Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 21 2016

** A special thank-you to Pam Novak and Barry Rothfus, operators of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, for taking time from their busy schedule to share a wealth of information on how they go about screening wildlife for rehabilitation. They briefly reviewed most of the wildlife species of New Brunswick, grouping them by specific needs and behaviour that dictate how they will be managed to get them back into the wild. They also educate the public about what needs help and what may be normal behaviour that does not need intervention. Lots of take-home information for a keen group of participants. Thanks also to Louise Nichols for organizing this presentation.

** It’s great to hear that the GOLDEN EAGLE [Aigle royal] was still present on Saturday, in the same area where it was Friday on the Tantramar Marsh. Bruce Coates got a distant photo of it in the early afternoon. There was a variety of raptors, including adult and immature BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche]. The Golden Eagle was on a tower near the La Coupe River bridge. They also spotted a STRIPED SKUNK [Mouffette rayée] foraging near the Coles Island Road there.

** Debbie Batog shares a photo of RUFFED GROUSE [Gélinotte huppée] scat she came across in the woods. It is typical of a grouse, or a group of them, that has sat on the ground/snow for a time in a circle. SPRUCE GROUSE [Tétras du Canada] scat is similar except that it is green at this time of year, due to its conifer needle diet.

** Dave Miller photographed 7 COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé] chowing down on one of their favourite wild foods, birch catkins, along the Taylor Road near Salisbury on Feb. 19.

** Clarence Cormier continues to host AMERICAN ROBIN [Merle d'Amérique] flocks around his Grande-Digue home. On Saturday he had many small flocks and one flock that he estimated at 150 individuals.

** In the pleasant sunshine of Feb. 17, Brian Stone got a photo of one of a pair of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] that were busy excavating a nest cavity in the dead portion of a standing snag, as they usually like to choose.

** Aldo Dorio got some pleasant photos of the rising sun in Néguac on Saturday morning. The brilliance lasted for about 30 minutes.

** The Nature Moncton activities committee was going to schedule a track and scat program, but some other activities came along on the planning sheet and, with the season moving on, it did not happen. For anyone interested I will be giving a session to Nature Sussex tomorrow night, Monday, at the Sussex Public Library on Magnolia Street in Sussex. They are meeting at 7:30 p.m., and the write-up is added to this transcript for anyone who would like to attend.

Nature Sussex meeting Monday, February 22nd, 2016, 7:30 pm at the Sussex
Regional Library, 46 Magnolia Ave, Sussex.

Guest Speaker: Nelson Poirier on "WHO'S BEEN THERE AND WHO DONE IT?"

The tracks, trails, and scats left behind in winter snow can tell us lots
about who's been there and maybe what they've been up to. Looking for animal
tracks, trails, and scats can add a whole new dimension to a winter cross
country ski or snowshoe sortie. Also, just who may have visited your yard
last night! Let's spend an indoor session with Nelson Poirier looking at
tracks, the paws that made them, and put the two together to know how the
behaviour of the animal may decide the particular trail left. And yes, those
telltale scats too!

EVERYONE IS WELCOME including guest and visitors.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton