April 1, 2023
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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Rosita Lanteigne
in Caraquet reports she has hosted a Red-bellied Woodpecker since November 3, 2022. It does visit other
feeders in the area, and she can go several days without seeing it, but it always
returns periodically. The last time she saw it was last Monday, but it made an appearance
on Friday morning.
Rosita also reports that a Fox
Sparrow has been present since January 10, 2023, and again sometimes she does
not see it for a few days, but it has always returned.
**Louise Nichols hopes to receive a prize for being the first to report a
frog this season. She was checking out the small pond in back of their Aulac
home, which is now free of ice, and she saw a frog swimming. She was able
to get a photo as it swam beneath the water and hid underneath a rock to identify it as a Leopard Frog. Real spring must be coming!
**Georges
Brun spotted a Canada Goose in the Petitcodiac River with two
symmetrical white patches over the eyes. This goose flew in alone, and 20 seconds later, 6
Canada Geese also made a splash in the waters of the Petitcodiac. It was
not paired like the rest and, after letting Georges take photos, it flew
upriver towards the slow-pitch ballfields at the Hall Betts Complex.
A Great Blue Heron posed for a few photos in
the waters of the Petitcodiac River opposite the Irish Monument on Riverfront
Park.
**One of the best ways to help identify specific mammal tracks is to very
closely observe and photograph the hind and front paws of deceased/road-killed
mammals.
Brian Coyle did that on Friday with a Skunk.
Take note that on the front paw, the long nails used for digging register more
distant from the toe pads than is the case in the hindfoot. Also, note the
large hind pads in front and hind paws as well as the 5 toe pads on each paw.
**Gordon Rattray is seeing a lot of sparrows this week and also is getting some relief from the large flocks of Common Grackle/Red-winged
Black Birds that he was seeing at the first of the week. Today Gordon had his first visit of
the spring from a Fox Sparrow. It was joined by Song Sparrows
and American Tree Sparrows, as well as Dark-eyed Juncos. In
the snow of Thursday, Gordon had over 25 Dark-eyed Juncos.
**Daryl Doucette shares a photo of a patch
of crocus in blazing bloom in his Moncton yard. It is amazing how these
cultivars burst so rapidly as the snow recedes.
** Becky Gillcash went on the marsh Thursday by her home on the Salisbury Road and saw many birds. There were a few White- tailed
Deer as well but Becky comments she was so busy looking at the robins that she
missed the deer that were watching her.
The videos on the links are ducks, geese, Red-winged
Blackbirds, Ravens, robins, and deer running away (hard to see).
(Editor’s note: turn your sound up to hear the
sounds of a marsh in spring. Note the male Red-winged Blackbirds responding to
each other jostling over territory, and in the second from the last link, a pair of Ravens
are discussing spring plans. In the last link, an American Robin darts about
checking the menu).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d4gptel8a4yftex/20230330_091256.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uj819776aql4449/20230330_091458.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7onl06vmucfqem/20230330_091521.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/omes8depvsn4wa8/20230330_094004.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3tzn7ngj2mvnkvp/20230330_091559.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o7omq067o37zcqz/20230330_092005.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6z8cazs7db6yxgr/20230330_092805.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcl1v3am3dq485r/20230330_093803.mp4?dl=0
**Anna Tucker
got a pleasant surprise on Thursday evening when she looked out her Church Court
apartment to see a flock of approximately 100 Bohemian Waxwings feasting
on the fruit of a crab-apple tree. They were feeding on the still clinging
fruit as well as on the ground after the fruit was exposed by the melting snow.
Anna also
saw her first American Robin of the season working an exposed lawn.
**Bob Blake maintains daily weather statistics
from his Second North River site, including daily morning temperatures, daily
high temperatures, and monthly precipitation.
Bob’s table, as he sends it, compares March 2022
with March 2023.
It would appear that morning low temperatures were
generally higher in 2023 as well as higher daily highs in 2023.
Precipitation was all recorded as snow in 2023 at Bob’s site; however, more precipitation as rain would occur at lower
altitudes.
.
|
2022 |
2023 |
||
|
morning temperatures |
daily highs |
morning temperatures |
daily highs |
|
-17-1 day -15-1 -9-1 -8-2 -7-1 -6-1 -5-2 -4-1 -3-2 -2-2 -1-3 0-3 +1-4 +2-4 +3-1 +4-1 +6-1 |
+13-1 +9-2 +7-8 +6-4 +5-1 30 cms. snow 32 mms. rain |
-14-1 -11-1 -8-1 -7-1 -6-2 -5-1 -4-4 -3-2 -1-5 0-7 +1-2 +2-2 |
+7-3 +6-1 +5-6 78 cms. snow |
Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
