Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 3 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, January 03, 2018 (Wednesday)

Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com

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

Transcript by: Catherine Johnson johnson2@xplornet.com

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

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.

**Louise Nichols had a pleasant audience with the Miramichi MISTLE THRUSH on Tuesday noting some interesting behaviour. She found it around the mountain ash tree at the end of MacMillan Dr., it would feed on the berries in the mountain ash tree for a brief time, then back to the neighbouring large spruce tree as if it may have been trying to keep warm or avoid predators. It repeated this pattern several times while Louise was there. She got a photo of it preening in its spruce tree.

**Elaine Gallant had a BROWN CREEPER arrive to her Shediac feeder yard on Tuesday. Always a special treat.

Elaine also has a male and female FLICKER that are now coming to her feeders daily.

From recent reports it would seem a significant number of northern flickers have stayed over this winter in Nb.

**The new year is now in progress and time again to focus on the swallow nest box project. Attached is a photo of Fred Richard's workshop with all completed and number #150 waiting to be assembled at a workshop that hopefully a date will be added to the website soon.

Three write ups of activities for 2018 have been submitted but as yet have not been posted on the website. I'm attaching a writeup for a workshop on "Tracks" that is scheduled for a month from today.

NATURE MONCTON

MINIWORKSHOP AND FIELD TRIP

WINTER TRACKS, SCAT AND MORE

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2018.

STARTING 10:00AM TANKVILLE SCHOOL

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. Let’s spend an indoor session with Nelson Poirier looking at tracks and trails, the paws/hooves 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!

Meeting time will be 10:00 am at the Tankville School. We will spend a few hours as “class time”. As an option for those who wish, we will then head out into a few areas of the adjacent Irishtown Nature Park and put theory to practice. If the conditions are poor for track observation, there will be lots of winter buds to peruse and whatever else catches attention.

The Tankville School is located at 1665 Elmwood Dr., 1.9 km north of the Irishtown Nature Park parking lot and just before the Royal Oakes Golf Course. Bring a lunch, dress warmly; bring snowshoes if appropriate, and the normal enthusiasm.

A fee of $8 will be requested at the door to cover expenses.

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not. Bring a friend.

**Stephanie Lirette lives at the home where the RUSTY BLACKBIRDS are coming to on the Falconer Rd happens to be studying photography at McKenzie College at the moment and is home to share a few photos. Note the plumage variation of the winter rusty blackbirds in Stephanie's photos.

**Bob Blake keeps a daily weather statistics weather records from us Second North River home. They are attached as Bob sent them (on the BlogSpot) to compare December 2016 to December 2017. The morning temperatures are on the left with the number of mornings at that temperature on the right.