NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, August 4, 2020 (Tuesday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: david.cannon@rogers.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** The HAPLOA
MOTHS seem to be having a good summer with many folks taking note of them. JackPERRY
forwards a LECONTE’S HAPLOA that visited his son’s deck in west Saint John. It
is approximately 2.5 centimeters in length.
** Georges
Brun visited Bis marsh on Monday. He comments that the ponds seem to be holding
more water, but no shorebirds or ducks there while he visited. However 7 GREAT BLUE HERONS [Grand Héron] were enjoying the water critters. A
single young-of-the-year DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT [Cormoran à aigrettes] was
lounging with RING-BILLED GULLS [Goéland à bec cerclé], and doing some wing strengthening at the mouth of
Hall’s Creek. Brian Sanders got some
photos of an AMERICAN REDSTART
[Paruline flamboyante] in this marsh area that he shared with
Georges. Georges also captured the
bright full moon on Sunday night.
** As a
heads-up, the Nature Moncton Activities Committee has scheduled a Shorebird
field trip for Saturday, August 22nd, keeping COVID restrictions in
mind. The write up is attached below. Be sure to contact Louise Nichols, as
soon as convenient, if you hope to participate.
NATURE MONCTON
SHOREBIRD OUTING
BIS MARSH,
DIEPPE (AND POSSIBLY RIVERVIEW MARSH)
DATE : SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2020
TIME : 1 :00
pm
PLACE :
PARKING LOT BEHIND BURGER KING AT CHAMPLAIN MALL
GUIDE :
ROGER LEBLANC
** PLEASE
REGISTER WITH LOUISE NICHOLS AT nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Even though we
are smack in the middle of a beautiful warm summer, fall migration has already
started. No, not so much those confusing autumn warblers or
hard-to-differentiate flycatchers yet, but shorebirds for sure. Now the simple
mention of shorebirds can bring a glazed look to the eyes of many, and for good
reasons. There are dozens of species and they are often seen in mixed flocks
far off in a marsh on a mud flat or beach. Plus here in the Maritimes, we
mostly see them at a time of year when they are in drab basic or winter plumage
that is essentially the same for all: a bicoloured combination of darkish gray
on top, with white on the bottom -- great for hiding from predators but not so
good for birders to figure what they are. So all of this explains the fact that
some just call them peeps and move on to more “reasonable” birds. But
shore-birding can be lots of fun and we are in fact fortunate, in our region, to
be near some great shorebird migration stopovers, even just minutes from the
city center along the Petitcodiac River. But how are we supposed to identify
those little gray birds all the way out there on the mud flat that just won’t
stand still and don’t vocalize a lot?
Once again Nature Moncton comes to the rescue.
On Saturday August 22 we are offering a shorebird outing. Our own
Roger Leblanc will lead this outing and will share with us the tricks of the
trade that he has honed over several decades to help us put names on most of
the shorebirds out there. As well as lead the outing, Roger will focus on field
marks, habitats, behaviors and other clues that can help birders more easily
identify the dozen or so shorebird species we should see. So if you have
been hoping to find something to do bird-wise to bridge the extravaganza of
spring birding and the allure of autumn rarities, this is your chance. Don’t
miss it.
Bring
binoculars, and a scope if you have one.
All are welcome,
Nature Moncton member or not.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
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