Nature Moncton Nature News: March 29 2016

** Anticipation is building for the Owl Workshop and Owl Prowl for tomorrow night, Wednesday night. Mother Nature looks like she will cooperate for a clear night at the moment to let it all happen, for the workshop to start at 6 pm at the Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Drive, and the owl prowl to follow. Leader Roger LeBlanc is strongly advising people who go out on the owl prowl to dress very warmly - it may be pleasant during the day but evening temperatures will cool down considerably and there’s a lot of standing in areas listening and watching, and there will be minimal hiking or walking as Roger will try to bring the owls in. Evan with delays, there has been a big list of participants for this event.

** Susan Richards found another dead RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de Colchide] at their home suspicious of being preyed upon by a Northern Goshawk or Great Horned Owl, both of which are in the area.

Susan noted a flock of migrating sea ducks on Sunday flying up the Memramcook River to the north.Dave Christie offers some interesting comments to share on the identity of the birds in the flock as follows “At a quick glance the birds look like ducks and when I look closely some are recognizable as male COMMON EIDERS [Eider à duvet] by plumage characteristics (black and white in the right places). Other darker ones are evidently females, and there are a lot don’t show enough detail. Presumably the flock is largely eiders, which is the principal we expect to be daytime migrants up the Memramcook valley at this time of year. Scoters are more apt to migrate overland at night.”

** Jean Paul & Stella LeBlanc were impressed with Nature’s ability to produce a work of art - freezing rain had fallen during the night to create a square piece of ice hanging from a thread on a neighbour’s mailbox - it only lasted a few hours to disappear over a few hours on Monday. The before and after photos of the melt was caught in a photo.

** Michele Little is in Florida at the moment and got a striking photo of a Sandhill Crane with its chick popping out of it’s parents feathers on the back. It’s too good not to share with us here in NB. Michele points out it’s a great time there for newborns, there was another Sandhill Crane nearby on 2 eggs. The photo was taken at the Viera Wetlands in Melbourne Florida.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton