Nature Moncton Nature News: April 1 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 1, 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 live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**Shannon Inman got a nice photograph of a female Brown-headed Cowbird joining the 2 males, as well as a Yellow-rumped Warbler on Sunday. They also comment that more bright American Robins are in the Harvey area, so we should be seeing them soon.
(Editor’s note: it is expected for the male blackbirds to arrive up to a few weeks before the more conservatively dressed females.
Also, the Yellow-rumped Warbler and the Palm Warbler are often the first warblers to arrive in the spring. In saying that, Shannon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler is indeed an early arrival if it did not happen to spend the winter with us.
The American robins in John’s photo appear predominantly male.)

**Louise Nichols reports a few early signs of spring that occurred on their Aulac property in the sunshine on Sunday. First, she and Glen heard Wood Frogs vocalizing in their back pond as they sat on the deck in the afternoon. Louise tried to approach to see and photograph them, but they quickly disappeared when she got too close. Shortly after, while on a walk in the woods, Louise came across a Mourning Cloak Butterfly that had emerged from its winter sleeping spot. Louise believes this is the earliest she has ever seen a Mourning Cloak.

**Leigh Eaton watched the Peregrine Falcon box recently and the Peregrine seemed to be sleeping, switching from the left eye to the right eye, and sometimes both closed.
(Editor’s note: I watched the bird at 9:00 PM on Sunday and it was doing a similar thing alternately and sometimes simultaneously drawing the third eyelid (nictitating membrane) across the eye but I did not see it actually close the eyelids.)

**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins had plenty of yard birds on Easter Sunday, no doubt enjoying the break in the rain. She saw the Fox Sparrow, which she hadn't seen in several weeks. She also has a female and a male Northern Cardinal, which she hopes will nest nearby.

**A lot is happening this coming weekend and potentially Solar Eclipse Day next Monday (sun or cloud-dependent).
On Saturday, April 6, Nature Moncton will have a booth at the BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS at Harvey Hall with a poster attached below:

Also on Saturday, April 6, Nature Moncton will do an outing on the Riverfront Trail to take in spring activity and at the same time do a clean out of the birdhouses Nature Moncton erected along the trail last spring.

Monday, April 8 is the day of the total Solar Eclipse. If the day is sunny and relatively cloud-free to view this spectacular event, participants interested in taking in the event will meet in the yard of Nelson Poirier’s camp in Miramichi which happens to be in the direct line of totality of the eclipse.

These events (other than the BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS event) are written up on the website under events. Go to www.naturemoncton.com now to get up to speed.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton