Nature Moncton Nature News: May 9 2023

May 9, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins had a birding friend on Main Street tell her a 1^st summer male Orchard Oriole had arrived in his yard. She went down to see it, and, while waiting, was entertained by a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Gray Catbird.

Also, many warblers and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have arrived in St. Martins.

(Editor’s note: there seems to be a notable number of reports of Red-bellied Woodpecker, and we are well into May. Is it possible these individuals may stay with us and start calling New Brunswick home??)

**John Inman welcomed his first male Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season on Monday.

What very welcome spring arrivals!

**Deana and Peter Gadd had a welcomed visitor to their garden Tuesday morning, the first time to their home, a Brown Thrasher. The sun was out, and its colours showed up very well when it was not in the shadows. It came and went much of the day, spending quite some time in nearby treetops appearing to sing loudly as they do, too distant for Peter to hear clearly, but apparently, they have the largest song repertoire of all North American birds – 1100 or so (that is a lot of research!). Peter assumed this was a male.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the weather deteriorated, and they had rain and then snow. The hardy thrasher seemed to get serious and went about feeding urgently in a more naturalized part of the garden. The video link below was taken at some distance, and much of it cropped in. It is easy to see how it came by its name!

Brown Thrasher a Thrashin' | Peter Gadd | Flickr

(Editor’s note: the Brown Thrasher is uncommon but regular in New Brunswick with a significant number of nesting records).

** Deana Fenwick reports she has had an exciting birding week! At her feeders, she is still getting lots of American Goldfinches, Purple Finches, and Yellow-rumped Warblers, but added to that are Pine Siskin, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Savannah Sparrow, and the big news is that she has a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches nesting about 4 feet from her kitchen window!

Over the weekend, her list included a pair of Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintail, Green-Winged Teal, Ring-Necked Ducks, American Wigeons, a Common Loon, and an American Kestrel in Memramcook.

At the Sackville Waterfowl Park, there were a lot of Tree Swallows claiming the nesting boxes, but the warblers were not so plentiful. The Blue-Winged Teal couple is still hanging around. Shediac had a lot of Great Blue Herons near Pointe Du Chene, counting 7 at once.

Along the road to Bouctouche, there was a Greater Yellowlegs and a Willet.

(Editor’s note: the Willet can be a bit confusing to newer birders due to its conservative plumage when standing. A few features that help are the dark primary extension of the wing, the small white patch just ahead of the eye with a black slash at its base, the heavy bill, and the grey legs. That all changes in flight when it shows the flashing white bands on the open wing. The genders are monomorphic.

The loud call of the male is distinctive).

** Louise Nichols visited the Tintamarre National Wildlife Area near Sackville on Monday morning, following the road to Paunchy Lake. There were many Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, and Savannah Sparrows, along with the usual Red-winged Blackbirds. On the water, Louise saw mostly Ring-necked Ducks, but also a number of Green-winged Teals, a pair of American Wigeon, and a pair of Buffleheads. A Northern Harrier soared above the cattails at one point.

Louise saw a River Otter, which unfortunately was a bit distant and behind cattails, and so eluded a photo. She also saw a Muskrat and Muskrat Lodge as well as a Beaver Lodge but no Beaver. She was serenaded by Spring Peepers and could hear the occasional Leopard Frog. The area has been worked on over the winter, and now there are more roads, especially around Paunchy Lake, so more access to different parts of the area. It's such a huge space, it would take several days to cover the whole thing!

On her way there, as she was driving along Jolicure Rd., Louise caught sight of an Osprey in a tree enjoying a freshly caught fish. The Osprey was close by a nest that has been there for several years. On her way back home, Louise could see an Osprey in the nest, possibly on eggs (just the tail and part of the head were visible), as well as a second Osprey in a nearby tree standing guard.

(Editor’s note: as Louise has noted, this an incredibly rich habitat to visit but is much more rewarding at this time of year before all the cattails hide its many patrons).

**Aldo Dorio photographed a female Black Duck off Hay Island on Tuesday. At this time of year, the bill of the female is normally the pale olive-green colour but Aldo’s photo shows the darker variation that is sometimes seen. The bill of the male Black Duck would be yellow.

**Brian Stone was able to capture some beautiful photos of what must have been a very cooperative Grey Comma butterfly getting both open-wing and closed-wing views.

Brian has many more photos to come in tomorrow’s edition, as this edition is being sent off the night before.

**Nelson Poirier was pleased to have a White-crowned Sparrow drop by his camp white millet ground feeder on Monday. Its fluorescent white head bands and dark pinkish bill stood out among its sparrow kin. As mentioned earlier, this species is making short refueling stops on its migratory route to breed to the north of us.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton