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 the activity, scroll down to the first large image,
which shows what is happening in real time.
Https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
After two days plus of not having had the time or Internet to check the peregrine falcon nest, it is nothing short of astounding to see what has happened! The rate of growth and development is incredible, with natal fluff starting to be replaced with real-time feathers. It's going to be a very action-filled few weeks ahead!
**"Following the Footsteps
of the Piping Plover" was one of the Festival of Nature excursions that
Deanna Fenwick participated in. Piping plovers are a protected species, so the
nesting sites are monitored closely on Miscou Island. The "nests" are
nothing more than a small indentation on the beach with maybe a few stones
around it.
As a bonus, further up the beach were two
pairs of black-bellied plovers and a pair of ruddy turnstones. Over the water,
a large flock of common eiders passed, a gray seal made an appearance, and a
lively pair of red-breasted mergansers appeared as well.
(Editor's note: with the help of Gilles Belliveau, here are some helpful notes on Deanna's photos of the black-bellied plover:
This shorebird specie takes two years to reach maturity, and Deanna's photos show two very significant features. The individuals with a distinct black on the plumage are adult birds. The males will show more black than the females. The one bird off to the side is a first-summer immature showing the immature plumage that will be developing into the breeding plumage of the adult next spring.
These two photos are very significant for shorebird birdwatchers to note carefully.)
**Nikki Taylor. who lives just
outside of Bouctouche, has had a black bear visit a couple of times in the past week and was able to get a documentary photograph. Needless
to say, the bird feeders have been taken in for a while. Nikki is hopeful that the bear will move on to a more suitable habitat ASAP.
**Ted Sears in St. Martins
was pleased to have his first monarch butterfly visit of the year. The female monarch has been spending time around the emerging milkweed, which is only about 6 to 8
inches tall. Ted couldn’t tell if she was ovipositing or not.
Ted has had them around
this time in other years.
**Jane LeBlanc sends some
recent sightings. The black-throated green warblers enjoy her yard, so
she gets many photo ops. Cedar waxwings were in a nearby apple tree. The northern cardinal, which she hasn't seen since early spring, decided
to sing in her maple tree Saturday morning and, as she was watching it, a turkey
vulture flew over, low and slow.
**Jim Johnson in Scotch Settlement
is hosting a very lively ruby-throated hummingbird group, and a video clip of
the action is shown in the link below:
Jim has also had a lively week of observations around his home, including a coyote, a bald eagle, two red foxes, turkey vultures, white-tailed deer, ground hogs, and a black bear.
**On Friday, Jessica Belanger-Mainville and Andrew Darcy went birding in the hopes of finding an indigo bunting and a scarlet tanager recently reported. Unfortunately, they did not find them. However, they still had a great birding day and got Jessica two lifers!
One of them was a Canada warbler. They saw a
lot of other warblers, including a magnolia warbler, American redstart, and
northern parula. They also saw an alder flycatcher that posed for a few minutes
atop a tree. A yellow-bellied sapsucker and a white-breasted nuthatch made
brief appearances. Jessica’s favourite photo of the day is one she took of a chipping sparrow and noticed after the fact there was a
surprise in the background eyeing her (a gray catbird).
On Saturday, Jessica
Belanger-Mainville was invited to help with a barred owl survey. They saw two adults and one of their chicks. She was also lucky to hear the booming call of
a common nighthawk!
**It happened too fast for John Inman to get a photo, but he was just putting out some seed and went behind the house to put out a little more when the peregrine falcon went by head height, 6 feet away, and took a morning dove under the birch tree. It turned and looked at him and went out the front yard. John comments that the sound it makes at that speed is amazing, as well as its low flight as it focuses on its prey and doesn't hit anything!
**On Saturday, Brian and Annette Stone and Brian's sister Carol Shea took advantage of nice weather with steady but mild breezes and walked the trails around Wilson Marsh in the afternoon. There were many cedar waxwings present and some were dining on apple blossoms while others were perching in dramatic poses. Lots of warblers and other birds were calling and singing, but only a few were photographed and one special one was a curious marsh wren that came out briefly for a photo while it was moving stealthily through the reeds.
There were 10 Canada goose
families at the west end of the marsh, and the goslings in different
families were at different ages. A couple of mallard duck families were
also present at the marsh but with smaller numbers of youngsters than the
geese. An eastern kingbird and a warbling vireo managed to get
photographed as well as a blue flag iris and a large camel cricket
that was trying to make Brian's bathroom its home.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
