202022%20%283%29.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p2f2d4o4dqp63j0/Brian%20Coyle%20Feb.13%2C%202022%20%284%29.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9t0x6hzy0bzr0vf/Brian%20Coyle%20Feb.13%2C%202022%20%285%29.AVI?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z2mi1srmtce3c15/Brian%20Coyle%20Feb.13%2C%202022%20%286%29.AVI?dl=0
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
