Nature Moncton Nature News: May 16 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

May 16, 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 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 .

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

**Jane LeBlanc's neighbour in St. Martins let her know he had a male Indigo Bunting in his yard Wednesday morning. Jane went down, and while waiting, saw two female Baltimore Orioles and many Gray Catbirds. Jane notes the last time she saw an Indigo Bunting...she had a film camera, so it's been a while.

**Fred Dube located an owl pellet near their Lower Coverdale home that clearly shows the skeletal parts of its prey and the fine hair associated with it.

In consultation with Don McAlpine, he pointed out that the skeletal parts showing were those of a Short-tailed Shrew.

(Editor's note: The shrew must be a popular prey item for some owls as Louise Nichols recently found one very similar. It would seem small prey for our larger owls but possibly their abundance meets the need. We don’t often see shrews, but they are very abundant and nocturnal which may be another reason they are a favoured prey for owls. The very fine hair of the shrew pelage is obvious in Fred’s photo.)

** Gordon Rattray visited some sites in Hillsborough and Albert Mines and photographed some plants:

American Elm, Balsam Popular – ( Populus balsamifera), Canada Hawkweed – (Hieracium umbellatum), Trout Lily – (Erythronium americanum), Service Berry, Wall Hawkweed – (Hieracium vulgatum), Northern White Violet – (Viola macloskeyi), Woolly Blue Violet – (Viola sororia)

Gordon also got a male Yellow Warbler and a female Yellow-rumped Warbler.

**Shaun Stultz (Mac Wilmot’s grandson) shares a video he recorded of a female Northern Harrier at the mouth of the Desable River in Hampton, Prince Edward Island. It shows the white upper tail coverts that flash like a beacon to help identify this raptor as it sweeps over open fields with its wings in a slight dihedral. Take a look at Shaun’s video clip at the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2dejs6oo0tv5z51b36nnq/Northern-Harrier-Female-Shaun-Stultz.mp4?rlkey=7oll0y89kzwzc4g6b0gtft03k&st=6mporasd&dl=0

**Aldo Dorio is another enjoying the short visits of the White-crowned Sparrow. He had one drop by his Neguac yard on Wednesday.

**Brian Stone photographed a small turtle beside Taylor Rd. near Salisbury recently. We were not sure whether it was a hatchling Wood Turtle or Snapping Turtle, so once again, consultation on the same day with Don McAlpine at the New Brunswick Museum answered the query.

Don pointed out it was a hatchling (late last summer-early fall) Wood Turtle.
Don was able to share photos of a hatchling Snapping Turtle to note the difference in shell shape (less evenly circular) and rugosity (smoother in wood turtle), and the difference in the shape of the head to that of Wood Turtle.
These photos were the result of a very interesting scenario. Don comments:
“These are photos that Don took. He discovered 13 intact eggs scattered about a predated nest a few years back in the Spednic Lake Protected Natural Area in September. Don put them in his pack and discovered them hatching by the time he got home! Anyway, all 13 turtles were over-wintered at the New Brunswick Museum under Andrew Sullivan's expert care and then released in the spring back in the PNA.”

**Brian Stone sends a few late photos from Tuesday of last week at the Hampton lagoons, including a female Red-winged Blackbird, a female Bufflehead Duck, and the resident male Ruddy Duck.

Brian also noted one of the Nature Moncton nest boxes was being used by a pair of Tree Swallows.