Nature Moncton Nature News: Jan 2 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Jan 2, 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 thanks to Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** John Inman got a distant photo through a rainy back window of his Harvey, Albert County home Sunday morning appearing to show a male Ruddy Duck in company with a Mallard Duck.

** Jane and Ed LeBlanc in St. Martins were on the beach there on New Years Day in beautiful, mild conditions, and found a strand of kelp, measuring at least 8 feet long from root to tip.

At home in their yard, Jane noticed a small flock of something different, which turned out to be Pine siskins. They have only been coming one at a time with American Goldfinches, but on Sunday approximately 10 were in the yard.

**Richard Blaquiere had an interesting encounter Saturday in the parking lot of the Parkway Mall in Saint John. A few days ago, he spotted a Ring-billed Gull with 2 metal leg
bands. Richard went back Sunday with his camera and managed to get photos which confirmed it was the same individual that he had photographed nearly 4 years ago
on 19 Jan 2019 in a McAllister Mall parking lot approximately 350 meters away. At that time, he learned from the banding office it was banded as a sub-adult on February 20, 2009, at Hager Pond in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
That means this gull is now a little over 16 years old. Interesting to note that it is carrying 2 metal leg bands. One is the federal band with its unique identifying number 0974-10824. The other is what remains of a locked band that used to carry a numbered plastic tag which has since fallen off. Richard
attaches 2 photos taken Saturday, 31 Dec 2022, plus another of the same bird from 19 Jan 2019.

As a bonus, a second banded Ring-billed Gull was also present. It also was sporting 2 metal bands, but the second band isn't a locked band. Richard will send the photos to the banding office. If they can identify the bird from what they can decipher of the numbers on the band, Richard will update.

**Included today are several gull photos Brian Stone took on December 30 in the area of the Rue Niles wharf in Cap-Pele. The photos include different gull species in different stages of molting maturity. Late December is usually a good time to judge maturity ages as molt to summer would normally not be started yet.
Molting is a work in progress to make variability more possible but certain features tend to stand out to make a good guesstimate.
Richard Blaquiere and Nelson Poirier spent a rewarding time sharing thoughts on the ages and maturity level of the series of gull photos to come up with suggested labeling.
Other thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

**Bob Blake maintains daily weather statistics from his Second North River home including morning low temperatures, daily high temperatures, and monthly precipitation.

Bob sends a chart comparing those parameters between December 2021 and December 2022.

Bob’s records show the morning temperature average to be higher in 2022; however, daily highs seem to be quite comparable for the two months. That could be suggestive as to why the monthly precipitation was weighted to rain in 2022.

2021

2022

morning temperatures

daily highs and rainfall

morning temperatures

daily highs and rainfall

+8-1 day

+7-1

+4-1

+2-3

0-1

-1-2