Nature Moncton Nature News: March 14, 2016

** Nature Moncton’s monthly meeting will take place tomorrow evening, Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in the Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge. The presentation will be given by Becky Whittam from the Canadian Wildlife Service in Sackville. She will discuss the value to the Wildlife Service of information that birdwatchers and naturalists collect. She will touch on many different CWS projects like sea ducks, Chimney Swifts, shorebirds, swallows, Piping Plover, Roseate Tern, and more. Becky will have lots of information to share on what’s happening with the Canadian Wildlife Service that many of us may not be aware of.

After Becky’s presentation and the break, the program will change drastically. At a recent board meeting it was decided that the business of Nature Moncton should be the duty of the board and that the emphasis at meetings of members should be placed on what’s coming up in the slate of activities of Nature Moncton, also with emphasis on sightings, member’s photos and videos of what they have seen, with discussion of them and what’s happening with other groups, whether they be naturalists or other local events, in order to know what’s going on, that we may be interested in. This new “sunny ways” approach to the second half of meetings will be expanded each month in the future.

Jim Wilson has very kindly sent 60 packets of Swamp Milkweed seeds to be given out at the meeting and if anyone wants some and will not be at the meeting, leave a message to have some put aside for you.

** Louise Nichols spotted 8 new species around the Sackville area over the weekend. On the lagoon at Donald Harper Road she noted a pair of NORTHERN SHOVELERS [Canard souchet], 4 AMERICAN WIGEON [Canard d’Amérique], a male WOOD DUCK [Canard branchu] and 6 RING-NECKED DUCKS [Fuligule à collier]. She saw the first GADWALL [Canard chipeau] pair at the Sackville Waterfowl Park, with MALLARD [Canard colvert] pairs. The waterfowl park is still basically unoccupied as of Sunday, with approximately one third of the water open. A flock of CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada] flew over the park on Sunday and some were present in a field along Folkins Drive.

** Jean-Paul and Stella LeBlanc reported that they had the first PINE SISKIN [Tarin des pins] of the year at their feeder yard in Bouctouche on Sunday. What a difference from the huge numbers at feeders last winter!

** Louise Richard had a visit from a male PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] at their Acadieville cabin feeder on Sunday. Numbers of this species should increase at feeders any time now.

** Dale Gaskin comments that he noted a few of his male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] visitors starting to take on their more brilliant summer plumage, showing that moth-eaten look. Also the first PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] that Dale has seen in a while showed up on Sunday.

** Dave Christie reports that the blackbird troop swelled considerably at his Mary's Point feeders on the weekend and is eating twice the amount of food that he had been putting out each day. Dave’s population swelled to approximately 80, while nearby John Inman’s yard reported about 200, including two male BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS [Vacher à tête brune], on Sunday.

** Georges Brun heard his first CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada] of the season on Saturday evening in the Moncton Hospital area, and heading towards Halls Creek. He saw a lone bird flying at the junction of Halls Creek and the Petitcodiac River on Sunday. Chances are that will soon change as large numbers settle in any time.

** Also on CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada], Paul Nickerson reports that the first flock arrived on the field below White Frost Village mobile home park off the Salisbury Rd. on Sunday.

** Doreen Rossiter saw another spring entrant to her Alma yard on Sunday; less welcome than returning birds for her, it was a groundhog (WOODCHUCK [Marmotte commune]), eating cracked corn that had been placed out for the pheasants. She suspects it’s the same one that last year enjoyed eating her garden.

** A huge thank-you to Richard Blacquiere for leading a very keen group of Nature Moncton participants on a birding field trip to Saint John and area hotspots on Sunday, starting off at the Hampton lagoon, where NORTHERN CARDINALS [Cardinal rouge] greeted us. This may have been common for Richard, but the Moncton visitors went wild photographing and enjoying them.

Richard took us to a Rothesay lagoon that is in use and another decommissioned one. Both of them had lots of overwintering ducks, such as BUFFLEHEAD [Petit Garrot], of which there were many, COMMON GOLDENEYE [Garrot à oeil d'or] and BARROW'S GOLDENEYE [Garrot d’Islande] early Green-winged Teal and Canada Geese. A stop at Indiantown beach was quiet with a stop at Fallsview Park with the tide roaring out was special.

A round of a back way to the Lancaster lagoon gave great observations of itwith lots of goals and especially gadwall pairs.

Next stop was Marsh Creek to see more Gadwall pairs., other ducks, and gulls. Then onto Norton Shore Road to see the huge number number of scaup staged along the Kennabacasis River. Many of the 1-2000 birds were near enough for great observations with some Ring-necked Ducks, Common Merganser and Goldeneye with the.but dwarfed by the sheer numbers of scaup to decipher whether they be Lesser or Greater Scaup. The majority appeared to be Greater Scaup. A return visit to the Hampton lagoon had some Gadwall and Bufflehead and five Turkey vultures that stole the show. One of which had a marker on its right wing with hopes some of the photos could read it. A call on a possible different woodpecker sent the group scurrying to Titusville . No woodpecker was found but a very cooperative Boreal Chickadee was the consolation prize appreciated by many.

This was an excellent first spring outing of Nature Moncton and Richard led us to lots of new sites to monitor and explore .

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nature Moncton