Nature Moncton Nature
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**The camera on the peregrine
falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When
checking the link to watch activity, scroll down to the first large image which
shows what is happening in real time. By scrolling down a bit further, you will
see recent images from the past few days which shows that the adult birds have
been visiting the nest box and have created a scrape depression in the gravel
so activity is expected any moment with that first egg!
(Editor’s note: the
nest box does not look particularly inviting again this morning, with a layer
of ice pellets within the nest. However, the peregrine falcon couple knows, as
we do, that it's all about to change.)
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**Lisa Morris photographed
extensive foraging evidence on a snag tree that left several of us wondering
exactly who the perpetrator may be. Considering the time of year and the target
being a dead tree, it was assumed the perpetrator was interested in feeding on
tree recycling insects. The pileated woodpecker can do a real number on snag
trees, but always leaves significant tailings at the tree base.
Brian Coyle looked at
photos and felt certain it was indeed the work of a hairy woodpecker, as
he had seen this several times while monitoring his trail cameras, including seeing the perpetrator at work. Brian points out that a hairy woodpecker will remain
at a tree for some time making these extensive excavations, with no reason to
leave such a consistent food supply. Brian also suggests that a downy
woodpecker could join in, but it is the hairy woodpecker that can lift away the
bark so extensively to expose the booty.
****Another snowy day in Miramichi made it once again a difficult time for birds that have returned early from the south. It was a very busy day at the bird feeders of Deana and Peter Gadd. A considerable number of red-winged blackbirds and common grackles tried to dominate both suspended bird feeders and seed scattered on the ground. One timid song sparrow eventually developed a few strategies to get its share, most interestingly flying up to an upside-down cage and taking some stabs at the suet held there.
The common redpolls,
too, had a bit of a struggle against the dominance of the larger “blackbirds”.
Their coping strategy when chased from the ground was also to adapt to a
variety of hanging feeders including ones holding peanuts, some inaccessible to
the “bullies”.
A pair of northern
cardinals, although never apart it seems for the last six weeks or so, took
their relationship one step further with the male feeding sunflower seeds to
the female for the first time this spring. Winter-long residents such as dark-eyed juncos,
a white-throated sparrow and a white-breasted nuthatch, seemed to realize it is
still necessary to hang about feeders although we are two weeks into spring.
**Georges Brun photographed
spring activity next to Chateau Moncton or downriver near the bend of the
Petitcodiac River. He spotted a flock of common eider flying past on
their spring migration, with a few stopping on the water along with a goldeneye.
He also noticed a male ring-necked
pheasant next to the walking trail at the end of Eighth Street (Centennial
Park).
** Brian Roulston picked
up a caterpillar in late October on his lawn and put it in his monarch
butterfly nursery, where it formed a cocoon the next day. Brian put the
nursery container in a spare bedroom and forgot about it until a few days ago,
and found it hadn’t morphed into a luna moth as he was expecting, but rather a polyphemus
moth. He doesn’t think it will find a mate in this weather, so he will just
try to look after it in the house during its unintended short life.
**Shannon Inman spotted a
distant lone double-crested cormorant on the Shepody River near Albert on March 25.
(Editor’s note: note the
distinct side feather crests that give the double-crested cormorant its name.
These crests appear when the bird is in breeding plumage at this time of year.)
John noted a lone distant turkey vulture with no
chance for a photo, but managed on Thursday to get a group of five turkey
vultures circling very high up and then quickly turning to head north.
Over a 2-hour period, John noted 80+ dark-eyed
juncos feeding and moving off.
The resident red-tailed
hawk visits daily to monitor the yard, but very seldom takes a handout at
the moment.
**On Friday, Brian Stone
was housebound due to the inclement weather, and he spent some time watching
birds and occasionally taking photos out his kitchen window with the observant
help of his wife Annette. The few birds Brian has in his yard were active
during the bad weather, including dark-eyed juncos, a couple of American robins, two black-capped chickadees, a pair of northern cardinals, a male and female
downy woodpecker, a white-breasted nuthatch, and three song
sparrows that were very actively scratching their way through the snow
cover to reach the ground in search of edibles. A male ring-necked pheasant
walked past at the far end of the yard but did not come in for a visit.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
