Nature Moncton Nature
News
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**The Nature Moncton
activities committee is very actively making plans for an active 2026. A heads
up: some of these activities/adventures are in the planning stages and are
outlined at the end of this edition. Please take special notice of these
announcements, which will be periodically repeated. Respond ASAP to those who
are asking about interest intentions.
Also added to that is the
first activity, which will be a movie night coming up on January 8.
** It was an effort for the birds who visited Deana and Peter Gadd’s feeders on Friday to find food,
with the approximately 20 cm + of snow that continued to fall all morning.
All seemed to find enough, although it took some human intervention,
particularly for the ground-feeding birds. Forty or so mourning doves had a
good pre-dawn feast on freshly bared ground. Through the day, all of the
regulars found enough to eat, as did some of the special guests. For the last three weeks, a fox sparrow has visited daily, and it seems it might stay for
the winter. Two recently arrived common redpolls seemed content and two apparently winter resident male white-breasted nuthatches also. For the
first time in several years, a male pine grosbeak took advantage of what
was on offer at the feeders. This species seems to be showing up a great deal
this year. It was reported in all three recent Miramichi area Christmas Bird
Counts. Not a special guest by any means, but European starlings were
not going to miss out on chances for food now that the ground is completely
buried in snow. A bright spot in the brilliant white of fresh snow is the
brilliant red of the northern cardinal.
**Tony Thomas is enjoying
a very regular male downy woodpecker to a suet block in his Fredericton
yard that posed nicely for a photograph.
**Lance Harris has also
had a flock of at least 30 evening grosbeaks to his Dieppe yard on a routine, 9
am and back at 2 pm.
Lance also has an equal
number of finches taking their turn.
This is the first year he has had the evening grosbeak population. They do a quick job emptying the Nature
Moncton feeders, leaving the rest alone.
Both are a jittery crowd. As Lance goes to photograph, they fly off. The hairy woodpecker pair and the black-
capped chickadees love the peanut butter this year.
**On Friday, Brian Stone
walked a couple trails in the new snow, the very cold and windy new snow, and
shares a few winter scenery photos. The only bird that made it to a photo was a
male downy woodpecker that came to the hand for a closer look.
Brian also made a short video that clearly shows the
weather conditions that were influencing how long hikers were able to stay out
before craving a warm refuge. Take a look at the video link below to see
what it’s like when Mother Nature gets ‘in a huff’.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vk5xrkft3bniqqxd0dpx6/FIELD-OF-SNOW.-jAN.-02-2026.-BRIAN-STONE.mp4?rlkey=6vmn9d3nydtwcb18gwkaqmv9x&st=ox7e1ant&dl=0
**Bob Blake maintains daily
weather statistics from his Second North River yard to include morning low
temperature, daily high temperature, and monthly precipitation.
Bob submits a table to
compare December 2025 with December 2024.
It is interesting to note
from this one location that both morning low temperatures and daily high
temperatures tended to run lower in December 2025 than in December 2024.
The precipitation of rain
was quite similar for the two months, with precipitation as snow being almost
half for December 2025 versus December of 2024; however, the first few days of
January 2026 made up quickly for the differential.
|
2024
|
2025
|
|
morning temperatures
|
daily highs and rainfall
|
morning temperatures
|
daily highs and rainfall
|
|
+16-1 day
+8-1
+2-4
+1-1
-1-1
-2-4
-3-1
-4-1
-6-1
-7-1
-8-1--
-9-2
-10-2
-11-2
-12-2
-13-1
-14-1
-15-1
-16-1
|
+16-1
+14-1
+11-1
+10-1
+8-1
+5-1
+3-3
61 cms. snow
30mms. rain
|
+9-1
+4-3
+3-1
+2-1
-1-2
-2-1
-3-1
-4-1
-5-3
-6-1
-7-1
-8-2
-9-2
-10-2
-11-3
-12-1
-13-2
-14-1
-17-1
-18-1
|
+12-1
+7-1
+5-1
+4-3
+2-1
+1-1
36 cms.snow
27 mms.rain
|
**Dear
Nature Moncton Members,
We’re
exploring the possibility of organizing a pelagic tour to Grand Manan later
this summer—and we’d love to know if you might be interested!
For
anyone unfamiliar with the term, a pelagic tour is a boat-based outing focused
on seeing seabirds and other marine wildlife out on the open water. These trips
can be incredibly rewarding, offering close views of species that are rarely
seen from shore.
Here’s
what we’re hoping to plan:
*
Timing: A weekend at the end of August or early September
*
Guide: Jim Wilson, a very experienced birder from the Saint John Naturalist
Club
*
Meeting point: Black's Harbor at 6:30 AM to cross at 7:30 AM
*
On the water: About 10 AM to late afternoon
*
Return: Back in time to catch the 5:30 PM ferry that same evening
Cost
details:
*
$25 registration fee paid to Nature Moncton
*
Approx. $140 per person, paid directly to the boat captain while on board
*
Additional personal expenses (ferry, gas, food, and/or accommodation, if
needed)
To
make this trip feasible, we need 20–30 participants. At this stage, we’re
simply gauging interest—no commitment yet. Nature Moncton members will receive
priority, and participants must be 12 years of age or older and those ages
12-17 must be accompanied by an adult.
If
this is something you’d seriously consider, please let us know by emailing
Cathy at smittybatman@hotmail.com. Hearing from you will help
us decide whether to move ahead with booking and planning.
Thanks
so much, and fingers crossed we can make this special late-summer adventure
happen together!
Warmly,
Cathy
and the Activities committee
**Nature
Moncton is planning our annual Birdfeeder Tour and we’re looking for a few
generous members who’d be willing to open their homes as tour sites this
winter.
📅 Saturday, February 21
🌨️ Weather backup date:
February 28
We’ll
start the day with a pancake breakfast at Fred & Susan Richards’ (yum!),
then visit three birdfeeder sites. We’re hoping most viewing can be done from
indoors (nice and cozy), though outdoor viewing is welcome too.
The
final stop will be indoors and able to comfortably accommodate approximately 25
participants for a potluck-style wrap-up with warm beverages — always a
highlight of the day!
If
you’re a homeowner and would be willing to be one of the sites, we’d love to
hear from you. Please email Fred and the Activities Committee at: fred.j.richards@gmail.com
It’s
a fun, relaxed way to share your birds, your feeders, and your love of nature
with fellow members.
**NATURE
MONCTON MOVIE NIGHT 🐝
Film: My
Garden of a Thousand Bees
Thursday,
January 8, 2026 at 7 p.m.
By Zoom
Leaders:
Barbara Smith & Christine Lever
You are
invited to a movie night on January 8, 2026, beginning at 7 p.m. This event
will be by Zoom only.
Together,
we’ll watch the acclaimed documentary "My Garden of a Thousand Bees"
and then Barbara and Christine will lead a discussion afterwards. This film
follows wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn who, while locked down during the
pandemic, turned his lens on the surprising and diverse world of over 60
species of wild bees living in his own urban garden.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89334315940?pwd=2sCl3DAsoKbSC9M37i0gj5KmpzMGdb.1
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
PINE GROSBEAK (MALE). JANUARY 2, 2026. PETER GADD
NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE). JANUARY 2, 2026. PETER GADD
DOWNY WOODPECKER (MALE). JANUARY 2, 2026. TONY THOMAS
FOX SPARROW. JANUARY 2, 2026. PETER GADD
EUROPEAN STARLING. JANUARY 2, 2026. PETER GADD
DOWNY WOODPECKER (MALE). JAN. 02, 2026. BRIAN STONE
DOWNY WOODPECKER (MALE). JAN. 02, 2026. BRIAN STONE
COMMON REDPOLL. JANUARY 2, 2026. PETER GADD
WHITE BREASTED NUTHATCH (MALE). JANUARY 2, 2026. PETER GADD
WINTER TRAILS. JAN. 02, 2026. BRIAN STONE
WINTER TRAILS. JAN. 02, 2026. BRIAN STONE
WINTER TRAILS. JAN. 02, 2026. BRIAN STONE
WINTER TRAILS. JAN. 02, 2026. BRIAN STONE
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