NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Feb 27, 2022 (Sunday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Jane and Ed LeBlanc were out early Saturday morning, hoping for some colour in the sunrise. They were somewhat disappointed, but Jane caught the crescent Moon and the planet Venus just before sunrise, looking over the Bay of Fundy in St. Martins.
**Brian
Stone visited Sullivan's Pond in Dartmouth on Saturday to look for gulls and
any other interesting pond-loving birds that might be present. Among the couple
dozen gulls that were hanging out was a nice prize that a friendly birder
pointed out to him that he had missed, a 1st-winter Black-headed Gull. (Editors
note: the Black-headed Gull is a 2 year gull to reach maturity. The 1st-winter would
have a pale reddish bill and black tip and some brown plumage remnants in the
feathers with a very distinct dark tail band as Brian’s photos show. The 2nd
winter plumage would have a clean white tail and no brown feathers in the
plumage, essentially similar to an adult. It’s a great time of year to be
looking at gulls to separate different year classes as the immatures will soon be
molting into their next summer plumage.)
Brian
photographed other gulls and interesting ducks that will be sent to the blog in
the next day or two.
**The workshop of master carpenter Fred Richards has again completed 60 nest boxes for free distribution to Nature Moncton members. There should be lots to go around so put in your requests immediately so they can be distributed in lots of time to have them up by early April for early arriving birds to peruse for occupancy. These nest boxes are usually taken predominantly by Tree Swallows but have been taken as well by Eastern Bluebirds, Black-capped Chickadees, and Flying Squirrels.
The nest
boxes are in Fred Richards workshop at the moment but can be made available at
a Moncton pick up point. Please do not be shy about reserving the number that
you are able to care for as we want to see these boxes up and ready for
patrons.
Reserve the
number you would like by leaving your name and number of boxes wanted with Fred
Richards at fredrichards@rogers.com or
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
As
mentioned, they are available free of charge to Nature Moncton members and $20
to non-members.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
