Nature Moncton Nature
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Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Louise Nichols went up to Cape Tormentine on Monday afternoon hoping to see the scissor-tailed flycatcher that Alain Clavette originally found on Sunday. When she arrived, she learned the flycatcher hadn't been seen all day although several birders had been there for hours, and some had checked earlier that morning. With her usual impatience with birding stakeouts, Louise left to bird elsewhere in the area, but for once, her impatience paid off. As she walked down the NB trail in Cape Tormentine, approaching Rte. 955, she saw a strange-looking bird fly into a tree; it turned out to be a yellow-billed cuckoo. Louise managed to take a couple of photos before it flew off and she lost sight of it. She does not believe the flycatcher was ever seen, so she feels she made a lucky choice.
(Editor's note: the yellow-billed cuckoo is an uncommon but regular visitor to New Brunswick in the fall. It is a special wanderer to see in New Brunswick this time of year. Its breeding range is south of us, whereas the black-billed cuckoo's breeding range extends into New Brunswick, but its numbers are still building and it is much more likely to be observed/heard.)
**On a short stretch of
the Riverfront Trail in Riverview last week, Barbara Smith and her sister
Christine spotted bright red crab-apples and highbush cranberries,
a well-camouflaged leopard frog, unkempt cattails (insulation potential
for winter nests?), and pellet evidence of a successful predator.
A regurgitated pellet was found which was about 8 inches long and
probably 6 inches wide (48 square inches), appearing to contain fur, small
bones, and a claw. They hoped the prey's end was quick and painless.
(Many birds regurgitate
pellets of indigestible material that vary in size depending on the bird's size. This pellet is a whopper, suggesting a larger bird such as a raptor took sizable prey.
**Monday was the first day
of deer hunting season in New Brunswick, making it very advisable to wear some
bright red clothing when doing walks on woodland trails.
Nelson Poirier
spotted four white-tailed deer feeding on roadside foliage just outside Miramichi on Monday morning, seemingly aware that doe harvest is not allowed in that zone.
Later that day, Nelson traveled to Sussex and
saw six more white-tailed deer roadside. White-tailed deer are in high numbers in
that area, and doe permits are allowed, so they may have to exercise more
caution within the next month!
Nelson’s reason for a visit to Sussex was to hear a presentation by Hayley Banks with the New Brunswick Protected Species Program on our three native New Brunswick turtles. She shared interesting information on the status of turtles in New Brunswick and what is being done to protect them.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
