Nature Moncton Nature News: July 9 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 9, 2022 (Saturday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Yolande LeBlanc was able to get some quick photos of the Northern Cardinal action in her Memramcook yard on Friday. There were fledgling birds present but a bit too quick for the camera however Yolande did get photos of a male feeding a female. Hopefully this means this pair is cementing bonds for a second nesting.

Yolande’s area seems to be becoming a Northern Cardinal hotspot!

**Aldo Dorio was able to get another photo of one of the fledgling Eastern Bluebirds in his Neguac yard. The plumages of the fledglings seem to vary somewhat and I am assuming this may be due to gender.

**Recently, Leon Gagnon shared some photos of Black-bellied Plovers he had spotted on Miscou. One bird showed the handsome retained breeding plumage while the one beside it just didn’t seem to fit the mould. That photo is reattached today.

Diana Hamilton and Julie Paquet offered their opinion which is paraphrased below and a very likely explanation.

“The plumage is interesting indeed. At this point we would think one would usually expect them to still be in their very handsome breeding plumage, as one of them is in the close-up photo. Even later in the season we often see them in a transition plumage with some black left but on the way to non-breeding. The other bird appears to be in full non-breeding plumage but doesn't look like a juvenile. We don't know the details of plumage variation in this species, but wonder if it might be a second-year bird. Those birds often do strange things - some don't migrate, so go part of the way, etc. Here is a link to a description of the molts and plumages in BBPL:

https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/bkbplo/cur/appearance

We looked at it quickly, and it looks like the place where the birds winter may affect their molt pattern a bit. That might have something to do with it.”

**Due to Internet problems on Friday, some of Brian Stone’s excellent and lucky photographs from his Thursday visit to the Irishtown Nature Park would not load onto the blog.
The photos include a safe distance visit with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker active nest and a cooperative Hermit Thrush fledgling.

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com