Nature Moncton Nature News: December 30 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Dec 30, 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 and proofreader Louise Nichols at 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

**On Saturday morning, Louise Nichols went out to the High Marsh Road on the Tantramar Marsh in search of the Golden Eagle, which had been reported. She found lots of activity out on the marsh with numerous Rough-legged Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks as well as Bald Eagles of different ages. A small flock of Snow Buntings flew around and landed nearby on a fence at the side of the road.

Louise left late morning and shortly afterward, the Golden Eagle was spotted, leaving Louise with feelings of frustration because she had just missed it. However, when she uploaded her photos Saturday evening, she took a second look at a distant shot she took of an immature Bald Eagle and discovered another bird sitting on a branch lower in the tree that she didn't know she had photographed. The dark bird with a golden nape and black-and-white tail pattern suggested she had "seen" the Golden Eagle after all.

**On Sunday morning, Brian Coyle observed a flock of approximately 20 White-Winged Crossbills that had landed in a maple tree in his front yard. The crossbills seemed to be feeding on the maple buds but then descended on an adjacent spruce tree and began feeding on the seed cones. Some of the crossbills would remove the cone and fly up to a bare maple branch, to then grasp the cone between their feet to work at foraging for the seeds.

(Editor’s note: there have been significantly more reports of crossbills over the past weeks. Keep a watch for ‘moving’ cones at the summit of spruce trees.)

**Gordon Rattray has had a couple of new yard birds. A Northern Flicker has dropped by a couple of times and feeds on suet and corn. Saturday evening, a Golden-crowned Kinglet was browsing the large spruce trees in Gordon’s yard; this is a first-time visitor. Gordon has a large flock of Mourning Doves that check out the yard for corn. Gordon captured 25 on the ground.

(Editor’s note: the genders of the Northern Flicker are identical except for the male having an obvious black mustache mark which the female does not have.)

**Some of our coastal waterways are starting to freeze up to leave some open sections of water around bridges where water flow is constricted. This is a magnet for winter waterfowl.

Aldo Dorio has found this to be the case at the bridge crossing to Hay Island to find species like Common Goldeneye gathering there.

**David Lilly enjoys photographing wildlife and shares a few action moments with a Red Squirrel and a White-breasted Nuthatch.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton