Nature Miramichi:

On Monday this week Deana and I thought we had better check the nest boxes at Miramichi Marsh in advance of an expected thaw this week. In fact, the ice on the third pond that we didn’t need to cross looked very treacherous.

Tree Swallows:

There are 13 boxes that the club maintains. There are a few other that were installed by Ducks Unlimited in about 2006 but have become overgrown and are difficult to get to and don’t seem to have any swallow activity. Of the 13, twelve had nesting activity from last season. This is unusual in that the 6 boxes surrounding the western most island have tended to get little use other years. The 13th unused box, since re-located, was not in a very open area which the swallows prefer. Of the 12, 2 had very shallow nests of grass and a few feathers. Hard to say if they were successful nests. Two others had 11 eggs between them that were unhatched. The eggs in one did not seem to have embryos (1 was already open) while the eggs in the other did. One box was at a serious slant due to the failing post. The substantial nest was at an even more alarming angle for some reason. We found the remains of 2 hatchlings that seemed to have become smothered. As a clutch is usually 4 hatchlings, maybe 2 or so did survive. Two of the nests were very substantial with a lot of grass and a variety of feathers. They looked very cozy with deep “pockets”. None of the boxes had been “squatted” by mice of flying squirrels.

Ducks:

There are 7 duck boxes that are monitored and the results are submitted to Ducks Unlimited. Two of the boxes were on snags that collapsed. They are frozen in at the moment but can hopefully be retrieved. Of the other 5 boxes there were no signs of nesting activity. This is usually the case each year. That is not to say there was no

nesting activity at the Marsh last season. Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers were present all season and Northern Shovelers, Wood Ducks, American Wigeons, Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal were seen quite often.

Peter and Deana

This chart will be brought up to date every few days when there are new sightings to add, from December 1, 2023 until February 29 2024 – listing the birds sighted in Northumberland County this winter.

Begin forwarded message:

From: gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca
Date: October 7, 2023 at 7:24:07 AM ADT
To: Peter and Deana Gadd <gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Updated Northumberland County Bird Checklist



image.jpg

Hi Everyone,

This is a reminder of our monthly meeting this coming Tuesday, Oct. 3,

(6:30 p.m. Sr. Citizens’ Center, 26 Sutton Rd. Nelson, Miramichi.)

Our guest speaker is Denis Doucet presenting via Zoom. Denis, who long time members might recall, was one our leaders when Nature Miramichi hosted the Festival of Nature in 2013.

His topic on Tuesday will be Dragonflies and Damsel Flies of New Brunswick. Denis is an experienced researcher in this field. For instance, a check of the INaturalist database indicates he has recorded 115 species of these insects, 22 in the Miramichi Watershed, some quite rare. He has 959 entries all tolled on INaturalist.

Denis has been employed with Parks Canada, stationed at one time at Kouchibouguac N.P. and more recently at Fundy N.P. His presentation will be an interesting one.

This presentation will be available live via Zoom and with luck recorded for later viewing by those who will be away on Tuesday. I will send the link along on Monday for live participation. .

A reminder also that our meeting format has changed and we no longer include a business meeting in the monthly gathering. We are emphasising instead a longer enhanced “Snack and Chat” following the presentation. Meetings will of course conclude earlier than in the past.

The club’s executive held a productive business meeting last week via Zoom, the minutes of which will be distributed in a few days time.

Peter

Past Pres.

Nature Miramichi

Hi There,

1.On Saturday fourteen Nature Miramichi club members and friends spent several hours visiting the McKay Brook – Gordon Meadows Brook ancient portage trail. The weather was absolutely perfect and it seemed everyone enjoyed the excursion.

