Nature Moncton Nature News: April 20 2022

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 20, 2022 (Wednesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**A very big thank you to Laura Tranquilla from Bird Studies Canada for her presentation to Nature Moncton on Tuesday evening on the Leach’s Storm-Petrel. It was a very informative session to tell us about a bird that is so numerous yet many of us will never see due to its pelagic and nocturnal behaviour. The life and times of this small bird are truly amazing. Laura very effectively allowed us all to spend time with this bird.

**It’s time to look forward to this coming Saturday, April 20 for Nature Moncton outing to the White Rock Recreational Area. Weather predictions at the moment could not be better and lots of things will be in spring mode. The write up is below and on the website under Upcoming Events.

NATURE MONCTON FIELD TRIP TO WHITE ROCK RECREATION AREA

Date: Saturday April 23^rd

Time: 10:00

Guide: Gordon Rattray

The Nature Moncton excursion on April 23 will be to the White Rock Recreation Area in Hillsborough. This will be a walk going through mostly forested areas, both coniferous and deciduous, in this protected region. We will be looking at the signs of nature emerging from the winter season. The onus will be on the participants to point out evidence of revival and to assist in naming sightings. Spring revival will be most evident with bud and possible leaf generation of trees and shrubs. Lichens will be very easy to spot on trunks and stems. Depending on how the spring season advances, there could be some surprises.

The walk will be led by Gordon Rattray who has extensive knowledge of the recreation site. The walk will be of moderate difficulty and up to 4KM in length. Footwear is most important as places could be still wet from winter melt. Bring a lunch for a lunch break on the trail.

White Rock Recreation Area is 2 KM up the Golf Club Road in Hillsborough. Golf Club Road is a right turn off route 114 -- part way through Hillsborough. We will meet at the entrance to the Recreation Area at 10:00

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not

**Catherine Hamilton spotted a Black Bear cub on Monday sitting out in the sun. Catherine suspects there is a den there and two cubs. She hasn’t seen the second one, but others have. She took the photo from her car with her long lens camera.

From the apparent size of the cub, it would appear to be a cub that was born last spring and denned with his mother this past winter but will be told in no uncertain terms to head out on its own when its mother comes into estrus usually in late June or early July.

**Elaine Gallant reports she watched over 100 Northern Gannets in Shediac Bay before Tuesday’s rainstorm.

Most were flying around or resting on the water. Very few were diving.

Elaine was able to photograph an adult specimen of this beautiful bird.

**The Simon family recently spotted an immature Red-throated Loon and a Mourning Dove at the Irishtown Nature Park. In addition, a Brown-headed Cowbird and Chipping Sparrow have visited their yard in Lutes Mountain.

**The trio of Sandhill Cranes recently being so reliably seen and appreciated in the Tantramar Marsh area were featured in a very interesting CBC news story that presented an interview with a Canadian Wildlife Service member to explain why we are seeing more Sandhill Cranes in the area. Read the interesting commentary at the link below:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/wow-what-is-that-huge-bird-sandhill-cranes-are-making-nb-home-1.6422581

**Brian Stone drove the route from Shemogue to Cape Tormentine to Wallace NS on Monday in search of the elusive rare eagle haunting the area in NS. No luck finding the eagle, but Brian managed a few Bald Eagle photos along the way. He also stopped to photograph some of the Skunk Cabbage plants in different stages of development. In the ditches beside the road in many spots the Wood Frogs were very vocal but near invisible to see and Brian only managed a photo of one egg mass of a Yellow-spotted Salamander.

In different areas along the route Brian photographed an Osprey on a nest at Bayside, Greater Yellowlegs at Baie Verte, a Belted Kingfisher (very distant) at Bayfield, Turkey Vultures near Tidnish, Seals at Northport, the Bald Eagles and Bufflehead Ducks at Wallace.

** A notice was posted on yesterday’s blog by Roger LeBlanc that he had arranged to have local artisan Gerry Collins make 20 artificial clay Cliff swallow nests for sale. Roger reports sadly he was sold out before noon. People can still contact him and leave Roger a message on his email so that he can place them on a waiting list for most likely next year.

At least with such a demand Roger knows now that he has to find a way to mass produce them. Up to now he could have sold over 30 more. What he has done is start a wish list for those that might want some for next year. He was thinking that with such a list he could more easily motivate someone that could mass produce them. Roger’s email contact is parus@nb.sympatico.ca

**The editor apologizes that the photos accompanying the lichen commentary below were accidentally deleted. I am repeating the commentary with the photos attached. I rather expect we will see some of these lichens on the field trip coming up Saturday to the White Rock Recreational Area.

**Recently, Nelson Poirier photographed a tree hosting a growth of Parmelia Lichen and Kendra Driscoll pointed out a Liverwort species was also in the photo (red arrow).

Lynn Dube was able to relocate the same tree and get close-ups of the liverwort as well as one of the Camouflage Lichens. The liverwort turns out to be one of the Scalewort species of the Frullania genus and am paraphrasing Kendra Driscoll’s comments below:

“That is definitely a liverwort, probably a species of Frullania (Scalewort), which are a common sight on trees. Unlike lichens, liverworts and mosses are tiny plants that lack the vascular tissue that lets ferns, conifers and flowering plants grow tall. This article may be of interest (available in English and French I believe): https://canadianmuseumofnature.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/moss-and-lichen-wait-whats-the-difference/

The olive-coloured lichen is Melanohalea, a genus of "Camouflage Lichen" that typically has fruiting bodies like the ones shown in the photograph.”

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton