Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 11 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Dec. 11, 2017 (Monday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Peter Gad advises that the MISTLE THRUSH [Grive draine] made an appearance in its favourite mountain ash tree at Peter and Deana Gadd’s home, 473 Manny Drive in Miramichi, at 8:15 a.m. Monday morning. It was not seen in later afternoon on Sunday. Peter got more great pictures of it that are added to this edition. It will be hard to get enough of this special visitor!

A note from Brian Coates, who lives in England, and was interested to hear that we have a Mistle Thrush visiting. He comments that the Song Thrush was very common there ten years ago but its numbers have crashed in recent years due to garden poisons. The Mistle Thrush was never very common but it has also decreased in numbers as well. It looks like we are very fortunate to have this bird pop up in Miramichi, in the yard of a birder and a great photographer.

** The December meeting of NATURE MONCTON will take place at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge, across from Cabela’s, at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening, Tuesday, Dec. 12. The guest speaker will be Curt Nason, our weekly sky-at-a-glance reporter, who will share some nice-to-know information about our nearest solar neighbour, the MOON [lune]. The write-up follows:

Nature Moncton Presentation December 12, 2017 7pm

Location: Mapleton Lodge

Presenter: Curt Nason

Abstract: Getting to Know the Moon

For centuries the Moon has been an inspiration for poets and lovers, a scourge for some astronomers, and a scapegoat for human misbehavior. Let us learn about its origin and its features, the role it plays in the tides and eclipses, and examine some information we have often taken as fact. Can it really turn blue or blood red? Does it really get supersized? Does the full Moon make us crazy or grow hair and fangs? Where is the Man in the Moon, and is he having an affair with Wilma Flintstone?

There will be an annual general meeting but president Susan assures that it will be very short, as minutes have already been distributed. This means that the second half of the meeting can go ahead with anything members bring in to share. Bring a flash drive if you have photos to share. A show-and-tell table will be at the front, so please bring along anything of interest to share.

** Clarence Cormier advises that the flocks of AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] are getting much larger around his Grand-Digue mountain-ash berries. He saw one flock of a hundred early Sunday morning and later two flocks of 50 and 25. It is a perfect time to be perusing every flock of Robins for interesting tag-alongs. Clarence also had his CEDAR WAXWING [Jaseur d'Amérique] flock increase to approximately 20, including juveniles, with adults still feeding berries to the younger ones. His AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsonien] contingent is now up to 6.

** Dave Christie reports that the snowfall brought in sparrows, that he had not seen for sometime in his feeder area at Mary’s Point. On Sunday, two DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé], 3 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien], and 5 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] arrived to join the expected regulars.

** Jim Edsall was in the Moncton area on Sunday and saw a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD [Moqueur polyglotte] in a yard on Prince Street near Jones Lake. Several of us have had Mockingbirds visit our feeder yards but not last winter and no reports so far this year, so I hope this one finds us.

** There was still one hardy DUNLIN [Bécasseau variable] probing in the water, with ice in the background, at Néguac on Sunday; Aldo Dorio photographed it and also sends a photo of the lighthouse at Hay Island, getting its first dose of snow for the season.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton