NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
April
1, 2025
Nature
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This query was posed to Richard Blacquiere, and who better to make
comments on that query? Richard lives near the lagoons and has been monitoring
their activity for many years.
Richard's informative response is paraphrased below:
“I have pondered that question since the turkey vultures began gathering there
years ago. Just speculation, but my guess is that they’re all young and/or
non-breeding birds. I used to think Hampton was a good place because it was
close to a DNR dead animal dump on the Ravine Road, about 7 km to the
NNE. However, people who have been there see lots of crows and ravens but
not vultures. And when the vultures head off in the morning or return in the
evening, it’s seldom in that direction.
So, I’m not sure why Hampton is the place. Possibly a learned tradition?-- Offspring following their parents in the late summer, somehow understanding it’s a safe place with reliable food not far away, then returning in following years to finish growing up. More speculation.
Currently, the birds appear to prefer the fenced-in area around the first pond. Does the fence give them a feeling of security? Inside the fence, disturbance is minimal, and water is easily accessible. Only a few hundred metres away are the big spruce trees where they roost at night. I liken them to human workers. They leave their house in the morning, stop at Tim’s for a drink and some social time with friends, then head off in various directions to their jobs.
That area along the fence isn’t mowed till late in the summer.
They’re less likely to be seen on the ground when the grass gets long. But they
still perch on the fence for a while in the morning before taking flight. I’m
going to suggest to the Hampton grounds maintenance staff that they keep that
area mowed in the summer. I think the vultures would appreciate it. I know I
would.
I’ve been meaning to write to the vulture researcher in Florida with
whom I used to correspond. He’s worked on vultures for years, so he might be
able to shed some light on why Hampton is a favoured location.”
(Editor’s note: My thought would be that Richard, who closely monitors this site and knows the local situation best, may be the
most qualified to comment.)
**Bob Blake in Second North River maintains daily weather statistics from
his home, including morning low temperatures, daily high temperatures, and
monthly precipitation.
Bob sends a table comparing the statistics of March 2024 with those of
March 2025.
The temperatures did not seem to vary greatly; however, precipitation did, with 83 mm more rainfall in March 2024 than in March 2025. Possibly, the first few days of April 2025 will make up for that.
(Editor’s note: the wise editor makes that unsubstantiated statement
after looking out the window this morning!)
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2024 |
2025 |
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morning
temperatures |
daily highs and
rainfall |
morning
temperatures |
daily highs and
rainfall |
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-14-1 day -9-1 -7-1 -6-1 -5-1 -4-4 -3-1 -2-1 -1-3 0-3 +1-1 +2-4 +4-2 +7-2 +9-1 |
+13-1 +11-1 +10-1 21 cms. snow 183 mms. rain |
-13-1 -12-1 -10-2 -9-1 -7-5 -5-1 -4-1 -3-1 -1-1 0-4 +1-4 +2-1 +3-3 +5-1 +7-1 +9-1 +10-1 +14-1 |
+15-2 +12-3 +10-2 30 cms. snow 100 |
**Last Friday and Saturday, as Brian Stone was scouting areas for the
solar eclipse and then going out to photograph it, he took many photos of the gulls,
long-tailed ducks, black scoters, and one song sparrow
that he encountered along the way. He also relocated the American coot
at Saint Edouard (in a pond just past the road to the wharf) that Robert
Shortall had found and documented several times over the last few weeks. Brian's
new camera is getting a lot of exercise, and it must be developing new muscles as it has become heavier over the last week. Brian wishes he could say the same
for himself.
(Editor’s note: gull photos this time of year can be a challenge. The winter plumage of the immature gulls is in the midst of molting at this time to the next year's plumage. Some of the adult gulls are losing their winter head streaking to become clean white (except for the great black-backed gull, whose head stays white all year as an adult). The ring-billed gulls, many of which may have just arrived from the south, all seemed to have lost their winter-streaked heads.
Perhaps there are too many long-tailed duck photos, but keep in mind that we won't be seeing them much longer!)
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
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