Nature Moncton Nature News: May 21 2023

May 21, 2023

Species names are in boldface when there is a photo included.

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The Nature Moncton Warbler field trip on Saturday led by Gordon Rattray was an outstanding success with favourable weather (one day before heavy rains!), lots of warblers, and comradeship. One can feel the enthusiasm in the first of two reports to follow:

*Louise Nichols joined in the warbler outing guided by Gordon Rattray on Saturday. It was a sunny, windy, and warm day with lots of warbler activity, particularly along the old railway trail in Hillsborough. A good number of participants enjoyed the presence of so many warblers, with many in the group adding birds to their life lists.

The group moved from the old railroad trail to the water park and enjoyed a pleasant walk around the 2 km trail to observe more warblers and some waterfowl species, and they were joined at this point by David Christie, a very special addition to the group.

When the official outing came to an end, Louise Nichols and Brian Stone returned to the railroad trail and found activity still high even though it was mid-afternoon. They were able to get good views of a few special warblers, including Wilson's Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, and Bay-breasted Warbler.

Other value-added bonuses were a pair of Downy Woodpeckers at their nest hole, Swamp Sparrow, and Killdeer.

Many thanks to Gordon Rattray for guiding the group and introducing everyone to such a great birding area.

*Brian Stone sends his photos from the Nature Moncton Warbler Outing on Saturday. When arriving at the meeting place in Hillsborough, hike leader Gordon Rattray revealed that there would be two special guests present for parts of the outing ... Dale Gaskin and David Christie. Dale met everyone at the starting point and talked with them until they left for the old railroad track walk, and David joined the group for the second half of the outing that went around the Hillsborough Wetland Trail.

Along the railroad track portion of the outing, Gordon led the participants to several spots that showed concentrations of newly arrived warblers and other birds that included Yellow Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Black-and-White Warblers, Blackburnian Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, and Wilson's Warblers.

Other birds seen at close range were American Redstarts, American Goldfinches, Tree Swallows, and a male Downy Woodpecker excavating a nesting cavity. Having missed seeing the Wilson's Warbler earlier, Brian returned to the railroad track section with Louise Nichols after the walk was over and managed to locate the warbler for some close photos. While they were there the second time, two new warblers showed up to be included in the day's records ... a Blackpoll Warbler and a Bay-breasted Warbler.

On the wetland trail, birds seen were Eastern Phoebe, Bobolink, various sparrows and ducks, and the omnipresent Canada Geese. A small Crab Spider was noticed, and also a Stink Bug, and attempts were made to photograph them. Members and participants were kept busy viewing and photographing many of the other birds already seen in the earlier section. As Brian left at the end of the day, a pair of Killdeer made an appearance in the parking lot and got on the list as the last photographs taken.

**John Inman had a Northern Mockingbird visit his Harvey yard on Saturday morning, trying out the orange until the orioles put the run to it. There have been 9 Baltimore Orioles and 7 Orchard Orioles in different plumages to oranges and grapefruit in his yard so far this spring.

There are still over 100 Blue Jays which John comments are hard on the seed supply!

**Barb Curlew and Rick Elliott saw 2 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS on May 18, 19, and 20, 2023, beside the Shortcut Road leading to Waterside. They had several sightings of Eastern Bluebirds in that same place in June and July 2022. They are hoping that these birds have formed an attachment to the area.

(Editor’s note: it is always pleasant to get reports of the swelling number of Eastern Bluebirds in New Brunswick.)

**Hay Island is home to several Willets each year, providing excellent habitat for that species.

Aldo Dorio photographed a few on Saturday morning.

Aldo also photographed a male Merlin giving him the 'evil eye' for having the audacity to take its photo!

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton