Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 27 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, November 27, 2019 (Wednesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** Louise and Maurice Richard have had a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD [Moqueur polyglotte] visit their home facing Jones Lake for 7 years; however they stopped seeing it earlier than usual this spring and they suspect that it may have disappeared. It has been a regular to get on the Christmas Bird Count but maybe not this year at that site.

** Connie Colpitts has been feeding birds for many years and she shares an idea that she has found helpful to keep feed in feeders drier than when fully exposed. She gathers election signs which are made of corrugated plastic and cuts a hole in them to fit snugly on top of the bird feeders. Snug fitting is important to keep them from flapping about. It will not keep all the rain and snow off but helps. Connie’s photo illustrates that well.

** Yes it’s still just November, but Fred Richards, like Santa, will be soon busy in his workshop making Tree Swallow nest boxes for next season. Fred will also be making Eastern Phoebe nest structures. These will be distributed free to Nature Moncton members, so it is not too early to reserve some boxes. Louise Nichols will keep a record of folks wanting boxes. If you want to get your name on the list email Louise at nicholsl@eastlink.ca with the number of boxes you would like for one or both species of birds. It is the voluntary contribution of Fred Richards that lets us say “the price is right”.

** Aldo Dorio has seen a flock of SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des neiges] at Hay Island, but on Tuesday only 1 lone Snow Bunting was seen which got photographed.

** Brian Stone and I hiked some of the trails in Irishtown Nature Park on Tuesday afternoon. Bird life seemed quiet except for BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] so we took note of a few other items. The LUNG LICHEN and the SMOOTH LUNGWORT LICHEN were very abundant, which is a good environmental indicator. With the recent wet weather the Lung Lichens were very bright green showing their algal component and the fruiting bodies, the fungal component of the Smooth Lungwort, were very evident.

We were also able to examine Black Spruce cones from a recently toppled tree. They are usually high up at the top and not able to be examined closely. They were still tightly closed and the rounded crook attachment of the cone to the twig was easily seen. Mushrooms and clubmoss also got photographed as well as the sluiceway and gazebo at the exit of the headpond.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton