NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
February 16, 2025
Nature Moncton members as well as any
naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos
and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily
edition of Nature News
To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the
information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
and proofreader Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca if
any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
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**The February Nature Moncton meeting will be taking place this coming Tuesday, February 18, at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge with the always special guest Jim Wilson. The write-up is at the end of this edition, and will be upfront Tuesday morning.
**Jamie Burris shares some recent bird photos from his Riverview backyard. The orange-colored variant house finch is still around playing in the sumac shrub along with the American robins. They recently had a flock of 15 American goldfinch visit, and the northern cardinals visit almost every day. Karen was able to get a photo of the female which has eluded Jamie for some reason. They like to hang around the sumac and the highbush cranberry.
**Georges Brun shares an unexpected photo of a mallard
duck enjoying a smelt he photographed in April 2018 to demonstrate their
variable menu.
**Lisa Morris photographed a Valentine's Day couple of mallard
ducks that let her approach them quite closely at Centennial Park.
Lisa suspects they may have been warming their bodies in
the insulating snow on the ramp (leading to the lower bowl) on a very cold day
with brutal northerly winds.
**FEBRUARY MONTHLY MEETING PRESENTATION
Sixty-plus Years of Birding in New Brunswick
Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 7 PM
Mapleton Rotary Park Lodge
Presenter: Jim
Wilson
This presentation
will provide a retrospective look at the many changes in New Brunswick bird
populations since Jim began birding and keeping a regular journal about New
Brunswick birds and nature in 1963. At least one bird species has been extirpated
in the province and many other populations have declined. Some have declined
but later rebounded to their former numbers; others have expanded their
breeding ranges into the province, and one entirely new bird has been
recognized by scientists. This presentation will provide some insight into why
and how these shifts happened and what we might expect next.
Jim Wilson, who many
of us have met in the field, has been an active naturalist and birder
throughout most of his life. He has
contributed to the natural world in numerous ways including serving on the
board for Nature NB and establishing the Point Lepreau Bird Observatory, an important
spot for recording seabird migration along the Fundy coast. Jim was awarded the Roland Michener
Conservation Award from the Canadian Wildlife Federation in 2018, and he
received the Order of New Brunswick in 2019.
Come join us for
what will be an enlightening and entertaining evening. This will be an in-person presentation at the
lodge, but anyone can join via Zoom at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89179802982?pwd=3W1zwXJKMh4eGsizqfvAF3NbnyAfz5.1
All are welcome,
Nature Moncton member or not.
Nelson
Poirier
Nature Moncton
