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A heads-up on an event taking place this Saturday, April 18, at the Baie Verte Hall. All the info is on the poster below:
**The camera on the peregrine
falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When
checking the link to watch the activity, scroll down to the first large image,
which shows what is happening in real time.
The male peregrine falcon was mantling/incubating their eggs early Tuesday morning, possibly giving the female a break. The egg count was still at 3, as could be seen, but could change by the end of the day.
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**Brian Coyle happened to
glance out his upstairs window on Monday to peek at his feeders, when he spotted
an eastern phoebe perched on the feeder hanger. Brian got a video that highlights
the typical "tail bobbing" of this species.
(Editor's note: The eastern phoebe is typically one of the first flycatchers to return in the spring.)
Brian was also able to
capture a video with his trail camera of a duo of beavers, possibly showing
bonding behaviour.
A mink was also scampering
around in the same area to be captured in a video.
**Jessica
Belanger-Mainville and Andrew Darcy went on an adventure on Sunday to find as
many bird species as possible.
The star of the day was a northern
shrike, a lifer for Jessica. It was first reported by Rhonda and Paul
Langelaan in their yard that morning. They graciously welcomed Jessica and
Andrew to take a look at this bird. They also saw a purple finch in a
nearby tree while looking for the shrike.
They then went on to
Highland Park in the hope of finding many waterfowl, but only mallard ducks
were present. However, they found two white-breasted nuthatches and a group
of bohemian waxwings that posed for the camera. They stopped at a few
more spots and ended their trip in Moncton at Jones Lake, where they found a
pair of common eiders, ring-necked ducks, a lot of common mergansers,
wood ducks, and a pair of northern cardinals. At the end of the
day, they tallied up 45 species!
**It would appear that the
American robins took Jamie Burris’ "welcome" sign in his backyard
seriously!
**Pat Gibbs comments that normally
a male northern cardinal stays in her back yard where there is more
cover, but on Sunday, he ventured out as far as her front yard.
A great blue heron
was unexpected, fishing in a suburban wetland on one of the back streets of
Shediac below a culvert, but they have keen eyesight and was not impressed with
Pat watching him even though she was far away, so it took flight but offered
nice photographs.
Pat also photographed crocus blooms, brightly displaying their pollen to early emerging pollinators.
**Georges Brun reports small groups of black scoters along the open water in the Cocagne area. 98% of the ice is now gone. There are still large thin bands of ice (clear and grayish) near the Cocagne Cemetery and below the new Bouctouche River bridge.
George saw a dead common
eider on the south side of Cocagne Bridge, and an osprey was on the artificial
nest near the former E.P. Melanson Fish Plant.
There was some ice along the shore
in places.
A few great blue herons were
in the area.
Georges saw his first
great blue heron arrive near the bend of the Petitcodiac on
Saturday.
American robins are
starting to show. Their song is a welcoming sound.
**Georges also comments
that the wet weather at this time of year usually brings out a beaver
around Halls Creek and the Petitcodiac River. This was the case on Monday
evening. It appeared to be re-oiling its fur and then moving up
Halls Creek.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
