Nature Moncton Nature News: December 18 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

December 18, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Judy Cairns was able to capture photographs of a special bird spotted during Saturday’s Moncton Christmas bird count. Judy got photos of the Clay-colored Sparrow that was located behind the CBC radio location in downtown Moncton.

(Editor’s note: the Clay-colored Sparrow’s breeding range is to the west of us in a large part of Canada and the northern United States migrating to Mexico for the winter. This species appears to be appearing ever so slightly more in New Brunswick and hopefully has thoughts of joining our good natural areas in the future.)

Judy also got photos of a Short-eared Owl she spotted on the Tantramar marsh last week.

**Brian Stone visited family in Hampton last week and sends some photos that he managed to squeeze between family activities. At the Hampton lagoons, few birds were present, but a couple of male and female Barrow's Goldeneye Ducks swam there over the 3 days Brian was there. Both male and female Bufflehead Ducks were also regulars, and a small group of Song Sparrows were frequenting the bushes alongside the lagoons.

At a lagoon in Rothesay, 20 + Turkey Vultures were perching in trees and gliding overhead. Also, a small gathering of Barrow's Goldeneye Ducks was there too.

(Editor's note: Brian's photos of the goldeneyes nicely show the oval-shaped heads of the Barrow's Goldeneye as well as the more complete orange bill of the female Barrow's Goldeneye. The forehead of the Common Goldeneye is much more slanted and the orange of the bill goes only halfway on the female common goldeneye.)

Back at his sister's place in Upham, Brian's wife Annette spotted a Snowshoe Hare hiding deep in some undergrowth that confused the camera's focus which, in a way, added to its camouflage.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton