Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 9 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, December 9, 2018 (Sunday)

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Editor: Nelson Poirier <nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>

Transcript by: David Christie

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

** The Nature Moncton meeting is coming up on Tuesday evening, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge, across from the former Cabela’s. A few folks do head south for the winter, but all of us will get a chance to go even farther, for a trip to visit Cape Town, South Africa on Tuesday night. New Nature Moncton member, Uli Irlich, who worked with the municipality of Cape Town for six years and is an avid naturalist will tell folks about the region that has been labeled the “most diverse urban area in the world”, being custodian to 3300 plants, 365 bird species, and 83 mammal species, that really could outdo good old New Brunswick! Don’t miss this spectacular show in a warm room, with the cold outside. The write-up is attached:

Nature Moncton December Meeting
“Cape Town: Its Unique Biodiversity and the Work the Municipality Does to Protect it”
Date: December 11th, 2018
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge
Speaker: Ulrike Irlich

Cape Town (South Africa) is located within the Cape Floristic Region, one of six floral kingdoms on the planet. Cape Town is a global biodiversity hot spot and has been labeled as the “most biodiverse urban area in the world.” Cape Town is the proud custodian of over 3300 plant species, 365 bird species and 83 mammal species, and much more. On top of this, the city boasts high levels of endemism.
This presentation will showcase the unique biodiversity found within the city and highlights some of the work the municipality does to protect its natural heritage. Uli worked for the municipality for 6 years and will talk about Cape Town’s biodiversity and some of the special adaptations and conservation projects around the city.

The second half of the meeting theme is bird feeding, to be filled with photos, bird lists, different types of feeders, or anything bird-related, with a “show and tell” table. This will all be done with members’ contributions, so get ready now to bring in anything you have to get and give ideas to keep our yard visitors happy and coming. This part of the notice will be repeated on Monday’s and Tuesday’s editions.

** Doreen Rossiter leaves an update on activity at her Alma feeder yard. She comments that there has been much less activity the past week, with AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune], PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] and PINE SISKIN [Tarin des pins] all seeming to have left. Unlike last winter, she has many HAIRY [Pic chevelu] and DOWNY WOODPECKERS [Pic mineur]; BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire], BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu], RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] and DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé]. There are still a number of SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur], WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche], and at least 2 or 3 FOX SPARROWS [Bruant fauve]. The female NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] is still a regular and one lone male EVENING GROSBEAK [Gros-bec errant] is still visiting.

** Larry Sherrard’s trail camera photographed a young male WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie], with its junior set of antlers still intact only a hundred yards from his Lower Coverdale home on Friday morning.

** The Riverview Marsh seems like an active site for mammals and birds. Georges Brun got a distant photo of a RED FOX [Renard roux] possibly checking out the offering tossed to the ground below a hawk-perching site. Georges also tallied 44 CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada] with some MALLARDS [Canard colvert] among the ice floes in the Petitcodiac River, as the tidal bore was advancing, as well as a flock of Canada Geese moving down river.

** Not as much chatter about EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] the past week but Jane LeBlanc photographed a striking male that dropped into her St. Martins feeder yard, right after her first COMMON REDPOLL [Sizerin flammé] of the season on Saturday.

<nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton