Nature Miramichi:

Nature Miramichi will once again visit the Nature Trust NB’s Dolan Woodland Nature Preserve in Nelson on Saturday October 26th. This year’s visit plans to explore more of the Miramichi Cross Country Ski Club’s trail that passes through the preserve. (Access to this trail is through Stewart’s Camp off the ATV trail.) The weather looks to be quite good for a fall day. The photo below was taken on last year’s visit, almost to the day. Sturdy footwear or rubber boots are recommended, there might be the occasional wet spot. We will meet on Sutton Rd. at the ATV trail intersection for 10:00 a.m. See Map attached. We will be in the area for approximately 2 hours. Everyone is welcome. We will be checking out the preserve in order to prepare a stewardship report for Nature Trust NB.

1. A Reminder of our first presentation at our September meeting this coming Tuesday the 3rd at 7:00 pm at the Sr. Citizens’ Centre, 26 Sutton Rd, Nelson, Miramichi.

Details regarding speaker, Neil Vinson of Fundy National Park, and his topic, are attached. Neil will be presenting in person.

This presentation will be available for club members and guests to participate via Zoom. I will send the link out on Monday.

2. Please find attached an illustrated! report on Nature Miramichi’s recent field trip to Hay Island.
3. Also attached is the New Brunswick Environmental Networks list of events for September.
4. From Tim:

I thought the club members would enjoy these plus on opening the site, one can also check out some previous years.

https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/winners-2024-canadian-wildlife-photography-of-the-year-competition/

Nature Miramichi’s Visit to Hay Island August 27th 2024.pdf

Events Sept. 2024.pdf

Nature Miramichi’s Presentation Sept. 3rd 2024.pdf

FYI
Hazen Sweeney let me know yesterday that the trails around the ponds of Miramichi Marsh had been mowed and the areas around the benches were also cleared. Hazen sent along a photo of recently fledged Eastern Kingbirds.

Deana and I went over for a couple of hours this morning and had a very lovely walk. The trails have been well mowed. The swath is wide but that is necessary as by early August plants such as Tansy grow very tall and collapse inward making walking very difficult in places.

We recorded 34 bird species. Included were a fledgling Downy Woodpecker being fed by a dad, a fledgling Black and White Warbler calling for attention . The other day there were little fluff-ball fledgling Spotted Sandpipers. There are Mallard and Hooded Merganser Ducklings, not to forget the rapidly growing juvenile Canada Geese. No doubt there are other young families. We saw 4 species of shorebirds: resident Spotted Sandpipers, Wilson Snipe and Killdeer and at least 2 transient Solitary Sandpipers. A very pleasant stroll but it was getting quite warm by 9:00 am. Mosquitoes were not a problem.

Peter and Deana

1. NATURE MIRAMICHI VISIT TO MIRAMICHI MARSH TUESDSY JUNE 4, 2024

Sixteen members and guests enjoyed a “bug-free” 2 hours exploring Miramichi Marsh.
The conditions were very good, moderate temperature, moderate breeze and clear skies. A perfect spring evening. Photo attached.
There were lots to see in terms of plants, birds and mammals. Perhaps a highlight was the chance to see a Pied-billed Grebe constructing a floating nest mid-pond. It had another grebe floating nearby watching. Perhaps a male was trying to impress a female with his building skills. Three or four Eastern Kingbirds were making themselves available as they perched in the open looking for passing insects to grab. There is a newly constructed nest in the same dead tree used last year by this species, the branch hanging out over water which is a favourite security technique that is used by Kingbirds. It will be interesting to watch the nestlings being fed in a couple of weeks. Some people were able to catch a glimpse of a Wilson’s Snipe in flight as well as a glimpse of a Sora in amongst some reeds. The aerobatic Tree Swallows were having a good evening it seemed, flying over the ponds catching heir insect prey. A pair of Gadwall ducks were also enjoying the evening. This species has become more common in the Miramichi area over the past few years. Spotted Sandpipers were very active too. A total of 24 bird species was identified, evenings not really being the ideal time for birding. A beaver was seen going about its business as well of course several muskrats. Miramichi Marsh ponds are in good shape, the water level in both main ponds is back to normal, partly due to the “contraption” at the east end that prevents beavers from plugging the leveling culvert.

2. METEPENAGIAG NATURE TRAIL VISIT SATURDAY JUNE 1, 2024

Deana made a Flickr account to share photos of the wildflower walk at Metepenagiag on June 1.

Metepenagiag wildflower walk June 1 2024 | Flickr

She can’t believe she didn’t take a photo of the striking Green False Hellebore also known as Indian Poke (Veratrum viride) so found one from Peter’s photos from last year, attached.

Nature Miramichi is having a field trip to look for spring wildflowers at Metepenagiag Heritage Park in Red Bank this Saturday June 1. (Sorry about the short notice.) Last year we saw lots of interesting species, but with an early spring we may see different ones this year.

There are 1.8 km of trails that are fairly easy walking and are free of charge for users. Those who wish to visit the displays at the Heritage Park or check out the gift shop can do so later, the fees were $8 adult or $6 senior last year.

Everyone is welcome to join us including children although younger children may be impatient with the slow pace of a botany walk! You don’t have to be a club member to attend. We will meet at the parking of the Sunny Corner Irving at 9:30 am, the park is just a few minutes away. If you arrive late and want to see what trail we are on send a text to Peter at (506) 625-2509. Sunny Corner is about 25 minutes from Newcastle.

Although it is a botany walk, we won’t restrict ourselves to plants only. There is a very active Bank Swallow colony and we could see some other not so common birds. Last year a Black-billed Cuckoo was heard but not seen.

Deana

Hi All,

A, Please find attached the minutes from last Tuesday’s Nature Miramichi Annual General Meeting as well as the annual financial report.

In this age of re-cycling it was determined that the club’s executive should follow suit. There is a significant upgrade however.

President – Mathieu Carroll
Vice-president – Peter Gadd

Treasurer – Dave Goforth

Secretary – Sonya Hinds

Congratulations Mattieu, I am sure he will receive full support from everyone.

Assisting greatly in the club’s functioning:

1.Program Committee Chair – Pam Watters. Pam has done a wonderful job in this role. It would be helpful if anyone has an idea for a monthly presentation, Sept. to May please let Pam know.

2.Field Tips Committee Chair – Deana Gadd. Deana too would be very happy to hear of suggestions for field trips from club members.

B, The membership rates have not changed. $20.00 for an individual and $40.00 for a family. As we are in a new fiscal year dues are due! One way to join up is to send Dave Goforth an e-transfer. His email is go4uth . Security question not required.

C, Speaking of field trips the club had its first Warbler Walk this past Monday. The weather was perfect. There were 14 club members and friends attending. Photo attached. We saw/heard upwards of 30 species. Here is a link to Deana’s

Checklist. https://ebird.org/checklist/S174218033
Other birders may have reported one or two other species. The second Warbler Walk is planned for this Saturday at 7:30, meeting at the FFC parking lot across from the curling club. Weather permitting.

D, I sent out a follow-up to last Tuesday’s informative and interesting presentation by Nelson Poirier about Black-legged Ticks, the dangers and preventative measures. Here is the link again to the recording of that presentation.

https://youtu.be/Z4x3lggKsw4?si=qHh7fmp2GJx_BQWJ

Peter

Vice President

Nature Miramichi

AGM May 7, 2024.docx

financialreport2324_05annual.pdf

Nature Miramichi is having a “Warbler Walk” at French Fort Cove on Monday May 13. Non-members are welcome to join us. Warblers are small, colourful songbirds that are just returning to the north from their southern wintering locations. We will catch the early migrants in our first walk, species such as the Pine, Myrtle and Black-and-white Warblers and the Northern Parula.
We will meet at the main parking lot on the Newcastle side on Cove Road (across from the curling club) at 730 am. People are welcome to join later, we will walk the trail in a clockwise direction. Binoculars are useful but you don’t need to have them. Much birding is done by ear, so if you have a smartphone the free Merlin app is very useful for song ID. The walking is at a slow pace, we could be out 2 to 3 hours, but you can come and go as you wish. Although birding is our focus, we also enjoy looking at plants and not so much, the bugs (but know they are why we have the birds)

Deana

05 NM Annual Executive Report May 2024.pdf

I am sending this meeting notice out a little earlier than usual. Attached below is a link to 7 local interesting publications from the turn of the Last century!

1.One concern for Tuesday April 2 is that we do not have anyone identified who can provide snacks for this gathering. If you are able to do this, please let me know.

2.Another note of interest is an announcement today from the New Brunswick Museum:

New Brunswick Museum design unveiled, $108M in funding secured (msn.com)

3.About our meeting Tuesday:

Our speaker for our monthly meeting on Tuesday April 2nd is Shaun O’Reilly. (26 Sutton Rd. Nelson) Shaun is a lifelong resident of Miramichi and is a Anglophone School District North teacher. He has been president of the Miramichi History Museum for 23 years. The Miramichi History Museum amalgamated with the Natural History Association of Miramichi a number of years ago and maintains the latter’s museum collection as part of it’s overall collection.

His presentation:

“My presentation will be focused on the history of the Miramichi Natural History Association and the Miramichi History Museum. I’ll also be talking about the current state, and operations, of our museum.”

4.Some Background:

Here is a link to turn of the last century’s publications of the Natural History Association of Miramichi. The association was created in 1897. There are 7 issues of the publications which were issued every two years from 1899 to 1913 with the exception of 1907 for which it seems there was not a publication. No doubt the association was severely affected by World War One hence it seems no further publication after 1913 may have been produced. The documents make fascinating reading and include articles which can be considered personal accounts of local social history.

Matthieu Carroll shared this link with us two years ago so this might be “old” news to some.

I didn’t look as closely to this at the time as I might have.

Proceedings of the Natural History Association of Miramichi : Natural History Association of Miramichi : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

There is a lot of content in these 7 publications: An article about Winter Birds in 1899 in Volume 1 By J. McGregor Baxter, M.D. makes for interesting reading, for instance.

Peter