NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
May 1,
2022 (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
**Jane Leblanc captured a photo of a female Long-tailed
Duck off St. Martin’s Beach at high tide on Saturday morning. This bird is
in transition to breeding plumage which is very different from the winter
plumage we are used to seeing.
This is a plumage we are just not used to
seeing and would send most of us to our field guides.
**Fred Dube got an excellent photo of one of
the pair of Brown Creepers they have as residents in their Lower
Coverdale yard. Fred’s photo nicely shows those sharp claws that make tree
bark travel so easy as well as the stiff tail that acts as a prop.
**John Inman in Harvey, Albert County reports
another Pine Warbler dropped by for a photo on
Saturday, this time not as bright as a previous visitor.
John suspects if we get some south winds, it could be
a busy week, as he is getting a few more Savannah Sparrows and up to 9 Chipping
Sparrows to his yard. Photo ops have not been good because of wet windows!
Shannon Inman stopped by Lars Larsen marsh on Saturday
and got some distant photos of a Great Egret leaving the marsh headed
west.
** Yolande
Leblanc in Memramcook reports her male Red-bellied
Woodpecker is still present, seeing it every day. It is being annoyed by
the Common Grackles that have taken over the yard. Yolande also sees the
Northern Cardinals every day. She has not seen the Brown Creepers
in the last month since the blackbirds arrived.
**Cathy and Isabelle Simon spent the morning at the
Point Lepreau Bird Observatory (PLBO) on Saturday. Although the morning's count
was considered light, they had a great time of fun and learning with Jim and
Jean Wilson. They quickly improved their ID skills of birds in flight and
assisted with the count of 18 species including the Harlequin Duck, a species
at risk. There wasn't much time for taking photos but they did manage to
capture a pair of Harlequin Ducks, 2 female Common Eiders, and a Black
Scoter at the same time, as well as a Savannah Sparrow which enjoyed
the bird seed that Isabelle spread out directly in front of the observation
hut. Count information is posted almost daily on the PLBO's Facebook
page: https://www.facebook.com/pointlepreaubirdobservatory
**Laura
Tranquilla, who gave a presentation on Leach’s Storm-Petrel to
Nature Moncton sends the attached sound clip of Leach's Storm Petrels at night
on Baccalieu that she wanted to share with participants.
Turn your volume up to listen to these birds
in discussion which is only heard at night. For many of us, this may be the
only chance to hear them.
**Nelson Poirier had a pair of Yellow-bellied
Sapsuckers arrive to the very spot on the tree where a container of jam is
usually placed. It was not up yet but is now!
They both elected to move over to the next
tree to the peanut butter feeder (gifted by Gordon Rattray) to return to the
booty several times over the day.
**Bob Blake maintains a record of daily
morning temperatures, daily high temperatures, and monthly precipitation from
his Second North River home.
Bob
compares his records of April 2021 to April 2022. It is interesting to note we
had more precipitation as rain in April 2021 compared to April 2022. It sure
may not seem like that after experiencing the past few days but obviously it was just spread out more last year.
Bob’s table is attached below as he
sends it:
|
2021 |
2022 |
||
|
morning
temperatures |
daily highs and
rainfall |
morning
temperatures |
daily highs and
rainfall |
|
+12-1 day +11-1 +9-1 +8-1 +7-3 +6-2 +4-5 +3-6 +2-4 +1-2 -1-2 -2-2 |
+21-2 +20-1 +18-1 +17-3 +16-1 +13-2 +12-2 +10-1 +9-2 +8-1 11 cms. snow 112 mms. rain |
+11-1 +8-3 +7-2 +6-1 +5-3 +4-5 +3-4 +2-5 +1-1 0-1 -1-2 -2-2 |
+15-4 +14-2 +13-4 +12-1 +11-4 +10-5 +9-3 +8-1 1 cm. snow 95 mms. rain |
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
.%20APRIL%2030,%202022.%20JANE%20LeBLANC.JPG)
,%20COMMON%20EIDER%20(FEMALE),%20BLACK%20SCOTER.%20APRIL%2030,%202022.%20CATHY%20SIMON.png)
.%20APRIL%2030,%202022.%20NELSON%20POIRIER.jpg)
