Nature Moncton Nature News: January 17 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

January 17, 2024

Nature Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

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Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**A very appreciative thank you to raptor guru Todd Watts for remotely joining Nature Moncton on Tuesday evening to share his expertise on identifying and appreciating our raptor community in various ways from field marks to behaviour and habitat.

Mother Nature delivered an opportunely timed snowstorm to make the audience at Mapleton Lodge smaller than usual; yet 35 people joined virtually.

This session was recorded, missing only the first few minutes, and hopefully will be available at the end of the week for more to appreciate Todd’s shared experience with these beautiful creatures.

**Another banded Ring-billed Gull has returned to the McAllister Place parking lot in Saint John and was photographed on January 15 by Richard Blacquiere.

It was first photographed there almost exactly 5 years ago, in January 2019. It carries a federal band (0974-10824) on the right leg, along with a curious-looking second band on the left. That locked band once held a small plastic ‘flag’ which had some lettering that could be seen at a distance. Researchers conducting the study found the plastic flag didn’t last very long so that design was abandoned. From information supplied by the banders, the gull was originally captured as a sub-adult on February 20, 2009, at Hager Pond in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Interesting to note the location this year was just meters away from where it was first encountered in 2019 – remarkable winter site fidelity.

(Editor’s note: this is yet another example of birds returning to the same sites year after year whether it be for nesting, foraging, or winter migration.)

**Just ahead of Tuesday night's raptor presentation, Louise Nichols went out to High Marsh Rd. on Tuesday morning to scan for raptors. Conditions were good with only a light wind and almost no snow at all on the marsh. She found more activity than she had seen lately. Most birds were viewed at a distance through the scope. She saw a total of 7 Rough-legged Hawks, 5 Bald Eagles (all sitting on top of hydro structures), and 1 Northern Harrier. She attaches one documentary photo of a Rough-legged Hawk in flight.

**Lynn and Fred Dube had a lively day at their Lower Coverdale birdfeeder yard on Monday with the onset of a weather system on Tuesday.

Mallard Ducks gathered in a crowded huddle to enjoy cracked corn, but the star of the day was the arrival of a female Pileated Woodpecker. It is obvious from Lynn’s photo that it enjoyed the Dube suet blend.

They use a recipe of lard, peanut butter, flour, and oatmeal packed into holes drilled in snags and trees, which is a hit with woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, and occasional Brown Creepers.

**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins has had a White-throated Sparrow join her regulars for the past week, and she finally managed a photo of it. She also got not great photos of the male and female Northern Cardinals in the snowy weather. Three cardinals are present, two females and a male, but she hasn't figured out how to get them to pose for a photo simultaneously!

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton