Nature Moncton Nature News: April 9 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 9, 2022 (Saturday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Frank branch has had a female Rusty Blackbird as a regular to his Paquetville feeder yard from February 2 to April 4, 2022. Frank assumes it may be the same one that was dropping by a feeder yard approximately a kilometre away from his yard a few weeks before it settled into his yard.

This bird is no doubt experiencing the rusty tips wearing off its plumage at the moment to take on its dull dark grey summer breeding plumage.

**Connie Colpitts and Lois Budd just finished spring cleaning and preparing nesting boxes at the Salisbury Lagoon. The 3 Nature Moncton boxes placed in the last couple of years had 2 occupied and one was not.

Of all the nesting boxes there, old and new, not many were successful and 2 had baby swallows that were getting wings but didn't survive. One had an unhatched egg in it. It turned cold last spring and Connie and Lois wondered if perhaps the female didn't survive or could not find sufficient food and left. Two more nest boxes were replaced this year.

They are not able to take care of the Mullins Road bluebird trail any more so the bluebirds have to fend for themselves. They still have Eastern Bluebirds there so the birds must empty the nest themselves or build a nest on top of the old.

Vicky McKnight saw her first Eastern Bluebird on Thursday. It was checking out the nesting box she placed there last year.

Hopefully someone can take on care and replacement on this trail as it was indeed successful.

**Brian Stone drove to Shediac and several other spots along the coast to Petit Cap but had to be satisfied with a photo of just a pair of the many Ring-billed Gulls that were present at some of the spots he stopped at. Reported Lesser Black-backed Gulls evaded detection sadly. But Brian was very happy to have a nice encounter with a male Northern Harrier Hawk in the Center Village area of route 940 about halfway between Shemogue and Sackville. Brian had stopped alongside the road to listen for birds and was listening to a large flock of American Goldfinch which somehow remained invisible to visual observation when he noticed a large bird flying up the road towards him in the distance. He readied his camera expecting a close encounter and was not disappointed as the harrier flew up to and over him at a low altitude of just 25 or 30 feet. The bird continued up along the road into the distance maintaining its low flight level all the way. It's not often a bird ignores its photographer to this degree. Brian felt both privileged and a little disregarded at the same time, but very happy both ways.

Brian got some good photographs of an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull which were published in yesterday’s edition. He also got flight photos of that same bird that are on today’s edition. The P10 windows did not seem to be consistent with a Lesser Black-backed Gull but other features did seem consistent. Richard Blacquiere was consulted, and he felt the window inconsistency had to be variability as all else seemed consistent.

**Friday was clean out and treatment day for Nelson Poirier who maintains 18 nest boxes in the Sunny Corner area of Miramichi. Seventeen of these are Nature Moncton boxes with the remaining one an American Kestrel nest box.

The results were very rewarding as the boxes were occupied later than usual last spring due to a prolonged cold period to lead to the suspicion many would not be successful.

It was found all 17 boxes were occupied and appeared to have produced successful broods. None were used by Black-capped Chickadees. One was used by an Eastern Bluebird family and another was used by a Flying Squirrel. Two unhatched eggs and one broken egg was found in the Tree Swallow occupied boxes.

The American Kestrel nest box was erected 6 years ago and has been successfully used each year and hopefully patrons will arrive over the next few weeks to find the prepared box to their satisfaction.

Some photos are attached to show the contents of the box used by the Flying Squirrel that was two thirds filled with fine grass fibers. The nest occupied by Eastern Bluebirds was constructed of pine needles which is to be expected. All the Tree Swallow occupied boxes were similar as expected, constructed with grasses with the same type of feather lining.

All the nest boxes were attached to utility poles, mostly roadside. It was noted that those attached 6 feet from ground level (except the kestrel box at 12 feet) were taken as readily as those placed higher.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton