NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
February 15, 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
of Nature News
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 .
Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**On Monday
afternoon around 2:00 pm Anna Tucker was walking the Riverfront Trail behind the A
& W restaurant.
She photographed the very high New Moon perigee
tides lapping the shoreline as well as a Muskrat out on its mission.
**Dan Hicks and
his family went on a Northern Frontiers adventure from November 10-14, 2023.
They were very lucky that the ice still hadn't formed up so the Polar Bears
were plentiful waiting for their opportunity to head out and hunt seals. On their first morning on the tundra buggy, they encountered a fresh kill site where a
seal was caught overnight, and the bears were cleaning up what was left. Their guide said it was only the second time he'd seen that in 10 years of guiding.
An amazing adventure for sure and they hope to get back for the Beluga Whale
birthing season sometime. They see roughly 5000 belugas in the Churchill River
every summer. A spectacular place to visit.
They also spotted and photographed Willow Ptarmigan.
(Editor’s
note: the editor was able to make this journey by train to this amazing place
that is part of Canada several years ago. Every naturalist should have this on
their bucket list. As Dan has indicated, what a spectacular place to visit.)
**Bird-feeding
folks will often notice the many small tunnels through the snow around ground-fed
bird food. These tunnels are made by shrews/voles that are attracted to
forage on the seed. In backyards, it is suspected that it is predominantly
shrews. Shrews may be insectivores but are quite content to spice up their
winter diet with seeds.
We very rarely see them as they are quite strictly
nocturnal. Rheal Vienneau got a documentary video
of a few of these fast-moving critters working the
night shift to ground seed in his yard.
Take a look at the action at the link attached below:
**Brian Stone walked the trails around Irishtown
Nature Park on Wednesday afternoon and sends the few photos he managed to get.
He was unable to find any birds or other wildlife except a few Black-capped
Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches at a feeder near the rear
entrance to the trails.
(Editor’s note: it appears someone is leaving a
special treat of safflower seeds!)
He also
photographed what he thinks is a fresh sample of a Red-belted Polypore
fungus on the side of a tree.
**Red-winged Blackbirds are very common New
Brunswick birds, but they rarely stay with us during the winter.
Nelson Poirier had one young-of-the-year bird
appear at the feeders at the first of the season, and it has been a daily regular patron
ever since. It has been interesting to watch it develop into a teenage male who will be ready to meet its returning kin in a mere few months.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
