NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
October 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
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Jane
LeBlanc had a second Canada Jay join the first on Monday to her St. Martins bird feeder
yard. Other yard birds included Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Parula warbler,
White-throated Sparrow, Ruffed Grouse, and the only one that posed for photos,
a Red-Eyed Vireo.
That’s
performance!
**Brian
Coyle has an American Toad in his yard and it is not at all
hesitant
to have close encounters. Brian’s photo shows the
rough
pebbly skin of our only resident toad and the lack of
webbing
between the toes as it is a landlubber and,
compared
to its frog kin, it simply has no need of webbing.
Brian
also has had a family of Merlins nest near his home. There were four juveniles
using the wires and telephone poles for two weeks, chasing each other and
creating a general racket. Brian shares a short video of one of them loudly
announcing its presence. Listen to the vocalization in the video link below to
tune your ears to the presence of a Merlin nearby, as they tend to be getting
more common.
John also located what appeared to be several cocoons
under a piece of cardboard. We have had a lot of tussock moth caterpillar
observations this fall. The tussock moths use their abundant hairs (setae) to
prepare their overwintering pupal cocoon. This would be a possible identity of
these cocoons.
**Andy Stultz who is aboard a Coast Guard vessel in
Victoria Strait was able to capture some video footage of a falcon that flew
near their ship and briefly landed. It all happened so fast that Andy had to
use his cell phone camera, not having time to access the ship’s camera.
This is the habitat of the Gyrfalcon which would have
to be considered a strong possibility but a Peregrine Falcon is a possibility as well. If anyone feels confident on the identity, comments
would be very much appreciated. The video link is below and the still photo is with the photograph lineup.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hUqnmZEbSs2VHsh3A
The first very valued comment comes from raptor guru
Todd Watts which is too good not to share verbatim.
Quoting Todd:
“I
don’t have much experience with Gyrfalcon. However, I have heard that they are
being outcompeted for nesting sites, which appears to be the result of
Peregrine Falcons moving north as the climate changes. From what I have heard,
Gyrfalcon sites that have been used for a thousand years sometimes now have
Peregrine Falcons. Researchers have analyzed droppings at the sites to document
the change.
Looking
at the still photo, the head markings as well as the highlighting of upper wing
feathers appear consistent with a Tundra Peregrine. I’d have to do a little
more research to say with much certainty. Will try to take another look
tomorrow or later in the week.”
The
precipitation levels of the first 3/4 of September 2024 must have been
extremely low with a bit of catch-up over the past week. The other statistics
appear quite similar.
|
2023 |
2024 |
||
|
morning temperatures |
daily highs and rainfall |
morning temperatures |
daily highs and rainfall |
|
+21-1 day +20-1 +19-2 +18-2 +17-1 +16-3 +15-3 +13-1 +12-2 +11-1 +10-2 +8-3 +6-2 +5-3 |
+29-1 +27-1 +26-2 +25-1 +24-4 +23-1 +22-3 +21-4 +20-4 99 mms. rain |
+18-1 +17-2 +16-2 +15-3 +14-2 +13-5 +11-1 +10-3 +9-2 +8-2 +5-1 |
+29-1 +28-1 +26-1 +25- +24-4 +22-2 +20-4 73 mms. rain |
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
