Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 10 2023

Jan 10, 2023

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**January is moving swiftly and so is the arrival of Nature Moncton Members Night on Tuesday, January 17. This is the one time of the year when members get a chance to share special moments in nature that happened over the year as a series of short vignettes of a subject chosen by the presenter. Start immediately to prepare a short presentation and advise President Fred Richards of the topic so he can arrange a great variety night. Contact Fred at fredrichards@rogers.com or call Fred at 334-0100.

NATURE MONCTON MEMBERS' NIGHT

TUESDAY JANUARY 17TH 2023, 7:00 PM

ROTARY PAVILION, MAPLETON PARK

Have you had an interesting encounter with nature in the past year? Have you taken some good photos of birds, insects, animals or anything else in the various habitats of New Brunswick? The January Nature Moncton meeting belongs to members like you who would like to share their photos and stories of that world in short 15-minute presentations.

If you have something you’d like to share, contact Fred Richards at fredrichards@rogers.com to put your name on the program.

Let’s start 2023 off the right way – by sharing with one another our positive experiences of the natural world around us!

**Jamie Burris shares some recent bird sightings in their Riverview backyard.

At the end of Dec, they had a flock of 15 Evening Grosbeaks visit. Most of the flock seemed to enjoy the sumac bush and sunflower offerings but one lone male seemed content to feed on Highbush Cranberries to Jamie’s surprise.

They have a Song Sparrow that has been a daily patron content to feed on the ground most of the time.

On Sunday, a flock of 4 House Finches arrived (2 male and 2 female) which fed on the ground and from their small hanging feeder. Karen witnessed a hawk swoop in and out of the yard sending all the birds into panic mode. She suspects it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

The male Northern Flicker is still around the area as Jamie heard it making its kakakakaka rattle call across the nearby ballfield.

** Shannon Inman got a distant photo of a Mink fishing through a hole in the ice on the Shepody River.

Shannon also photographed a Barred Owl just down the road from their home in Harvey. The time is nigh when owls will start calling to establish territories in preparation for the season ahead

Shannon recently came across a mass attached to a Birch tree.

A consult with Doug Hiltz at the Maritime School of Forest Technology resulted in his helpful opinion which is quoted below to help us understand the difference between burls and galls and to recognize that difference. Quoting Doug:

“Burls or galls (what we would normally call smaller ones) are chemically/hormonally induced swellings or outgrowths of cells in the woody tissues of trees (like a tumour) which can be caused by different types of pathogens. Most, however, are caused by either insects (mostly different types of midge flies) or bacterial infections. If insect-caused, they are usually used as overwintering sites/incubators for insect larva and as such tend to be at least partially hollow. In the spring there would also be exit holes present from the emerging insect. The vast majority of these galls are bacterial in nature though and I suspect this is the case on this little birch. You can see there is still a small dead twig coming out of the mass. When that shoot first started to emerge from a bud was probably when infection occurred. Many tissues/parts of a tree are susceptible to pathogen infection, in the spring in particular, as new shoots and leaves emerge and have not fully developed protective structures yet.”

**Anna Tucker recently visited the Sackville Waterfowl Park to find most of it frozen over; however, she did take note of some exposed fungal growths. One would appear to be a colourful Turkey Tail Mushroom while the other is suspected to be the Splitgill Mushroom (Schizophyllum commune). (Editor’s note: this is a suspected identification and corrections or other thoughts welcomed).

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton