NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 17, 2017 (Monday)
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editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Tomorrow evening, Tuesday is the April meeting night of Nature
Moncton, at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge, across from Cabela’s at 7 p.m. The guest
presenter this month is Bruce Dougan, manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo. Bruce
has a lot to share about how zoos function in their role of protecting and
breeding endangered species, which are disappearing in the wild, and at the same
time, letting the public see them in suitable habitat. Bruce is an excellent
speaker; this is a presentation not to miss. A write-up on his presentation is
added below:
Nature Moncton April
meeting
April 18, 2017 at 7:00
PM
Mapleton Park Rotary
Lodge (across from Cabela’s)
Zoos Then and
Now
Presenter: Bruce Dougan,
manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo
We are very fortunate to have one of Canada’s top
rated zoos at our doorstep. The process of maintaining a zoo to meet the needs
of such a diverse variety of animals has changed dramatically over the years.
The days of taking animals from the wild and putting them on public display have
made a near complete reversal. Today, the vast majority of animals on display
are bred in captivity which is a whole science on its own. Today zoos have
become “Noah’s Arks” in that they breed species of animals facing endangered
status in the wild and then they reintroduce them to their wild habitat to
bolster numbers.
Some of the Moncton City fathers were very wise in
successfully luring Bruce Dougan from Marineland in Ontario to bring the
Magnetic Hill Zoo to the status it has achieved today.
Bruce will share some of the methods modern-day zoos
employ to let us all enjoy many exotic animals in an environment that meets
their needs. He will also outline the
huge changes that have taken place over the years to make zoos very significant
in the world wildlife community.
Don’t miss this presentation!
** Julie Pellerin reports that a GREAT EGRET [Grande Aigrette] appeared in
the marsh behind her Cap-Brûlé home on Sunday. This has been a great spot for
Great Egrets in recent years. This marsh is behind the Cap-Brûlé lagoons.
** Fred Dubé reports they are having an excellent response from the
expected spring visitors at their Niagara Road feeder yard in Lower Coverdale. A
BROWN CREEPER [Grimpereau brun] comes to their yard almost daily, with a
RING-NECKED PHEASANT [Faisan de Colchide] as a new visitor. For the 6th year in
a row, a pair of MALLARD [Canard colvert] ducks have arrived to get their
cracked-corn fix.
Fred and Lynne took a run to the Port Elgin - Cape Tormentine area on
Sunday and noted many NORTHERN FLICKERS [Pic flamboyant], but the highlight at
Cape Tormentine was 15+ TURKEY VULTURES [Urubu à tête rouge]. They were all
circling very low, with a few landing on utility poles as close as 25 to 30 feet
from them to allow incredible observations.
** Clarence Cormier reports some new arrivals in his Grande-Digue yard on
Sunday, a male RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET [Roitelet à couronne rubis], a
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche] of the tan version; 2 female
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS [Vacher à tête brune] that joined the males, as well as
the first arrival of a female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD [Carouge à épaulettes]. A FOX
SPARROW [Bruant fauve] continues to be regular, and Clarence noted 2 AMERICAN
WOODCOCK [Bécasse d'Amérique] in the swamp area of his land.
** Gordon Rattray got a photo of a bright male WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
[Bruant à gorge blanche] in his Weldon yard, enjoying white millet placed under
a shrub.
** Aldo Dorio photographed DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS [Cormoran à
aigrettes] as they rested on ice floes off Hay Island on Sunday. Look closely at
some birds facing the camera and one will note the two head tufts of breeding
plumage that give this bird its name.
** I recently mentioned cleaning out a kestrel nest box that I had erected
after hearing a presentation by Dwaine Oakley. Nature Moncton hosted Dwaine
Oakley and Ben Hoteling from the Environment Department of Holland College on
P.E.I. a few years ago. They spoke about the AMERICAN KESTREL [Crécerelle
d'Amérique] nest box program that they have been running for several years. I
heard from Dwaine on Sunday that they have banded over 1000 kestrel chicks from
those nest boxes, as of last summer. What a successful project!
** A major event on a large river like the Miramichi is ice breakup, which
some years can be very sudden. Just after 5 p.m. on Sunday, that trigger that
results in a sudden breakup happened in front of our Little Southwest Miramichi
camp at Sillikers. A video of what happened over a half hour can be seen at the
attached URL.
Ctrl-left click to view video
Unfortunately, the copy of the video posted is not the quality of the
original, but it shows the sudden fury that can result when Mother Nature
decides it’s time to go.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS.APRIL 16, 2017.ALDO DORIO
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS.APRIL 16, 2017.ALDO DORIO
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. APRIL 16, 2017. GORDON RATTRAY
