Nature Moncton Nature News: March 15 2016

** The Nature Moncton meeting is on tonight, Tuesday night, with details repeated at the end of the message. Don’t forget Jim Wilson’s Swamp Milkweed seed packets and instructions will be available at break time.

** Sally Jackson comments some LADY BEETLES were becoming active on her window sill on Monday morning.

** Dale Gaskin reports he heard a big raucous outside his Dawson Settlement Rd home on Monday evening to look out and watch a MERLIN [Faucon émerillon] subdue a ROCK PIGEON [Pigeon biset]. That seems like huge prey for a Merlin. As could be expected it did not carry off such a large prey and feasted on the spot.

** Brian Stone got lots of nice photos from the Sunday Nature Moncton field trip to Saint John and area which are shared today to include a subadult BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tote blanche] at the Cardwell Farm site, the BOREAL CHICKADEE [Mésange à tote brune], NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge], the TURKEY VULTURE [Urubu à tote rouge] with the tag attached to the right wing, and a MALLARD HYBRID duck. The photo so far has not been clear enough to read that tag.

** Marlene Hickman comments she is enjoying very much the iridescence of the arriving COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] and the plenty of sun on Monday, along with newly arrived DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé], and SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur]. Marlene comments as many others have on how she misses all the Redpolls and Pine Siskins of last winter.

** The March Nature Moncton meeting will take place tonight, Tuesday night, March 15, at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge, at 7 pm. The presenter this month is Becky Whittam from the Canadian Wildlife Service in Sackville who will discuss the value of the data naturalists and birdwatchers collect in the delivery of all the CWS programs. 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 CWS that many of us may not be aware of.

After Becky’s presentation and the break, the venue of the meeting after is about to change drastically. At a recent Nature Moncton board meeting it was decided that the business of Nature Moncton should be the duty of the board at board meetings and put more emphasis on what’s coming up with the active slate of activities planned for Nature Moncton, a major emphasis on sightings, with members’ photos and videos of what they have seen, with discussion on them, events happening with other groups which may be naturalists groups or other local events to know what’s going on around us that we may be interested in. This new “sunny ways” approach to the second half of the meeting will be expanded in the upcoming months.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton