Nature Moncton Nature News: February 15 2015

** George Sinclair spotted a near completely white partial albino AMERICAN CROW [Corneille d’Amérique) on Highway 114 near the Penobsquis Baptist Church on Thursday, travelling with a Crow flock. It only had a few black feathers under the wing with black tail and eyes.

The crows are still making their large flock movements at dusk - Anne Marsch noticed a flock of approximately 500 heading in a westerly direction from the Point Park area on Saturday evening.

** While on the Tantramar on Thursday, Brian Stone and I spotted 3 BARROW'S GOLDENEYE [Garrot d’Islande] in the same area that Kathleen Spicer photographed a Hybrid Goldeneye. In the one quick photo Brian was able to get: the 2 outside birds are adult female Barrow’s Goldeneye showing the complete orange beak; the lad in the centre is hard to call other than likely a male Goldeneye.

** Brian Stone shares a few photos from the past few days to include the DUCK troupe at Mapleton Park waiting for a hand out, the french fry pile that had the GULLS in a tizzy in Macaan, NS, and a HORNED LARK [Alouette hausse-col] on the Tantramar. Brian’s visit to Mapleton Park on Saturday found a male PILEATED WOODPECKER [Grand pic] that was very busy at its mission and ignoring folks on the trail.

Brian also photographed a CIRCUMZENITHAL ARC with the sun on Saturday which Brian comments is the best that he has ever seen. He also got a solar halo. More on this astronomical event is at the attached website http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/cza.htm

** This coming Tuesday night, February 17th, is Nature Moncton meeting night at 7 pm at the Rotary Lodge Pavillion, where Rheal Vienneau will share his very involved experience with the MONARCH (Monarque) Butterfly from egg to adult and release. Rheal has been very instrumental in having tagged hundreds of adult Monarch Butterflies to head to overwinter in Mexico. Many he raised himself from the egg. The write up is attached. All are welcome and hopefully the present storm will be a a day old memory as of Tuesday night !

Nature Moncton February 2015 Meeting
Tuesday, February 17 at 7.00 PM
Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge
The Monarch Butterfly – From Egg to Adult and Release
Presenter – Rheal Vienneau

The life and times of the Monarch Butterfly with its incredible migratory route around North America and back to Mexico to overwinter is a fascinating story.

A significant amount of new information on this amazing creature has come to light thanks to uniquely numbered tags placed on adult butterflies in advance of their return to Mexico. When these tags are retrieved, it’s possible to trace the butterfly’s movements. Most of the adults tagged are netted in the wild, tagged, and then released.

Rheal Vienneau, however, has taken the conservation and tagging effort one step farther by learning how to capture females, letting them lay eggs on common milkweed he grows in his yard, releasing the adults after egg laying, taking the eggs into rearing units, and then tagging and releasing the new butterflies as they emerge. This has led to hundreds more Monarch Butterflies heading off to Mexico all the way from Dieppe, New Brunswick to reach their over-wintering grounds.

On Tuesday, February 17, 2015 Rheal will demonstrate the process he goes through to contribute to this exemplary conservation effort.

Rheal also raises and releases other moths and butterflies and will share his perfected methods.

As always, any guests all are welcome.

Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca