Nature Moncton Nature News: December 9 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

December 9, 2023

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Richard Blaquiere checked the Hampton lagoon Friday morning and was surprised to find a male Wood Duck. It was keeping company with some Gadwall. Richard had not seen a Wood Duck in any of the ponds in several weeks, but the Gadwall have been a daily presence in varying numbers since late summer. For a few days earlier this week, the lagoon hosted a pair of Barrow's Goldeneye, but they seem to have now moved on.
(Editor’s note: note in Richard's photo of the male Wood Duck that it is back in brilliant breeding plumage with thoughts of spring.)

** Louise and Glen Nichols have noted that a Porcupine has taken up residence in their woods very close to the main trail which they use when they walk their dog Luka. This has meant all sorts of cautious behaviour with the dog -- monitoring where the Porcupine hangs out, using a leash when going by its area, and keeping eyes peeled. The Porcupine seems to be spending a lot of time feeding on a spruce tree brought down by hurricane Fiona. Louise attaches a couple of photos and includes a video which can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gtd4f8psaoznmrx06bofj/PORCUPINE-FEEDING-LOUISE-NICHOLS.MP4?rlkey=nokunble0fncc66gyycz40nxr&dl=0

** Jane LeBlanc was walking the St. Martins beach and marsh in a very brisk wind and found one lone Snow Bunting. It was trying to eat seeds from grasses that were blowing in the wind, so both feeding and photographing were difficult.

**Paul Langelaan was in the Taylor Road area of Second North River recently noticing suspected woodpecker excavations on a tree that made him wonder if it could be the work of a Black-backed Woodpecker.
Black-backed Woodpeckers have been seen in this area before and their habit when feeding is to strip areas of bark to feed on the insects below. Some of our other woodpeckers do this, but the Black-backed Woodpecker favours this method of foraging. Paul got a few nice photos to support the possibility.

** Brian Stone joined Nelson Poirier on a visit to Norbert Dupuis in Memramcook on Friday and checked out some of the interesting and scenic sights on his family's properties. A stream tributary of the Aboujagane River flowing beside the cabin of his brother Paul offered the most interesting photos of the day as many examples of pancake ice formations were present on one section at a pool below a small waterfall.

(Editor’s note: pancake ice is a beautiful not often-seen ice formation.
The circular slabs that form can range from 1 to 10 feet in diameter and up to 4 inches thick typically forming in areas with at least some wave action and air temperatures just below freezing. Pancake ice begins as a thin ice layer on the water surface that accumulates into circular discs. The raised edge appearance forms when each disk bumps up against one another or when slush splashes onto the discs and then freezes on the slab's edge.)

Later that day in the Johnsons Mills area Brian noticed a male Northern Harrier Hawk cruising over a blueberry field but was unable to get the camera pointed out the truck window in time to snap a photo. On the eastern side of that peninsula, at a spot along route 935 between Rockport and Wood Point, Nelson spotted a Porcupine resting on a thin tree branch close beside the road. The porcupine barely opened an eye in response to the photographer's attentions and seemed quite content to wait out the brief disturbance without concern, enjoying the sunbath.

Further along at the High Marsh Rd. across the Tantramar Marsh, Brian and Nelson hoped to spot raptors hunting the marsh and were disappointed to find very few of them in the area. One Bald Eagle and maybe 3 Rough-legged Hawks were seen and a couple of long-distance photos of some of the hawks was the most they came away with.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton