Binoculars

 

 

 

Observations: June 15, 1994
Time: 10:30 am
Weather: Sunny and cool

Not your typical woodpecker

When you see fresh wood chips at the base of a dead tree, look for a newly excavated hole near the top. Listen for a repetitive, loud, one syllable call. If you see a flash of yellow on the underside of the wings and tail of brown bird, you have spotted the Northern or Common Flicker (Colaptes auratus). Look for black barring on its brown feathers, a back bib on its upper breast, and a black moustache streak near its beak. It has a red crescent mark at the back of its head and a white rump patch. This handsome woodpecker is courting in May as he drums his beak against a hollow tree. Unlike other woodpeckers the Common Flicker often feeds on the ground for his favourite food, ants.

Bright warbler

A feisty little male Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) has a bright yellow chin, throat and breast. Its upper body is olive green. A black mask bordered by white or grey goes over its forehead and eyes and down the sides of its neck. Its mate is a duller-colored bird who can hide more easily. Together they summer in the park, hiding their nest of grasses close to the water in weeds or shrubs.

Can you hear this Butterfly?

Have you heard a clicking sound coming from close to the ground? It's not an early grasshopper. The clicking can be traced to a camouflaged Mourning Cloak Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa)! With its wings tightly held together this butterfly looks like another piece of leaf. The wings click as the butterfly takes flight. Then you see the spread wings are a rich brown in the centre with creamy yellow edgings and a line of blue dots beside the yellow. This delicate adult insect has wintered in the park by hibernating in tree holes. Now it feeds on nectar from pussy willows, and lays its pale-coloured eggs on twigs. The caterpillars that hatch in the early summer feed on deciduous trees including willows, poplars, birch and alder.

 Irving Nature Park
The Naturalist's Notebook is published quarterly. If you have any questions or topics that you would like to see addressed, please call John Gilbert, Manager, Fish and Wildlife, J.D. Irving, Limited, (506) 632-7777.