NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April
22, 2021 (Thursday)
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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)
** A second reminder to the linked
virtual presentation on “What’s That Duck?” scheduled for tonight, Thursday …
good weather for ducks! The write up is attached at the end of this edition.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86127786854?pwd=eWt6T3JoS1pkZjRBNHJsUGtuTGxDdz09
** The very popular presentation on the
virtual trip to Sable Island presented by Greg Stroud at the Nature Moncton
meeting this past Tuesday night was recorded and is available for viewing at
the attached link, with all thanks to president Fred Richards for recording it
to make it available to be watched again or for those who may have missed it.
Check it out at the attached link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vqu9oa6auucmnnl/GMT20210420-220831_Recording_1600x800.mp4?dl=0
** Louise Nichols’ smaller pond behind
her Aulac home continues to be active and has a few seemingly early patrons. A YELLOW-SPOTTED
SALAMANDER [Salamandre maculée] egg mass is expected. Note the round,
grape-like shape of the mass. Louise also noted both LEOPARD FROGS [Rana
pipiens] and GREEN FROGS [Grenouille verte], both of which would be earlier
than expected although Louise did see a lethargic Leopard Frog in the same site
a few weeks ago. This small pond is in a protected location that gets the
warmth of the Sun and is shallow which may account for its early activity.
** On Wednesday Frank Branch noted
behavior with a pair of MOURNING DOVES [Tourterelle triste] that he has not
seen previously in his Paquetville yard. First, assumedly the male, lifted a
crest on its crown and then quickly a balloon-like structure popped up and then
deflated after a few minutes. Frank assumed it to be mating behaviour but had
not seen it before. Comments are welcome. Cornell’s “Birds of the World”
discusses courting and mating behaviour extensively but does not mention what
Frank observed and photographed.
** Silas Raybould, the 7 year old
grandson of Mac Milton, found a very interesting rock on the marsh at the
Petitcodiac River. This rock no doubt has a very interesting story to tell. The
photos were sent to Matt Stimson, the assistant curator of geology/paleontology
at the New Brunswick Museum, and Matt gave a prompt reply, and I am quoting his
interesting response below:
“This one
is actually a large piece of coral! Coral is commonly found along the shores of
Atlantic Canada as it was once used as ballast on ships. This specimen in particular is a Scleractinia
coral of some kind; likely a recent species rather than fossilized. Coral in
the paleozoic (prior to the Permian- Triassic extinction event) belonged to
various groups of coral including the tabulate corals. These corals went
completely extinct during the P-T extinction. Modern coral evolved from a
completely different group of organisms to fill this ecological niche which
have diversified into the array of coral on the planet today.
Might need
a marine biologist for more information on the species of coral. Modern
critters are not my (Matt) specialty.”
** Wayne Corcoran from Chelmsford, near
Quarryville, reports a quiet winter for yard birds as the EVENING GROSBEAKS
[Gros-bec errant] have been very numerous one day and just a few the next. He
had many COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé] and the usual BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES
[Mésange à tête noire], BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu], WOODPECKERS [Pivert], and is now
starting to see AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] back and nice to see
them, especially the males turning their beautiful yellow. Also the first PURPLE
FINCH [Roselin pourpré] arrived on
Wednesday morning, lots of COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé], a few RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS [Carouge à épaulettes], and of note lots of BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS
[Vacher à tête brune], and 1 GRAY SQUIRREL [Ecureuil gris]. Interesting to note
Wayne’s comment of “lots” of Brown-headed Cowbirds which is similar to what was
recently reported at a Miramichi feeder.
** Fred Dube has erected one of the 4
Nature Moncton bat boxes on his Lower Coverdale home. These have been
constructed by Fred Richards as trial balloons. Fred sends a few photos of the
bat real estate up and waiting for scouts to possibly check out. White Nose
Syndrome has decimated the Little Brown Bat and Northern Long-eared Bat but the
Big Brown Bats are increasing in number in New Brunswick. Lots more information
will be shared by bat housing specialist Karen Vanderwolf at the May Nature
Moncton meeting on May 18th.
** YELLOW-SPOTTED SALAMANDERS [Salamandre maculée] can be sometimes hard to get photos of as they are so nocturnal. Bev Schneider got a photo of one of the largest ones that she has ever seen moving away from water, appearing focused on its destination, possibly having completed its reproductive mission and off to head underground. Bev felt it to be at least 9 inches long which is large for a Yellow-spotted Salamander.
**NATURE MONCTON EVENT
WHAT’S THAT DUCK?: A WORKSHOP/OUTING ON DABBLING AND DIVING DUCKS
Workshop (Virtual): Thurs. April 22nd from
7:00 to 9:00 pm
The link to join this virtual session is
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86127786854?pwd=eWt6T3JoS1pkZjRBNHJsUGtuTGxDdz09
Outing: Sat. April 24th (rain date: Sun. Apr. 25th) from
10:00 into the afternoon. (**Bring a lunch)
Meeting Place for Outing: Rte 114 and Steeves St., Hillsborough (meet
at the lot in back of the post office, near the fighter jet at the far end).
Presenter and Guide: Roger Leblanc
Registration (for outing only): with Louise Nichols – nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Cost:
$5:00 for members/$10.00 for non-members (to be paid at the outing on
April 24th)
With the arrival of spring, many bird species that have left us for more
moderate climes will be coming back.
Amongst the first to return, and certainly some of the most colorful,
are ducks. Now some ducks, mostly sea
ducks, have toughed it out and stayed with us through winter, but their habits
and behaviors are so different that they justify a separate treatment. At this workshop/outing, we will concentrate
only on dabbling and diving ducks found on inland bodies of water. So what is the difference between dabbling
and diving? In this workshop we will
learn the answer to that question and how to tell them apart. Dressed in their spring finest, dabbling and
diving ducks have already started coming back to us. On arrival, they first congregate in bays,
waterways and impoundments before getting down to the arduous matter of
producing next year’s offspring. This
makes April the perfect time to learn to recognize them or simply brush up on
your duck ID skills. And if you are just
getting into “birdwatching,” ducks are a perfect place to start because they
are big, colourful, have a tendency to stay put long enough for one to study
them and many are jam-packed with identification-helping field marks. Still some, females in particular, can be
confusing. So to help you out with this,
Nature Moncton is offering this combination workshop and outing. With our own
Roger Leblanc, we will first have an online weekday evening workshop to study
the 14 species of dabbling or diving ducks that can be expected in the region
now. We will learn how to separate them by habitat, behavior, and field marks.
Roger will also share with us his experience-based “tools of the trade” for
duck identification. Then on the weekend we will head out to a couple of duck
hot spots in the Hillsborough region where ducks are findable in mixed groups
at this time of year. There, with
Roger’s help, we will work on using the knowledge learned in the workshop to ID
them to species. All in all, a great
learning and fun-filled experience that should help you better answer the
question: “What’s that duck?”
All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.
** Bring a scope if you have one, and binoculars. Roger will have an extra scope and binoculars
available if anyone needs them.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
