Nature Moncton Nature
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**The peregrine falcon
nest box on the summit of Assumption Place has not received much attention
since the family successfully fledged at the end of June 2025.
Friday was chosen as fall maintenance
day of the box to clean away debris and place a layer of aquarium gravel so it will be ready when the parent birds arrive to check it out in early spring of
2026.
Fred Richards, David
Cannon, Brian Stone, and Nelson Poirier were able to easily do the cleaning and
maintenance through the back door of the nest box.
The beautiful, sunny day
allowed the foursome spectacular views of the City of Moncton and, as luck
would have it, an excellent tidal bore went by as the job was being completed —
purely by coincidence — to make for a memorable moment. It was very cold due to
a chilly wind.
Some regurgitation pellets
were found among the nest debris. The pellets noted were approximately 4 cm in
length, and all seemed to be about the same size, with a typical one photographed.
**Some of the blackbird
clan are obviously still on their migratory route, as John Inman had 10 common
grackles and one red-winged blackbird drop in for refueling; in addition, 20-plus evening grosbeaks went through, but no photo of them. Flocks of evening
grosbeaks are always welcome winter patrons at feeders.
John’s bird of the day was
the arrival of a second dickcissel.
**Brian Coyle spotted a
tall dead tree stump, loaded with clumps of mushrooms. Brian is almost certain
that this used to be a willow tree. The mushrooms are a bit darker than
expected for oyster mushrooms, but it is very much suspected that they
are.
**On Friday morning,
Richard Blacquiere was surprised to see two cattle egrets standing on the
berm between the settling ponds at the Hampton lagoon. The birds took flight
soon after he saw them, but he managed a few photos as they went past. Richard
notes that the egrets were headed in a southwesterly direction, a good choice
as winter gets closer!
**Louise Nichols shares
two photos to compare the water levels in their Aulac yard pond at the
height of the drought and today. It got quite low by the end of September,
but it is quite full again now. She also sends a photo (taken back in the
summer) of mussel shells that sometimes show up on the side of the
pond. Louise suspects raccoons/muskrats enjoy them and leave the shells.
**Brian Stone went to
Scoudouc and then the Salisbury Wetlands ponds on Thursday and Friday to see
and photograph the cattle egret and glossy ibis that are visiting
those spots. At Scoudouc, while photographing the egret, he also photographed
some of the Canada geese that were enjoying apples in the field nearby.
At Salisbury, the ibis was foraging at the edge of the first lower pond, not
too far from the path, but it was backlit, and the photos needed some
processing to bring out some detail.
**Nelson Poirier got some
bird feeders up and water dish in place on Thursday. It was rewarding to have a
bright red male northern cardinal among the first visitors.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
