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**Gail Taylor provides a very interesting update on the pair of tufted titmice that she hosted in her canal yard (near St. George) for the 2025-2026 winter season. Nest boxes were put out for them, which they did not use; however, Gail has been able to photograph tufted titmouse fledglings, with two suspected, and now she can assume it was a pair that were hosted, and they did indeed nest in the area, with photo evidence.
Gail got
some photos a month ago where she thought that maybe there was a fledgling, but
she's not sure if it was always one or if it may have been two.
It will be
interesting to follow this scenario in the future to see if this group of
titmice has established a territory.
**Hudson
Rogers and his family went on vacation to Grand-Manan Island last week and
reported many, many birds in the area (99 species to be exact, with 16
being lifers for Hudson).
He took some
photos of warblers and recommends inspecting trees with chickadees: they
flock together because the chickadees are very watchful of predators and warn
them of danger.
There were,
of course, many other birds besides warblers on the island, including but not
limited to hummingbirds, hawks, and a variety of shorebirds.
Hudson and
Greg Rogers took a whale-watching tour to do some pelagic birding and saw a few interesting species. Hudson notes that they saw three black
terns in non-breeding plumage, which he finds odd because he read they mostly
migrate south inland, unlike other tern species.
Those
getting tired of the birds, rejoice. Hudson also took some photos of
interesting bugs on the island!
Finally, the family also saw three species of birds considered rare in the province. They saw two green herons in Whale Cove (out of four previously reported by another eBirder), including a juvenile, which implies they nested on the island. They later saw an immature dickcissel, which Christine Rogers was the first to spot at Southwest Head; it was the third individual reported in the province in 2026. On the way back home, they stopped by the Saint-John Irving Nature Park and got to see a snowy egret from afar.
**Brian
Stone had an encounter with one of the two great egrets at Highland Park
in Salisbury on Monday. While one egret was feeding in the ponds, the other one
was out in the field eating insects, mainly dragonflies. While he watched the
one in the field, it took flight and circled the field, coming back toward him.
It came very close to Brian and landed on top of a short tree right in front of
him. After a short rest there in the tree, it flew back into the field and
continued hunting dragonflies.
Also at Highland Park, Brian photographed some Canada geese flying overhead, many yellowlegs occupying the main pond, one greater yellowlegs resting on a cement pipe support, a small group of cedar waxwings in a tree top that included some immature birds, a row of ducks resting on a pipe, a pair of wood ducks resting on a log, and a viceroy butterfly near the parking lot.
**Cathy Simon led Brian Stone on a long, excellent hike through Deer Park trails in Oromocto on Saturday. The weather was fine, and the mosquitoes were absent.
Leopard frogs were abundant, and a large, good-looking garter snake was seen but escaped before anyone could take a photo.
One spot along the trail hosted
several bird species, including bay-breasted warblers (if Google is correct),
magnolia warblers (if Google is still correct), red-breasted nuthatches, a
solitary sandpiper, and the usual goldfinches and chickadees. Further along, a
couple of great blue herons were hunting in the wetland areas among the
brilliant blue pickerelweed.
A quick stop
at Jemseg on the way home caught a nectaring monarch butterfly, a young-looking
eastern phoebe, a high-flying bald eagle, a meadowhawk dragonfly,
a spreadwing damselfly, and a lone painted turtle resting on a
log.
Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
