NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Dec 26, 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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by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
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advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and proofreader Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any
errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**On December 22, Fred and Sue Richard’s male
Northern Cardinal was eating sunflower seeds with a dozen or so
Dark-eyed Juncos and sparrows and a dozen or so Mourning Doves. The
cardinal stood out so beautifully against the snow-white background.
On Christmas Day, Susan got a close-up photo of a juvenile
Red-Tailed Hawk. She was in their sunporch and caught a glimpse
of movement out of the corner of her eye. Susan looked out the window and
saw a big bird that jumped from the bushes and then flapped its huge wings and
flew under the roof of the porch and out to land on the post of their clothesline.
It sat and posed for photographs. It was amazing to see it flying so
closely. This was Susan’s Christmas present!
(Editor’s note: Susan’s photo clearly shows the
barred tail of the Red-tailed Hawk
juvenile as well as the juvenile yellow eye. It also shows the light-coloured ‘backpack
strap’ created by scapular feathers which is present in both the adult and
juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.)
**A quite different scenario of raptor
activity at John Inman’s Harvey feeder yard created an opportunity for John’s troupe
of Rusty Blackbirds to comfortably enjoy the day’s menu and get photographed.
The resident Red-tailed Hawk chased a Rough-legged Hawk through the backyard
and then ran off the Cooper’s Hawk, which allowed the birds to come down and feed,
and John was able to get a few more winter plumage photographs of the Rusty Blackbirds and a flyover by a juvenile
Bald Eagle.
**Nelson Poirier noted a very bright
red/orange light in the sky north of Salisbury, viewing it from the
TransCanada Highway at 8:30 PM on Wednesday evening. It created a brilliant colour
show, but Nelson has no idea of the source as he is not aware of any human light
source in that area that may create cloud reflection. Whatever the source was,
whether it be human or astronomical, it was a showstopper! Any comments would be
appreciated.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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