April 5, 2023
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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Fred Dube got some pleasant photos of
one of the pair of Brown Creepers that are patrons to their Lower
Coverdale feeder yard and very likely nesting in nearby trees, which would be
very interesting if the nest could be located and observed from an appropriate
distance. The Brown Creeper builds its nest behind a loose slab of bark still
attached to a living or dead tree, usually 5 to 15 feet from the ground. The
female is the nest builder, while the male may carry the nest material.
Harrison’s nest book guide points out that nest building is prolonged; birds
work intermittently for up to one month.
The Dube’s home lot area has lots of
potential building sites, and the birds would be accustomed to human traffic.
The Mallard and Black Ducks that have
been coming to cracked corn appear to be becoming more wary after several
successful visits from a juvenile Northern Goshawk. Some are visiting at dusk, as
picked up on their trail cameras, and so are also visiting their Koi pond which
is up against their home.
**Brian Stone took a few photos at the Sackville
Owl Prowl on Tuesday night that show many of the large number of participants
that were interestedly present. It was too dark to photograph any of the owls
that didn't show up or any of the many American Woodcocks that did.
Brian instead sends photos of the evening apparition of the planets Venus
and Mercury at sunset and a later appearance of a 22° Lunar Halo
with bright Moon Dogs at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions on the halo. Also visible
in the photo of Venus and Mercury is the star alpha Aries, the brightest
star in that constellation.
(Editor's note: a very special night to be in a remote area of open blueberry field with nearby woods under a full moon and pleasant temperature).
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Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
