Nature Moncton Nature News: April 30 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 30, 2019 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** Gabriel Gallant did a Sunday afternoon trek around the woodland pond near his Saint Marie de Kent home and was very rewarded. SPRING PEEPERS [Rainette crucifère] and WOOD FROGS [Grenouille des bois] were calling all around him and many Salamander and Wood Frog egg masses were present. The only species he was actually able to get to see was EASTERN NEWTS [Triton vert]. He was able to see the adult newts being olive-green ground color and also some in the reddish-orange color of the terrestrial Red Eft stage that spends their two year juvenile stage on land to have just migrated back to water. He was able to capture a photo of one of the ones still showing some red of immaturity.

Aldo Dorio photographed 15 BRANT and 6 Canada Geese mingling in the water off Hay Island on Tuesday morning. Interesting to see Brant showing up at several sites recently we don’t normally see them. Aldo also got an excellent head photo of an FOY pair of CHIPPING SPARROWS to his Neguac yard that very nicely show that dark eyeline extending right to the bill, a signature field mark of the Chipping Sparrow.

Judy and Sterling Marsh visited the Memramcook Arthur St. Lagoon on Sunday to see lots of the usual suspects but also spotted WOOD DUCKS as well as SCOTERS. One LONG-TAILED DUCK had stopped by for rest and a pair of NORTHERN SHOVELER DUCKS provided a nice photo to compare gender plumages. The specialty of the visit was a male breeding plumage RUDDY DUCK showing off its wedgewood blue bill and ruddy back. This species has found the Arthur St. lagoon much to their liking in recent years.

** Clarence Cormier reports that 2 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] arrived for him on Monday to join his large Sparrow troupe at his Grande Digue site. The WAXWINGS arrived again, but the observation was too brief to be sure that all were BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal] as a larger group was a few days ago. A NORTHERN HARRIER [Busard des marais] also showed up to work the open field near his home.

** Brian Stone, Annette Stone and I found ourselves in the Dartmouth area on Monday. They showed me Shubie Park with what time we had later in the day. This is an extremely well done wild nature park which suggests it be put on the list for those who have not visited this area before. There are lots of pleasant woods trails, streams and ponds that let lots of wild critters be just that.

A bird alert took us to Cow Bay to see if we could get an audience with an adult male SCARLET TANAGER [Tangara écarlate] in breeding plumage that had been reported being present there in a person’s yard for a few days. It was there waiting for us, a very beautiful bird. It was actively foraging in what appeared to be a recently prepared garden area with seaweed mulch.

Brian got a nice photo of a BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] sitting deeply in a nest as well as a GREAT BLUE HERON [Grand Héron] at the top of a tree showing its flowing, breeding head plumes.

** The Nature Moncton Field Trip to the Cocagne River floodplain for early spring wildflowers has been postponed one week from May 04 to Saturday, May 11. Roger Leblanc checked the area and felt that another week would be needed for the ice to clear. The notice for this trip is attached below and is at the website at www.naturemoncton.com under “Upcoming Events”.

Nature Moncton Field Trip

Cocagne River Flood Plain

Date & Time: May 11^th, from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Meeting Place: At Roger Leblanc’s home in Notre Dame, Civic # 3764, route 115

Spring has arrived. Well kind of. And with it, floods and the problems they cause. But often lost in the news is the fact that annual spring floods are natural events because of which ecosystems have evolved. And one of the most interesting examples of this is the vegetation of the flood plain. From trees to ferns and wild flowers, many species have learned to take advantage of the disturbed, wet, fertile soil and early reproduction season made possible by the annual spring flood. To help you take in this very special habitat, Nature Moncton is proposing a Flood Plain Outing on Saturday May 11^th on the banks of one of the most ecological pristine rivers in the region -- the Cocagne River. We will first meet up at Roger Leblanc’s place and from there proceed to the bridge on Rte 115 where we will walk about one km up the river, taking in plants and other wildlife we encounter. Then we will make a short cross-country trek to a woodland trail that will lead us back to Roger’s place. This walk will be of medium difficulty and should last around 3 hours.

Dress details: Dress for the weather. Rubber boots are recommended. If you want to pick some of the fiddlehead ferns that might already be present, bring a knife and something to carry your prize in.

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton