NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
March 13, 2023
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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
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courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Sue Berube revisited the Riverview Marsh on
Saturday with interesting observations. She had seen at least one Short-eared
Owl a few days ago and, on this visit, spotted and photographed a female Northern
Harrier. Sue used a documentary silhouette photo that highlights the
distinguishing white rump patch (uppertail coverts) to be more convinced of the
identification of the second photo she got that clearly shows the owl-like facial
disc, long tail, and again a hint of the uppertail coverts.
Sue comments she saw lots of evidence of Red Fox.
The presence of foxes and the raptors Sue photographed tends to suggest a good
population of Meadow Voles. Sue also comments on hearing Ring-necked Pheasants
in the marsh area.
**Dan Hicks sends photos of 2 River Otter
that surprised them Friday morning paying a visit to their yard trout pond.
Dan suspects they probably will not have too many fish left in the spring
with these highly skilled fishers around. They polished off about 5 or 6
nice trout in the span of about half an hour, seemingly quite pleased with the
menu!
They also saw a Raccoon in their yard Sunday
afternoon that seemed to be searching for grubs.
**It surely is a signal of the oncoming season when
the first Crocus and their kin appear in blazing bloom just as some snow
patches recede.
Daryl Doucette photographed a very content-looking
patch of Crocus in his yard on Sunday.
** On
Saturday, March 11, 2023, Brian Coyle went out to his trail cameras early in
the morning with crisp snow conditions preserving fresh Coyote and Skunk
tracks from the night before. A single Coyote footprint will measure
approximately 2" wide by 3" long, with a gait of between 18" and
22". A Skunk's footprint differs greatly from front to hind foot. In this
case, the front footprint was approximately 3/4" wide by 1 1/4"
long, while the hind footprint measured approximately 1" wide by 2"
long. The gait was approximately 10". Brian also found many scent mark
spots from the Coyotes.
Brian was also able to photograph a pair of Golden
Crowned Kinglets, which were traveling with a group of Chickadees.
(Editor’s note: note the thin orange-red median
crown stripe, bordered by yellow in one photo to indicate a male bird. We don’t
often get to see that fine red stripe).
**John Inman captured a distant
photo of a Turkey Vulture going over their Harvey home on Sunday, the
first one they have seen this year.
John also
comments that Canada Geese were in the 300 to 400 range on Sunday.
**On Sunday
afternoon, while walking along New River Beach (between Lepreau and Pocologan,
N.B.), Brian Stone noticed some early Coltsfoot Flowers pushing up from
the sandy soil on the bank at the top of the beach.
Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
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