NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June 22, 2017 ( Thursday )
To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the
information line editor, nelson@nb.sympatico.ca .
Please advise if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.
Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** David Christie comments that the flock of RED
CROSSBILLS [Bec-croisé des sapins] he was hearing in the area of his Mary's
Point home on Monday and Tuesday
were not heard on Wednesday, seeming to have moved on. David did have a scenario
with a WEASEL [belette] darting up the side of his house after a RED SQUIRREL [Ecureuil roux) on Wednesday. The squirrel jumped down
with the weasel in pursuit. David got the impression that the weasel was large,
so was wondering if it may have been a Long-tailed Weasel.
** The Nature Moncton field trip to Cocagne Island that
was scheduled for last weekend but got postponed is rescheduled for this coming
Saturday, June 24. Sunday, June 25, will be the backup weather date. Weather
forecasts look like Mother Nature will let one of these days happen. The final
decision will be made on Friday. Several questions have come up. Cormier Village
wharf is on Route 535. Take the Cocagne exit off Route 11 and proceed to the
junction of Route 134 and 535. The Cormier Village wharf is the first wharf
encountered while following the coastal route 535 from Cocagne. You can see
Cocagne Island off to the right, and the road down to the wharf is named "Chemin
du Quai".
If lost Roger LeBlanc's cell phone number is 852- 0863. The island is three kilometers long and you can walk the beach or explore inland, but it is not a hard hike. Waterproof boots are indicated. You may want to bring rubber boots to get out of the boat and on to the island and hiking boots for when on the island. There are no bathroom facilities, except the great outdoors. No one has lived on Cocagne Island for fifty years. Contact Louise Nichols by email at nicholsl@eastlink.ca to check on vacancies as some did come up due to the postponement.
If lost Roger LeBlanc's cell phone number is 852- 0863. The island is three kilometers long and you can walk the beach or explore inland, but it is not a hard hike. Waterproof boots are indicated. You may want to bring rubber boots to get out of the boat and on to the island and hiking boots for when on the island. There are no bathroom facilities, except the great outdoors. No one has lived on Cocagne Island for fifty years. Contact Louise Nichols by email at nicholsl@eastlink.ca to check on vacancies as some did come up due to the postponement.
** On our Riverview bog sleuth last Sunday I came across an unfamiliar
plant that seemed to have a berry cluster. A check with Sean Blaney at the
Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Center confirmed it as POD GRASS, so the
"berries" are actually seed pods. I am attaching Sean's words that describe this
possibly often overlooked plant well.
Quoting from Sean
“You have found Pod Grass -
Scheuchzeria palustris var. americana, a neat monocot species in
its own family (Schuechzeriaceae). It has previously been classified in the
family Juncaginaceae with the arrow-grasses
(Triglochin).
This species is quite common in larger peatlands and is
sometimes a significant dominant in wetter depressions within a bog or acidic
fen. It certainly isn’t noticed by most people though, since you have to get
your feet wet to find it and it’s not the showiest thing.”
Nelson Poirier,
Nature
Moncton
POD GRASS.JUNE 18, 2017.NELSON POIRIER.
