Canada Goose

For the past 3 days, we have started to notice a lot of new members of our park's population - specifically, Geese. Goslings have recently hatched and so far we have seen 3 families of geese in the Park.

The Canada goose is a summer and sometimes year round resident of Southern New Brunswick. It is the most common waterfowl species of North America. Despite often being regarded as a pest in parks and fields, they can be fairly docile.

They are often seen feeding on grass in open fields with their young because it provides them with more safety from predators. They feed on plants, berries and seeds for up to 12 hours a day. Geese mate for life and both parents raise the young. Gosling usually stay with their parents for a year.

Close Encounters

It seems that when the wind is up, the ducks and other animals of the park don't seem to notice someone getting up close and personal with them - as such, I managed to get videos and pictures of a Green Winged Teal, and a Muskrat. More close up videos and pictures to come!

For more info on the Green Winged Teal or Muskrat, visit their respective web pages: Green Wing and Muskrat

(Photo features two Ring-Necked Ducks, and a Muskrat)

The Glossy Ibis

May 8th, Lena (the other guide here at the Waterfowl Park) spotted a Glossy Ibis on the walk home from work – as of this afternoon (May 12th) it is still with us! The Glossy Ibis is a long-legged heronlike wader with a slender decurved bill. They stand about 22-25” tall and are year round residents in Florida.

“Glossies” are also known to spend their summers as far north along the Eastern US Seaboard as Portland, Maine. This is why we were so astounded when one arrived all the way up in Sackville, NB. Not to mention, there are only about 1-2 provincial sightings per year. For any more info on these Lengthy Snouted Marsh Walkers, visit here!

(Photo Credit: Andrew Macfarlane)

Rusty Blackbirds

The Rusty Blackbird, or rather an entire flock of “Rusties”, were spotted in the park a few days ago, and they hung around for approximately 2 days. Not only are these birds especially recognizable because of their rusty coloured winter plumage, but also because their call sounds exactly like a rusty hinge opening!

This time of year, however, we had folks asking if they were some sort of Red-Winged Black bird, but with a brown tinge as opposed to the regular red. In the summer, the males have brown markings down the sides of their heads and and shoulders.

It is a treat to see these birds at all, but fantastic to see this many all together. The Rusty Black bird had one of the sharpest declines of any songbird in North America – 94% of the population disappeared between 1966 and 2010, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. They spend their summers in Canada to breed, and are known to travel all the way to the tips of Alaska from Florida. For more info on these Oxidized Birds of the Night, visit their own website!