NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
January 16, 2024
Nature Moncton members as well as
any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and
descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition
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**The
January Nature Moncton meeting will be starting off 2024 with a special
double-bill presentation by raptor guru Todd Watts tonight Tuesday, January 16
at 7:00 PM.
Susan
Atkinson, who oversees what comes out of the kitchen at break time, comments that treats contributed by participants would be welcomed!
Details
of Todd's presentation are below:
** Nature Moncton January Meeting
Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 7:00 pm
Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge
Subject: Raptors, Raptors, Raptors!
Presenter: Todd Watts
This presentation will be approximately a two-hour
session with a mid-time break to provide everything a naturalist really needs
to know about diurnal raptors from one of New Brunswick’s best.
Join Todd Watts, the founder of the Greenlaw
Mountain Hawk Watch, for a discussion on how to identify birds of prey. As an
avid hawk watcher, Todd has spent over 5,000 hours scanning the skies in search
of hawks. This experience has provided a great opportunity for him to develop
significant skills in the art of raptor identification.
During this two-hour presentation, we will explore
some of the finer points of distinguishing one raptor from another. Special
attention will be given to particular challenges, such as the difficult ID
points that separate the Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, and Northern
Goshawk. If time allows, all the regularly occurring species of diurnal raptors
will be covered.
This will be a virtual presentation to be shared
with anyone wanting to get up to speed on raptor ID.
The presentation will be on the screen at the
Mapleton Rotary Lodge. The audience
present and the virtual audience will both be able to interact with Todd.
To connect virtually, click on the following link:
Join our
Cloud HD Video Meeting
All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.
**An unexpected surprise visitor was found in Tabusintac
on Monday when Elvis Benoit came across a lethargic Purple Gallinule around Route 460.
Anne Assaff from Nature Miramichi got a message
from the Atlantic Wildlife Institute about the incident and then alerted
Mathieu Carroll who went to the address and brought the bird back to Miramichi
where Mathieu and Robert Shortall continued the bird on its journey to the
Atlantic Wildlife Institute in Cookville (near Sackville) for assessment and
appropriate rehabilitation.
(Editor’s
note: this bird is a long way from home which should be Florida, into Mexico,
and Central America at this time. It has presumably been brought here by recent weather
systems which means we may be in for more surprises.
This
is not the first time a Purple Gallinule has paid an unintentional visit to New
Brunswick in winter.
Many years ago, a similar winter rescue
occurred with the bird ending up with frozen digits leading to necessary leg removal. That
bird spent several happy years in the greenhouse of Mary Majka and David
Christie.
Peter
Gadd recalls the Purple Gallinule that spent much of spring in Lavillette, NB
in 2009 with more fortunate timing. It appeared to enjoy its stay and was
visited by many admirers as it went about foraging in a wet wooded area.)
**
Christine
Lever and Barbara Smith took advantage of the sunny weather on Monday to get
out for a nice long walk when they heard some chittering and whistling sounds
above their heads. They looked up to see dozens of waxwings gathered in a
tree, having a good old natter while they feasted on dried-up fruit. They were too
far below to get a photo of any individual birds with their phone, but the
attached video link will give a view of the size of the feeding frenzy. They watched
them for a couple of minutes before they all flew off in a flurry when a passing
truck interrupted.
(Editor’s
note: at this time of year, default would expect this flock to be Bohemian
Waxwings; however, with the warmer seasonal temperatures and more Cedar Waxwings
overwintering, closer images would be necessary to be certain.)
Take a look at the action at the link below:
**Brian
Coyle’s trail camera setup continues to provide pleasant snapshots of wildlife
in its natural environment.
Brian
shares two video links that captured a River Otter going about his
mission on a frozen beaver pond near Moncton. We just don’t get the chance very
often to see this animal on its own turf unaware of human ‘presence’.
Brian’s
trail camera also captured a Bobcat casually strolling in its territory.
Brian assumes it is one of the family of three that he has found investigating
his camera area recently.
Check
out the action at the links Brian shared below:
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
