Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 16 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, February 16, 2020 (Sunday)

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Edited by Nelson Poirier, <nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>

Transcript by David Christie, <maryspt@mac.com>

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

** Nature Moncton’s monthly meeting is coming up this Tuesday evening at 7 o’clock at the Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge. As a primer to the Petitcodiac River Appreciation Day planned for April 4^th, Gary Griffin will give a presentation on the unintended complications that arose after construction of the Petitcodiac River Causeway. Gary was one of the first to sound the alarm in follow-up to his constant monitoring of problems arising, and started a chain of reactions leading to the remediation effort we see today, 42 years later. The write-up as it appears on the website <www.naturemoncton.com> under “upcoming events” is below:

Nature Moncton February Meeting

“A Look Back on the Petitcodiac River Causeway”

Date: February 18, 2020

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge (across from where Cabela’s used to be)

Speaker: Gary Griffin

As a primer to the Nature Moncton project for an all-day session on the Petitcodiac River scheduled for April 4, Gary Griffin will give Nature Moncton a very interesting presentation of his outstanding work on the Petitcodiac River.

Gary plans to present a short history of the river from a Moncton perspective and our pre-causeway understanding of its resource value to the entire Inner Bay of Fundy river systems. From there he will expand on his 19 years of volunteer work at the Petitcodiac River fish trap/gate structure and will touch on fish species before and after closure in 1968. He will also outline problems verified with DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) in the design and operation at the site and work projects spanning 5 years funded by DFO/Employment Enhancement programs.

Gary will touch on stocking programs, enhancement, and stream enhancement activities before the gates were permanently opened.

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

** Anna Tucker makes it a point each spring to make a pilgrimage to Truro and book a certain room on the second floor of the Comfort Inn that looks out on the marsh at a large BALD EAGLE’s [Pygargue à tête blanche] nest that she can enjoy from her room. Anna sends a photo of an immature RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse] that landed on her car for a better view of suspected prey, before heading for a nearby utility pole. The huge eagle nest outside her window provided three eaglets last year and a duo the year before. The marsh area is also an ideal habitat for RING-NECKED PHEASANTS [Faisan de Colchide].

** Not far from the gazebo on Jones Lake, Anna and brother Eddy Man watched CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d’Amérique] enjoying a blend of mountain-ash berries, multiflora rose hips, and flowering crab fruit. The flock tends to stay near that area, obviously for good reasons.

Daryl Doucet also got photos of Cedar Waxwings enjoying a neighbourhood flowering crab fruit tree, presumably part of the same flock seen at Mapleton Park by the Nature Moncton group on Saturday.

** We have had several piebald WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] photos submitted in recent weeks. Janet O’Donnell, in Oromocto, had several deer visiting their bird feeder yard. One animal is showing prominent white areas in the hindquarters, as well as patches of white on the undersides and front quarters. As always, the pelage is a one-issue unique copy. The White-tailed Deer must be having an easy winter so far, with it being more easy to move about to feed and avoid predators.

** Yves Poussart was one of the group who enjoyed going on the Nature Moncton annual bird-feeder tour on Saturday and getting photos. The first stop, at the Rentons’ home in Stilesville provided several good opportunities to observe and get pictures of some of the species present, and enjoy a plentiful breakfast. Among the birds were AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] and AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsomien]. A flock of SNOW BUNTINGS [Plectrophane des neiges] circled the area but did not come down.

Upon arrival at Mapleton Park, a group of about 20 CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d’Amérique] were enjoying their own breakfast of mountain ash berries.

At first, the usual group of MALLARD [Canard colvert] DUCKS and BLACK DUCKS [Canard noir] were not present, but it wasn’t long before they arrived at a site near the bridge. A short walk followed when there was a chance to photograph a group of MOURNING DOVES [Torterelle triste] and AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d’Amérique].

** The group walked about the Court Street area and surrounding streets in Riverview to seek a CAROLINA WREN [Troglodyte de Caroline] audience. Almost all the group saw or heard at least one. It was very hard to have it/them sit still long enough for photos. Wendy Sullivan got some quick ones at Jane Wood’s feeder area. One paid a visit to Bob and Shirley Child’s feeders and it/they popped up here and there, seeming to cover a wide area. They have to be seeing the 9 Nature Moncton nest boxes distributed about the area, which it is hoped they will consider suitable seasonable real estate.

** At the Poiriers’, the regularly expected birds dropped by and the winter-plumaged CHIPPING SPARROW [Bruant familier] put on a good show. Pat Poirier’s corn chowder, with lots of accompanying tasty morsels ended a day of excellent comradeship and beautiful sunshine, despite quite cool air temperature.

Nelson Poirier <nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>

Nature Moncton