NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, February 17, 2019
(Sunday)
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Info Line telephone # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** One of the biggest compliments wildlife can pay
to us, when we photograph them, is to ignore our presence. Jim Carroll came
across a PORCUPINE [Porc-épic] snoozing in its penthouse overlooking the Black
Beach Road, east of Saint John, on Saturday. It showed no interest in Jim’s
presence. Note its long guard hairs are arranged with no quills in sight, being
laid flat, that indicates “no problem” and "all is well".
** The RIVER OTTER [Loutre de rivière] is a very
interesting member of Mother Nature’s community that is active all winter. It
is nocturnal and secretive but can be very inquisitive, to the point of being
bold. Jim Saunders came across one, and possibly two, popping out of an open
area near a stream into the Miramichi River on Saturday. A Miramichi
Naturalists’ Club trip to the area today, Sunday afternoon, will hopefully get
an audience.
** This coming Tuesday evening is Nature Moncton
February meeting night at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge at 7 p.m. This month we’ll
take a closer look into the lives of our very common small rodents that we may
not get to see very often, but play a very important role in the existence of
some of the mammals and birds higher up the food chain, that we see more often
and enjoy so much. Bring your own queries and experiences to share in this
presentation. The write-up is below, from the website at Nature Moncton website
at <www.naturemoncton.com>,
with other upcoming events, should you wish to see what else is coming up.
Nature
Moncton February Meeting
Our Small
Rodent Community and Those That Depend on Them
Moncton
Rotary Lodge, February 19, 2019 at 7:00 PM
Presenter:
Nelson Poirier
The small
rodents may be some of the most populous members of Mother Nature’s community and
are no doubt some of the most significant members of that community in
providing food to mammals and birds up the food chain that we all appreciate so
much such as owls and other raptors as well as some of the larger wild mammals
like foxes, wild cats, coyote, weasels, mink, etc.
As numerous
as the small rodents are, we don’t often get to see them due to their
secretive, nocturnal, and sometimes only ground-level life. Let’s spend a few
moments in getting to know these smaller creatures by their first names and
learn about their very interesting life and times. At the same time, let’s
become aware of the critters whose existence depends upon the population of the
small rodent community.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
PORCUPINE.FEBRUARY 16, 2019. JIM CARROLL
PORCUPINE.FEBRUARY 16, 2019. JIM CARROLL
RIVER OTTER. FEB 16, 2019. JIM SAUNDERS