Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 19 2015

** Anna Tucker photographed a brightly coloured insect in Mapleton Park on Sep. 25. The photo is not completely clear but it appears to be a CUCKOO WASP [famille Chrysididae] species. These are often of bright metallic colours, of blue, green or reddish; they are parasitic on wasps, bees or other insects by laying their eggs in the nests of other species.

** It’s that special time of year to watch CANADA GOOSE [Bernache du Canada] flocks for interesting tagalongs. Some years in the recent past have had some great finds. Aldo Dorio spotted two juvenile SNOW GEESE [Oie des neiges] accompanying a flock of Canada Geese in the Tabusintac area on Sunday.

** A nice sun pillar appeared for a short period as the sun set over Harvey in Albert County on Sunday evening. More information on sun pillars can be found at the attached URL, in addition to the attached photo.

http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/pillar.htm

** The October monthly meeting of Nature Moncton will take place tomorrow night, Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Mapleton Park Rotary pavilion across from Cabella’s at 7 p.m. The guest speaker will be André Bourque from the Ski Codiac group. He will speak about locations and clubs for cross-country skiing within 100 km of Moncton. It will be great to know of the locations of these trails for use in other seasons. André’s presentation starts at 7 o’clock sharp. As always, all are welcome.

** Please note that the sunflower seed delivery to the meeting has been delayed until the Nov. 17th meeting night. Farmer Mike advised that recent rainfalls have caused a delay in getting the crop in and dried. If anyone has not reserved or wants more, call Dale Gaskin at 734-2197.

** I am adding the updated information for the intertidal workshop, followed by a field trip to Fundy National Park, for birding and exploring the intertidal zone, with Alain Clavette. Note that the meeting time on Saturday has been changed to 8:30 a.m. to allow for a full action-packed day at Fundy Park.

Intertidal Workshop and Field Trip (part 2) with Alain Clavette

Friday Oct. 23^rd (workshop) and Saturday Oct. 24^th (field trip)

Our geographical position makes us lucky to have lots of coast lines. No matter where you are in New Brunswick, you have two high tides and two low tides each day. AND if you are in southeastern New Brunswick, you have two distinct marine ecosystems to choose from: the Bay of Fundy or the Northumberland Strait.

The naturalist who wants to discover the very rich habitats found between high tide and low tide has a multitude of interesting choices. The animals and plants living in these ever-changing environments have to be adapted to extreme salinity, humidity and temperature variations. Salt marshes, rocky beaches, mudflats or sandy beaches: all these habitats have a biodiversity worth exploring. But WHAT to look for?

Alain Clavette is best known as a birder, but his love and knowledge for the creatures of the coast developed during the four years he worked as a Parks Canada GT1 interpreter. After obtaining his degree in Biology at the Université de Moncton, Alain worked in Fundy National Park and finally Kouchibouguac (for a private tour operator). Since then, he has been featured as a Bay of Fundy “expert” and enthusiast in several documentaries done by production companies in Québec, France, the UK and NB, the latest one entitled La Baie Des Merveilles of which he is the main host.

Come join us for this workshop and 2^nd trip to Fundy Park, meant to follow up on the field trip Alain guided last April, to see how life changes in the intertidal zone as the seasons pass. Those who attended last April are encouraged to come again to compare observations from the spring with what we find in the fall. But even those who were not with us last spring are welcome to come and learn about who lives in our intertidal wonderlands. On Friday evening, Alain will give a 2-hour workshop to prepare for the field trip. On Saturday, we’ll travel to Fundy Park in the morning for a day of birding followed by a walk on the beach at low tide which will be at 4:00.

Friday October 23^rd (workshop), 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr. Moncton.

On Saturday, October 24^th, we’ll meet at the Tankville School at 8:30 AM to arrange carpooling and then travel to Fundy Park. We’ll do some birding during the day and then Alain will guide the intertidal tour at 4:00.

Registration with Judi Berry-Steeves at jbsteeve@nbnet.nb.ca or phone Judi at 387-4778. Please specify if you are coming to both the workshop and field trip or only the field trip.

$10 payable at the door to cover costs for workshop and field trip. The field trip alone will be $8. All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

** Be sure to bring extra layers of clothing because it may be cool on the Bay of Fundy in late October.