Nature Moncton Nature
News
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Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**The owl presentation
given on Tuesday night at the Nature Moncton March meeting was recorded and is now
available at the link below:
**Yesterday, March 20, the
official spring took place in late morning. This astronomical event marks the
moment the sun crosses the celestial equator, bringing roughly equal day and
night lengths, followed by longer, warmer days. Bring it on!
**Pat and Elaine Gallant photographed a pair of hooded mergansers in prime breeding plumage on the Shediac River on Friday.
(Editor’s note: take note
of the yellowish lower mandible of the female, which is present in all stages
of the female hooded merganser to identify it from the male, including the
first spring male, which would have a totally black bill.)
Pat and Elaine also noted
a coyote on Friday on the ice from the Pointe-du-Chene wharf that
seemed to be heading for the far shore.
**Jane LeBlanc had both a white-throated
sparrow and a song sparrow in her yard on Friday. A male northern
cardinal brightened up the day as well.
Jane also had a flock of
pine siskins in her yard, but they only stayed long enough for a quick ID.
**Over the last few days,
Brian Stone has been collecting some of the maple tree sap that has been
dripping from multiple branches of the big maple tree in his yard. It is only a
small amount, but Brian has been boiling it down anyway to an even smaller
amount of maple syrup that tastes great. On Thursday morning, Brian went out to
the tree to check on the sap delivery system (a cup hanging on a string, under
a dripping tree branch) and found the cup empty.
In the fresh, thin coating of new snow, Brian
saw white-tailed deer tracks coming out of the woods behind his place, crossing
his neighbor's yard, crossing his yard, and heading directly to his maple tree.
The tracks stopped right under the sap collecting cup and then turned and went
back across the yards and into the woods. Did the deer stop for a refreshing
drink of maple goodness? Or was it just a coincidence, and the sap
disappeared some other way? Only the deer knows for sure!
(Editor’s note: after
noting Brian’s comments on maple sap icicles, I noted some icicles hanging from
a maple tree branch outside my window. On checking them out, sure enough, they
had a sweet taste and were maple sap icicles. This little quip of nature has
probably been happening for a long time, but easily passed off as just another
icicle until someone points it out.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
