NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
January 4, 2025
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
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**The subject of fireworks and the negative effect they may have on wildlife is a concern often raised. However, hard evidence of any possible effect is difficult to obtain. Jane Tarn shares an incident that occurred with New Year’s Eve fireworks that suggested a negative impact. It has to be realized this is just one incident, but the scenario is suggestive and worth taking note of. If indeed the case, was it the sound or the light show (or both) that was problematic, and did it affect other wildlife in the area? Fodder for consideration.
Jane comments, “On New Year’s Eve around 9 PM,
her daughter, who was staying along with her family at their family cottage in
Chamcook, heard fireworks at a distance. She went outside to try to see them,
but she could not. She also heard a strange bird noise in the
distance. She immediately thought owl, but knowing the calls of the
Barred Owl and the Great Horned Owl, that was not what she was hearing, so she
used the Merlin app and tried the distress call of the Barred Owl, and it
matched. Was the Barred Owl upset by the fireworks?”
**Brian Stone spent most of the day on Friday
driving around the Tantramar Marsh in frequent snow flurries looking for photo
subjects. His estimated bird count for the day was ten Rough-legged Hawks, four Red-tailed Hawks, four Northern Harrier Hawks, one Peregrine Falcon
(too fast for a photo), four Bald Eagles, one huge flock of Snow
Buntings, and a Merlin. When Brian came across the large flock of
Snow Buntings, he parked and waited for them to settle down so a photo might be
taken, but suddenly, a Merlin flew in and sent the buntings flying off in a
hurry to other areas of the marsh. Lucky for Brian, though, the Merlin flew
just a short distance before settling down on a disturbed hay bale and allowing
him to slowly idle up beside him and have a close-up photo session.
(Editor’s note: it is not very often the
pugnacious Merlin allows such detailed photos as Brian got.
Note the significant field marks of the yellow
falcon eye ring, single moustachial stripe, dark eye, vertical breast striping,
and the dark grey mantle suggesting this bird to be a male. The adult Merlin is
dimorphic with the female being brown in the mantle area.)
The Red-tailed Hawks and the Rough-legged
Hawks remained at a distance that was not good for photography as did the
Northern Harriers. At one time a Red-tailed Hawk and a Rough-legged Hawk came
close and circled each other for a few minutes.
Later in the day, through the snow flurries in
occasional clear spots, Brian noticed the waxing crescent Moon and the
bright planet Venus in conjunction together in the sky. The brief gaps
in the clouds were too short to set up the camera for a photo, so he took a
quickie cell phone photo to record the event.
Nelson
Poirier
Nature Moncton
