Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 13 2016

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE - December 13, 2016 (Tuesday)

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Edited by : Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by : Louise Richard richlou@nbnet.nb.ca

Info Line # : 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Everything looking good for tonight, Tuesday, December 13th meeting of Nature Moncton to start at 7 pm at the Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge across from Cabela’s, with 3 special guests to update on the Petitcodiac River. The announcement is re-attached again today.

** It was a big day announcement for the future health of the Petitcodiac River with a press conference on Monday morning to announce the huge update to the TransAqua Wastewater Treatment Facility to attain up-to-date levels of water treatment going into the river. $22.6 million will come from the federal government, $22.6 million from the provincial government, and TransAqua will provide $45.2 million. Work will continue until 2020, with a further disinfection phase in 2021, which is above requirements. I did briefly have the ear of Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, Deputy Government Whip and Member of Parliament for Moncton–Riverview–Dieppe and did ask about any progress on the partial bridge to replace the causeway: she smiled and commented “Stay tuned.”

** Great to have a second NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD [Moqueur polyglotte] report 2 days in a row. Louise Richard reports the first appearance on Sunday of a Mockingbird around her home on Jones Lake, as it has before. Last year December 25 was its first appearance.

** Mac Wilmot had his male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER [Pic à ventre roux] return to suet feeder in his Lower Coverdale yard on Monday.

** Louise Nichols had a lively day during Monday’s storm at her Sackville feeder yard. The AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] numbers exploded and they brought along one PINE SISKIN [Tarin des pins]. Louise also is getting MOURNING DOVES [Tourterelle triste] this winter that she has not had in the past. The male NORTHERN FLICKER [Pic flamboyant] continues its daily visits, as do up to 10 EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant]. A pleasant surprise was 3 RUFFED GROUSE [Gélinotte huppée] that arrived to forage on the buds of a Cherry Tree alongside the house deck.

** Jack Poirier had a bright adult male NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] up to his Lower Coverdale yard in late October, but thinks it just visited the one day. He felt he saw a female Cardinal 4 days ago, but it did not stay. At least, they are in the area and know where the buffet is.

** Elaine Gallant comments the NORTHERN FLICKER [Pic flamboyant] in her Parlee Beach neighbourhood still has not become a regular client to her feeders, but a pair of WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES [Sittelle à poitrine blanche] come repeatedly during the day and a walk on Monday to the Bluff area saw them at the corner of Fernwood and King George streets.

** Brian Stone shares a photo of a few BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu] discussing who should have the seed booty opposing DARK-EYED JUNCOS [Junco ardoisé], and spotted a RAVEN [Grand corbeau] jumping up and down on a patch of snow assumedly having found something of interest to be underneath that needed to be subdued.

NATURE MONCTON DECEMBER MEETING

Tuesday, December 13 at 7:00 PM

Guest speakers: Edmund Redfield, Tim Robinson, and Christine McLaughlan

Place: MAPLETON PARK ROTARY LODGE (across from Cabela’s)

Title: The Petitcodiac River..What is happening now

The December 13 meeting will consist of a “double bill” presentation on the Petitcodiac River where there has been some very intense and interesting activity happening in the past five years that many of us may not be aware of.

Edmund Redfield and Tim Robinson will give a presentation in the first part of the evening on the Fish recovery project on the Petitcodiac River.

Edmund Redfield and his assistants from Fort Folly First Nation and Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance have maintained a live fish trap at the head of tide for seven years from May to November and have recorded every fish they have seen. They now have seven years of records that are very revealing as to what changes have occurred.

Tim Robinson is manager of the FFHR (Fort Folly Habitat Recovery) program and has been a long standing member of the Planning Group and Recovery ‎Team for the endangered iBoF (Inner Bay of Fundy) Atlantic salmon population. FFHR is leading efforts to restore this iconic species within the Petitcodiac watershed - in part, through the 'Fundy Salmon Recovery' project approach which sees remnant wild juvenile iBoF salmon raised to adulthood at the first ever dedicated marine wild Atlantic salmon conservation grow out site located off the coast of Grand Manan.

After the break that will feature morsels appropriate for the Christmas season, Christine McLauchlan, Executive Director of the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance, will present their success in 2016 with a particular focus on culvert assessment and remediation work. The PWA had an extremely busy summer with a record staff of 14 focused on projects such as water quality, storm water management, aquatic habitat connectivity, wood turtle monitoring, river restoration, education, community engagement, and river cleanups. Culverts were chosen as the topic of focus for this talk because the cost-benefit ratio is extremely high, and to date over 105 KM of upstream habitat has been restored in the Petitcodiac River watershed. The PWA is also engaging other organizations to add this high-impact work to their rosters for 2017-2018 and these efforts too will be discussed.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton