NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, December 1, 2019 (Sunday)
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Info Line #: 506-384-6397
(384-NEWS)
** Today is December 1, which means the first
day of the New Brunswick Winter Bird List, so faithfully kept track of by
Gilles Belliveau. The period to be monitored is from Dec. 1 to Feb. 29. It will
be interesting to follow, as new species get included. To learn what is
happening or to let Gilles know that you have seen a species not listed yet go
to the site below, to see what has been found during the period.
http://nbwinter.gbnature.com
** David Christie reports that he saw his
first SNOW BUNTINGS [Plectrophane des neiges] of the fall on Friday, during a
hike at Mary’s Point where he saw a group of 6 feeding on the beach on the
south side of the point. There could have been more activity there, but very
cold winds kept sleuthing to a minimum.
Dave comments that he is still getting somewhat
few birds to his feeder area with 6 to 8 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES [Chardonneret
jaune] now partaking, along with the usual BLUE JAYS [Geai bleu] and
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES [Mésange à tête noire] and occasionally other species. We
can all expect this to change soon, as December marches on.
On Saturday, Dave saw a flock of 20 AMERICAN
ROBINS [Merle d’Amérique] feeding on Mountain Ash berries. It’s the first flock
he has seen since November 12. In the interim he had only one or two at a time,
so it was nice to see a flock again.
** Roger LeBlanc and Roger Guitard have
arranged for an awesome birding trip to Arizona and southern California between
February 18 and March 4. There are a few spaces still available. The write-up
and contact information is attached below.
Southern Arizona and California are recognized as having
some of the best hot spots in North America for bird
watching. In addition the landscapes are breathtaking.
And it's warm. So what about a birding trip to these
regions this winter? The two « Rogers »
(Guitard and Leblanc) have organized a birding trip
there from February 18 to March 4 inclusive.This is a
small group of about ten people and the trip will be
guided by Roger Leblanc with the help of Roger Guitard.
The group filled up very quickly with no advertising
necessary. But following a cancellation one or two
places have become available. So, if you are interested,
please contact Roger Leblanc at parus@nb.sympatico.ca
or 852-0863 for details. Note that accommodations are
in double occupancy.
** Ron Pittaway, from Ontario, gathers
information from various areas each year to give a winter finch forecast. It is
mainly an Ontario prediction but it often does reflect on what we will see here
in the Maritimes. We do have a very abundant fruit and cone crop in New
Brunswick. However, Pittaway’s forecast indicates that this abundance exists at
many sites across Canada and in the north, so we may not see a big onslaught of
winter visitors, as we sometimes do. However, this is only a predicted forecast
and we may yet get some pleasant winter surprises, as we too have lots for them
to forage on. Ron Pittaway’s prediction can be reviewed at the site below:
** Bob Blake keeps daily weather statistics
at his Second North River home, and submits a table that compares November of
2018 with November of 2019, comparing morning temperatures, daily highs, and
precipitation. One very significant difference to be noted is total
precipitation, showing November 2018 with very much higher levels of
precipitation than this year, 2019. The table, as Bob has prepared it, is
printed below:
Weather stats for November
|
2018
|
2019
|
||
|
morning
temperatures
|
daily highs
|
morning
temperatures
|
daily highs
|
|
+11-1 day
+7-1
+6-2
+5-3
+3-1
+2-3
+1-1
0-1
-1-3
-2-1
-3-1
-4-1
-5-3
-7-1
-8-2
-10-1
-12-3
-13-1
45mm. rain
79 cm. snow
|
+16-1
+15-1
+13-1
+8-2
+6-2
+5-1
+4-1
+3-1
+2-4
+1-5
|
+18-1
+7-1
+3-3
+2-4
+1-6
0-1
-1-4
-2-1
-3-1
-5-2
-6-2
-7-1
-8-3
4 mm. rain
18 cm. snow
|
+18-1
+11-1
+8-4
+6-2
+5-2
+4-6
+3-4
+2-5
|
Nature Moncton
