NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Dec 24, 2024
Nature
Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and
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**Jane LeBlanc finally got a documentary photo
of the Golden-Crowned Kinglet, that has been around for a while,
checking out the suet block. She also noted (Monday morning) that -- whether they --just
wanted a meal in the cold, or they knew more snow was coming -- the Evening
Grosbeaks in her yard numbered 30+. At the same time, not a single Blue
Jay. Do the two species compete, or do they just not get along?
(Editor’s note: it is close to unusual to have
a Golden-crowned Kinglet partake at a bird feeder yard. When they do, their
choice is usually a suet blend or peanut butter. With the few instances I am
aware of, once one started coming, they would do so for the season.)
**American Holly does do well in the
yard of Barb Curlew and Eric Elliott. A duo of American Robins have settled in to enjoy it, unlike the many robins that we expected to stay with the
plentiful berry supply in New Brunswick, but did not.
**Yolande LeBlanc shares a report from her
Memramcook feeder yard on the day after the storm.
It brought Yolande a new patron to her yard, a
Field Sparrow. She watched it for about one minute, and it was gone, not to be
seen again. In the afternoon, there was a pass from a Cooper's Hawk, taking a Black-capped
Chickadee lunch. She is suspicious there may have been two Cooper's Hawks. On Monday, it was a Red-tailed Hawk making
an overhead pass. She wondered why there were no pheasants!
Yolande‘s day count: one Cooper's Hawk, one Red-tailed Hawk, 22 Mourning doves, one Downy Woodpecker, two Hairy Woodpeckers, four American
Crows, 13 to 20 Black-capped Chickadees, one Red-breasted Nuthatch, one White-breasted Nuthatch, one Brown Creeper, one European Starling, two American Tree
Sparrows, 10+ Dark-eyed Junco, two Northern Cardinals, at least 36 American
Goldfinch, at least two Pine Warblers, and one Field Sparrow.
Quite the entertainment!
**Gilles Belliveau has faithfully maintained
the NB Winter Bird List for some time now, which runs from December 1 – February
28.
Gilles reports the tally is now up to 165
species with the all-time high of 174 reached in 2023-2024. That means 9 to go
to match it with 10 more observations for the period to beat it. We still have
2+ months to go, and some Christmas Bird Counts remaining, so chances are good.
The tally for the season and for past seasons are available at
**I suspect many Nature Moncton and Nature NB
members will be interested to hear from David Christie.
Nelson Poirier and Fin visited David on Monday
to find him content but missing his contact with folks in the naturalist world.
A Christmas card from Nature Moncton was express delivered via F-150 and was
appreciated. David very much looks forward to receiving mail.
For those who wish to touch base with David, his
mailing address is
Forest Dale Home, 5836 King St,
Riverside-Albert, NB E4H 4B9
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
