NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
March 12,
2022 (Saturday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**John Inman in Harvey, Albert County reports Canada Geese are arriving and these past few days 9 Common Grackles and 13 Red-winged-blackbirds have arrived to his feeder yard. Get ready for it -- the advance guard black invasion is about to happen to indicate spring is springing !
**While Jane and Ed LeBlanc were driving near their St.
Martins home on Friday, they saw a Red-tailed Hawk flying overhead, and Jane
managed to get a distant photo.
Jane’s photo very nicely shows the patagial bar
(arrowed) on the forewing next to the body which is a signature feature for the
Red-tailed Hawk, both mature and immature.
**Gordon Rattray made a trip over to Caledonia Mountain on
Friday, his main target being the Boreal Chickadee. With the
assistance of directions from Nelson he found the Boreal Chickadees.
There were more than one and they were very vocal. Gordon reports this to
be a lifer. He also observed Black-capped Chickadees, Purple
Finch, a Red-Breasted Nuthatch with lunch and Pine Siskin. The
Pine Siskins show the variation in the amount and location of the yellow
plumage. (Editors note: in most cases, the males tend to show more yellow in
the plumage than the females but this is not a reliable indicator of gender as
it can vary considerably).
**Judith Dewar was out snowshoeing in the woods behind
their home in Fredericton when they came across the cocoon of a Polyphemus moth
on a young sapling branch. It measured about 3” long by 2” around. They noticed
a few tree leaves and fern leaves among the fine weaving. There were a set of
White-tailed Deer tracks that indicated their curiosity as well.
Judith was able to get some nice photographs of this
not very often noted cryptic cocoon.
These
cocoons can be collected and placed in a cool protected area and in a few
months a very beautiful Polyphemus Moth will emerge providing it has not been
parasitized over the winter.
**Brian Stone recently came across the leg of a deceased White-tailed Deer. Take note of the sharp edges of the hooves that allows this animal to so easily travel on icy surfaces and crusty snow.
Brian also drove along the coast in the Shediac to
Petit Cap area on Friday to check on the ice conditions and bird life. Some
spots had too much ice still, but others were partly clear. Petit Cap beach had
open water close to shore but no birds close enough to photograph. At the Petit
Cap wharf there were similar conditions, but many groups of Gulls were
present. At the Rue Niles wharf no gulls or other birds were seen at all. Along
the road towards Shediac a pair of female CommonMergansers were
photographed basking beside some open water. The Pointe-du-Chene wharf at
Shediac was still iced in and no birds were close enough for photos. Brian also
took some interesting ice accumulation photos and open water against the
Confederation Bridge.
Brian got lots of gull photos so get
ready for another great “gullology” session to sit in on for tomorrow’s edition
when it appears like many of us will be inside if Mother Nature’s weather
forecast holds!
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
