NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Oct 2,
2022 (Sunday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
** Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins has several Witch-hazel
shrubs which are in flower now. One photo shows a nut case as well.
The nut is
a result of last year's flower and will explosively break open to shoot the seed
a surprising distance away from the mother plant.
The Witch-hazel
is one of our latest blooming shrubs and can sometimes still have blooms in
December defying cold temperatures.
**Yolande
LeBlanc in Memramcook leaves a birdfeeder yard report. Over the last two
days, there have been lots of birds at her feeders. It may have something to do
with the fact she has put out more feeders and has been putting out more
seed.
Ten Song Sparrows, at least 10 White-throated Sparrows (born in her yard area), lots of Black-capped Chickadees, at least 3 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1 White-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finches, American Goldfinch, at least 3 Hairy Woodpeckers, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 2 adult and 1 juvenile female Northern Cardinals, Ring-necked Pheasant, Blue Jays, and possibly more species Yolande has not seen well enough to identify. A very active start to the bird feeding season!
**The White-crowned
Sparrow is a sparrow that breeds to the north of us and migrates to the
south of us for the winter. We have a short time window to see it and that is
now.
Aldo Dorio
got a photo of a White-crowned Sparrow at Hay Island on Saturday that is a
young-of-the-year bird showing the brilliant crown stripes of the adult as
brown and light tan striping.
Aldo also
got a photo of a Red-bellied Snake out on a mission at Hay Island on
Saturday.
**The fall
of the year can see earth excavations of the Star-nosed Mole leaving
fresh earth tailings from its operations of digging underground tunnels for
winter use.
Raccoons, Skunks
and Crows can also leave their marks as they excavate in search of now large,
delicious grubs just under the sod.
The Raccoon
tends to roll away the sod and a group of them can cause extensive areas of
rolled back soil especially in nicely manicured lawns as Nelson Poirier noted
on Saturday at a home along route 114. At least 25% of the lawn area was
disrupted. One photo shows an area of 50’ long x 10’ wide that looked like it
had been done by a machine.
Skunks can
also leave forage holes for grubs but usually these are shallow holes and not as
potentially extensive as they are not done in a group as Raccoons could.
Crows can
also act similarly with the excavations appearing like the Raccoon and Skunk
and can also be surprisingly extensive.
Nelson
Poirier
Nature
Moncton
