NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Dec 18,
2022
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Edited by
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Bob and Sharon Blake have had a male Northern Cardinal drop by their Second North feeder yard occasionally but on Saturday were very pleased to have 3 Northern Cardinals visiting, all male.
**Sue Berube captured an excellent photo of a Flying Squirrel that visits their birdfeeder yard for tasty morsels of peanut butter tucked in tree crevices.
Peanut butter is a magnet to the night shift sleuthing of this unique little mammal.
Sue
also got a photo of a Sharp-shinned Hawk checking out the menu. Sue
comments that the raptor seemed large in comparison to other Sharp-shinned Hawks
they have had. This would appear to be indeed the larger female Sharp-shinned
Hawk. (Editor’s note: the potential for this photo to be a Cooper’s Hawk has to
be considered. However, in consultation with Gilles Belliveau, he
comments “The bill seems relatively small, the build of the bird is broad at the top
and quite narrow at the bottom (I believe Cooper’s is generally more uniform in
the chest and belly) and the tail feathers which are fanned out a bit all
appear very similar in length.
Single
photos can be misleading but based on this
one photo, it just looks like a Sharp-shinned to me.”)
Nice points
to consider for these sometimes easily confused species.
**Brian Stone shares a few photos from the Nature Moncton Christmas Bird and Feeder Count Day.
At Nelson Poirier's backyard feeder Brian
photographed some of the American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos,
White-throated Sparrows, American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Chipping Sparrows,
and the female Northern Cardinal that were busy fueling up for the day.,
Outside in the count area, the birds were few
but one of the several Golden-crowned Kinglets that showed up to be
counted also got its photo taken.
Several wildlife tracks and trails were noted including suspected Coyote, weasel, and grouse but only the numerous domestic dog tracks/trails imprinted nicely for a photo.
Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
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