NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
February 5, 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.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website
at www.naturemoncton.com.
Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols
**John Inman had one of his resident barred owls take
up a viewing spot on the feeder on Tuesday during the day so as not to miss
anything on the rodent menu.
**Brian Stone joined Nelson Poirier on the roof of Assumption Place on Tuesday for the removal of the old peregrine falcon nest
box and took some photos of the procedure. While he was watching the work being
done, he took some photos of one of the pair of peregrine falcons that flew
past as it came in to check out what was happening to their nest. Brian didn't
have his telephoto lens with him, so his weak wide-angle lens struggled to do
its best to get an image of the falcon when it flew over to the Bell Aliant
communication tower and perched. Brian also noticed the tidal bore come
by from the high perch and got some photos of it from a very different angle.
(Editor’s note: the original plan of the day was to
remove the retired nest box and put in place the newly built box that was waiting in the
penthouse. Removal of the old nest box proved to be much
more challenging than anticipated, taking all afternoon to complete. The
placement of the new box will take place as soon as the weather cooperates and after some last-minute changes are made to the new box. The
summit of Assumption Place had some ice and snow with a very cool breeze.
However, all participants were dressed for the occasion, and things went well
even though it took much longer than expected. Although we were disappointed we could not
get the new box placed, the challenges will be overcome as they present
themselves.
It was a bit of a reality check for Nelson to note how
the surrounding city appeared in 2025 compared to 2011, when the original nest box
was erected. The peregrine falcons could write an interesting thirteen-year
history of the changes they have watched from their vantage point!
All kudos go to the father-son roofing team of Gilles and
Gabriel Martin. It was not an easy effort and their diligence at teamwork and
making sure the job was done properly was very much appreciated. The surprise
arrival of the tidal bore and the peregrine falcons monitoring the effort was an
added bonus. A wave to Mayor Dawn Arnold in her penthouse office was attempted but photography did not permit to see if she responded!)
**Georges Brun was able to get surprisingly clear photos
of the activity from 22 floors below!
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
