Nature Moncton Nature News: February 28 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

February 28, 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

**Jane and Ed LeBlanc walk daily on the St. Martins beach with their dog, and were rewarded Tuesday morning with a pair of Bald Eagles flying in to land on the flats at low tide. They stayed, vocalized to each other, and tried briefly to mate. That got the Irish Setter's attention, and the dog ran towards them, but the whistle called her back and the birds stayed where they were. They were still there when they left.

**Richard Perron found 2 bird nests in the woods located over 2 distinct low and very moist areas colonized by Speckled Alders. Richard wondered about one looking like a Common Grackle nest, but a lot smaller, and completely round whereas the Common Grackle nest is a bit oval. Richard has never seen such a nest before. It was 6 feet off the ground on the lower branch of a 40-foot Balsam Tree overseeing the Speckled Alder swamp. Any other comments from folks on other possibilities of what species built this nest would be appreciated.

The other nest, looking like a vireo nest was in a Grey Birch or a Maple just over another swamp of Speckled Alders. Vireo nests are characteristically pendulant built in the crotch of a tree and usually contain spider web in the construction and are shingled with pieces of bark. The nest bowl size was also the correct size for a vireo identification.

**Ray Gauvin comments his resident Northern Cardinals are acting very seasonal. He first noticed the male perching on the side view mirror of his vehicle in the driveway, right next to a huge Mugo Pine, which appears to be their residence.

He also noticed the male perched on the side view mirror of his neighbour's motor home, which is in the same general area. The ritual is from the side view mirror of his vehicle to the Kiwi shrub branches that hang touching his living room window. They vigourously attacked their image in the living room window. At first, it was just the male, but now it is both species. They chased each other most of the day Tuesday performing the same ritual. It was quite a show of seasonal courtship.

(Editor’s note: the Northern Cardinal and American Robin are notorious for attacking their image in mirrors and/or windowpanes to chase away the apparent intruder.)

Take a look at the action below in the video link Ray has captured:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/e7ara3irfuudg1vdwhlt9/Northern-Cardinals-Ray-Gauvin.MOV?rlkey=7pujurba61e4v5p7nkoc7hw14&dl=0

**Norbert Dupuis shares a photo of one of his female Northern Cardinals checking out a visit from a Dark-eyed Junco to his Memramcook East yard. Norbert also has a male Ring-necked Pheasant that has become a regular in the past few days.

**Brian and Annette Stone walked through Irishtown Park on Tuesday afternoon and even though there still were not many birds available to be photographed Brian got lucky when Annette spotted a Ruffed Grouse about 15 or so meters off the side of the trail hiding in shadow at the base of some trees.

(Editor's note: the plumage markings on the Ruffed Grouse are spectacular just like so many of our wild birds as seen by the close observations Brian's photo supplies.)

Near a feeder spot, Brian also got pictures of a hungry Red-breasted Nuthatch that was hoping for seeds and was rewarded with them for posing.

At home Brian photographed the Sun again, testing which settings work best with his filter system, and managed to show some of the sunspots that are presently passing across the face of the Sun.

**Unless raised on a farm, many may not have witnessed the birth of a calf.

Aldo Dorio captured photos of a very newborn calf in a field near his Neguac home. It is amazing how quickly a newborn calf is ready to boogie moments after it is born. It may look a little rough around the edges but Mother Cow will soon take care of that. The remains of the placental sac have not passed as yet in Aldo’s photos.

This time of year is considered calving time on many farms and large animal veterinarians can become very busy tending to birthing challenges.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton