Nature Moncton Nature News: January 24, 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

January 24, 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

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

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

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

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The newly formed Nature Moncton Outdoors Committee has organized its first activity of the year which will be a workshop on cell phone apps for naturalists to be held this coming Saturday, Jan 27. It is short notice, but the new committee wants to get activities up and running with lots more to follow.

The write-up is on the website and upfront on Nature News on Friday.

**While John Goobie was out patrolling the Tantramar Marsh on Monday he noticed a significant number of Muskrats out in the open and out of their safety zone, totaling at least 6. He wondered why they would be risking predation so blatantly, but maybe they know something that we don't and might have a good reason for doing so.

(Editor’s note: John’s observation as well as that of others suggest a significant population of Muskrats this season on the Tantramar Marsh.)

Several years ago, I did see a Golden Eagle take a muskrat in the open on the Tantramar Marsh so I am assuming the Muskrat is open to eagle predation.)

**John Inman was surprised to have a second Cuckoo Wasp appear in his Harvey home on an inside windowsill. It appeared quite active when he first spotted it and was not interested in being photographed. It later went quiet and this brightly coloured wasp was photographed.

This wasp like the Cuckoo Bird and Brown-headed Cowbird lays its eggs in the nests of other bees to circumvent rearing of its own young.

**It’s that time of year when clear mornings can give us some spectacular sunrise observations.

Aldo Dorio shares a photo of sunrise at Neguac on Tuesday morning.

**On Tuesday Brian Stone drove through the Johnson's Mills area and through to the Tantramar Marsh at Sackville.

At Johnson's Mills Brian found an immature Bald Eagle and an immature Red-tailed Hawk hovering in the strong winds and clear blue sky over the road. The eagle was doing a slow glide that looked almost stationary, but the hawk actually did hover motionless for moments at a time. Across the Tantramar Marsh Brian saw 4 Rough-legged Hawks in different spots, most gliding and hovering but one perched in a distant tree, and 2 Northern Harrier Hawks that were just too distant for photographs. The roads in the marsh were icy and rough but passable as long as speed was kept low.

(Editor’s note: in Brian’s photos, note the patagial bar (dark line on the leading edge of the open wing adjacent to the head) which is a signature mark for the immature and mature Red-tailed Hawk. The ‘comma-shaped’ wrist marks show nicely as well.

With the flight photo of the Rough-legged Hawk, the large ‘hockey puck’ wrist marks show nicely.)

**NEST BOX PROJECT

The construction of this year's nest boxes has begun! Nature Moncton members are encouraged to TAKE ACTION FOR NATURE by requesting one (or a few) nest boxes to put up in their yard. Nest boxes are a great way to increase the biodiversity of an area by providing suitable habitats for cavity-nesting birds. These boxes can attract Black-capped Chickadees, Tree Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds, and Flying Squirrels.

The boxes will be available for pick-up in February and March. By accepting a nest box, members are requested to clean, monitor, and report the box use throughout the year. The Conservation Action Committee will be connecting with members who already have boxes, maintaining records, and sending out maintenance and reporting reminders. To request your nest box, please email Cathy Simon at smittybatman@hotmail.com.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton