Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 21 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Dec 21, 2022

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

** Jane LeBlanc reports on the St. Martins Christmas bird count. Count day was a wet snowy mess, so several folks couldn't make it. She finds it surprising that the number of Evening Grosbeaks (254) far outnumbered Blue Jays (26) and Mourning Doves (132). The highlights of the day were a Red-bellied Woodpecker, which was a lifer for one birder, a Red-winged Blackbird, and one lone Bohemian Waxwing in a flock of Evening Grosbeaks. It was noticed at lunchtime, in Jane's yard, by a keen 14-year-old birder. Great to have young eyes helping!

A 'normal' bird not found included a Ruffed Grouse (seen in Jane's yard the next day).

** The weather wasn't ideal for this past weekend’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for Moncton, but that often is the case for this event. And overall birders are a tough bunch and had lots of fun regardless. Andrew Darcy birded zone E which includes Wilson Marsh and surrounding areas. Their group of 3 tallied 22 species (the count may have been a little low due to weather conditions and time constraints).

Highlights included a beautiful PINE WARBLER, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, BALD EAGLE (4 total), and a large flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS (120+).

In the afternoon the team was joined by some NB birding royalty, the infamous David Christie. It was an honor to have such a prolific naturalist join them on the same CBC route that he had done for many years. After a day of counting anything with feathers, the group of die-hard birders convened at the Tankville School to do the first live tally-up since 2019. Thanks to Susan Atkinson for providing some much-needed nourishment (Chicken Fricot) and Roger LeBlanc for organizing the event.

**Sue Richards, Fred Richards, Roger Leblanc, and Veronica Price did a zone of the CBC for Memramcook. The number of birds seemed to be down because of the weather but all in all it was a good day. They tallied 21 species including all the usual suspects and came across a small flock of PINE GROSBEAKS and a larger flock of EVENING GROSBEAKS. The highlight of the day for them was a HERMIT THRUSH and a group of COMMON MERGANGERS on the Memramcook River. As it was snowing most of the day, they did not get any pictures; however, they did make an observation of the lichens and fungi on the trees that were very visible and share a few photos. Fred also includes a photo of something that falls under the category of a nature surprise. He was walking along the river early in the morning on the fresh snow and saw something moving on the snow to find it was an earthworm out for a stroll/crawl.

** Clarence Cormier has had a Pine Warbler attending his Grande Digue feeder yard since late November. He sees it every other day.

When a Pine Warbler appears at a feeder yard this time of year, it can become a faithful all-winter visitor.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton