Nature Moncton Nature News: March 13 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 13, 2022 (Sunday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Richard Blacquiere was able to locate an adult winter-plumaged Black-headed Gull at the Hampton lagoon Saturday morning and was fortunate to get great photographs to share.

Also at the Hampton lagoon Saturday morning were a few Ring-billed and Iceland Gulls, along with a small variety of ducks.

The Turkey Vultures are returning. Friday afternoon Richard estimated around 20 near the lagoon. That's the most he has seen so far this year. He expects the number will climb over the next few weeks.

What a great report from the Hampton Lagoon so popular with birds and birders!

Recently Richard saw two ducks at the Hampton lagoon feeding near the edge of the pond. First spotted on a first quick scan with binoculars, he passed them off as a Black Duck and a Mallard Duck. When Richard went back to them, the apparent 'Black Duck ' had turned sideways so he could better see the speculum with the 2 white bars. That, and the bill, prompted him to revise his identification to female Black x Mallard hybrid. It was dark enough to initially think it was a fairly pure Black Duck. It was certainly darker than the other female Mallard Ducks present.

Richard found an article recently that said it's rare for a male Black Duck to pair with a hybrid female. Mallard Ducks, on the other hand, seem to have no qualms about it. So not surprising, then, so see a male Mallard Duck with a hybrid female.

Ron Arsenault also comments he recently read a paper stating that hybrids preferred to mate with Mallards rather than Blacks. The authors went on to speculate that this preference may be the reason there are still Black Ducks today and that without this preference, Mallard genes would have swamped the Black population.

** The Simon family saw an immature male White-winged Crossbill and a Ruffed Grouse at the Truro Reservoir Trail in Truro, NS. In addition, they identified 13 species while hiking the beautiful Stewiacke River trail in Alton, NS, and cannot wait to return this summer. The 13 species included: Mallard Duck, American Black Duck, Common Merganser, Mourning Dove, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch.

**There are several gull photos attached today that Brian Stone got in the Shediac area on Friday. We have made an attempt to label them as to species and stage of maturity. It is getting to that time of year when winter plumage is starting to show early signs of molting into summer plumage which can tend to make identification a bit more of a challenge. We are not attempting to point out all the features used to make the identifications as this could make the newspaper look small!

Please feel free to make comments as to accuracy of labelling or any other comments helpful in learning ID features.

**The monthly meeting of Nature Moncton will take place this coming Tuesday evening virtually at 7:00 PM when Ryan Danby will visit to share some of the fascinating experiences that 25 years of research on our Canadian north has allowed him to witness. The write-up and link to join in is attached below.

NATURE MONCTON MARCH MEETING

Tuesday March 15^th, 2022 at 7:00 PM

Virtual Meeting

“Monitoring Caribou Habitat in Canada’s Changing North”

Presenter: Ryan Danby

Many of Canada’s large northern caribou herds have declined over the last two decades. While the herds are known to fluctuate naturally, the magnitude of their recent declines is well outside of historical observations. Climate-related changes in habitat condition may be partly responsible, and this presentation will explore the use of modern satellite mapping technologies for examining this.

Presenter: Dr. Ryan Danby is an associate professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He has been conducting research in Northern Canada and Alaska for the last 25 years with the aim of better understanding the causes and consequences of ecosystem change and their implications for conservation.

Given that Caribou once roamed in areas north of New Brunswick, this presentation is of interest to us all.

For those who want to attend the meeting, you can do so by clicking the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87311687739?pwd=K1R1MTZycVFFMWxiVVBaQTB4WmYwUT09

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

** I'm also attaching the remainder of the list of events for March published by the NB Environmental Network that includes a virtual event on the beaches of Pointe-Sapin that folks can register for from the list below. This event timing conflicts with the Nature Moncton Meeting but if one registers for the Pointe-Sapin presentation by clicking on it below, they will be sent the recorded version to tune into later

March 15 - Exploring the Beaches of Pointe-Sapin, Online

March 15 - Nature Moncton March Meeting, Online

March 15 & 16 - Virtual Air Quality and Health Workshop, Online

March 16 - Deadline for call for proposals for Atlantic Ecosystems Initiatives

March 17 - Spring Inspiration Session - School Gardens Initiative, Online

March 19 - Searching for Species at Risk and Areas of Ecological Significance within the Traditional Territory of the Peskotomukati, Online

March 23 - Unconscious Bias with Ann Divine, Online

March 30 - ED Connections - Failing Forward, Online

March 31 - Bystander Intervention, Online

March 31 - Training Organizers to Build Movements, Online