This portage project has been on the go for more than a decade (our club`s first visit was in 2013!), an initiative of Canoe/Kayak NB and led by Tim Humes with great assistance from Robert Doyle. There are other such portage trail developments in other parts of the province. ANCIENT PORTAGE TRAILS | canoekayaknb

2.Dave McLeod and Jim Saunders did an extensive survey of the flora, fauna and “funga” along the portage trail, some time ago. It was really great that they both were able to join us on Saturday. Tim has asked that I include in this email their documentation which is quite extensive. There are three pdf files attached. Should you visit the portage trail you could have them with you on a smart phone or tablet for reference Tim suggests. Also on our club’s website and hundreds of images associated with this project and the work of Jim and Dave. https://miramichinaturalistclub.com/mckay-brook-photos/

3.Here is a link to some photos taken by me and others, I am hoping for more contributions to this album. Included are some of the “natural elements” we encountered.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAVUMC

Some have been entered on INaturalist.

4. Thanks was extended to Tim on Saturday for the effort and thoughtfulness he put into the planning and preparing for this outing. Those able to go Saturday are very appreciative. Thanks again TIM.

Peter

Report – mckay-brook-portage-natural-communities-description-520160831.pdf

Table 1 – mckay-brook-portage-natural-communities-1-to-10-20160830.pdf

Table 2 – mckay-brook-portage-natural-communities-11-to-14-20160710.pdf

Hi All,

As Sept. approaches it seems time for a little up-date regarding Nature Miramichi. Hence this NEWSLETTER.

There are 5 sections below.

1.Our first meeting for the new season is as usual on the first Tuesday of September, which is the 5th (6:30 p.m.). Those who attended the June meeting at Miramichi Marsh will recall that the club executive has decided on a new approach to our monthly meetings. We will have guest speaker to present and answers questions for the first 75 to 90 minutes which will be followed by an informal time for members to chat amongst themselves, share recent nature experiences and enjoy some refreshments. There will not be a business meeting portion to our monthly get together. The executive will meet separately for whatever administrative decisions need to be made and will of course keep members informed and involved and “in the loop” through emails and so on. Our monthly meetings then are likely to conclude no later than 8:30.

Our guest speaker for the Sept. meeting is Lewnanny Richardson. He is a species at risk specialist with Nature NB and has worked for many years with Piping Plovers, particularly monitoring nesting sites along the NB shoreline of the Northumberland Straight.

2. We had two field trips which were quite well attended and very interesting. The first was to the abandoned Woodburn Farm in Bushville, exploring what is left of the buildings and the processes of succession, the flora and the fauna. Our second trip was to join the group tour of the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre in South Esk. The hatchery is the oldest in Canada, having its 150th anniversary this year. Several of us also led nature tours at French Fort Cove for day campers attending the Miramichi Recreation Departments summer camps. We enjoyed the company of a number of quite enthusiastic youngsters.

3. Deana is planning for volunteers from our club to participate in a shoreline clen-up at Strawberry Marsh on Saturday August 26th for a couple of hours starting at 9:30. More details will follow. This is part of Nature Trust NB’s Great Fundy Coastal Clean-up (Saturday Aug. 19th Details – Great Fundy Coastal Cleanup — Nature Trust of New Brunswick) for which they have been encouraging participation throughout the province.

(Deana has a prior commitment for the 19th)

4. Over the last week or so there has been quite a bit of interest amongst some of us, in the sighting of a juvenile Turkey Vulture off the Creaghan Gulch trail at French Fort Cove. This is the first record of Turkey Vultures breeding in Northumberland County. Hiker Joey Savoy was able to photograph and video-record the young bird in fledgling plumage a few days ago. Dave McLeod is hoping that we might be able to locate the nest nearby, perhaps by honing in on strong odors from left-over feeding remains! Dave, by the way, is putting the finishing touches on a revision of the bird inventory for Northumberland County, a list that was originally compiled in the 1980’s and has had a couple of revisions since. The fact that the Turkey Vulture has been shown to breed here will of course be indicated in the revised list. There are 291 species on the list that includes very rare visitors as well as migrants and full year around residents.

5. It is time to take out your club membership for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Adult membership is $20.00 and family $40.00. These funds cover hall rental, speaker honouraria and website maintenance costs. (domain name and an ad free site)

You can pay by e-transfer to Dave Goforth at go4uth or by cheque/cash at the Sept. meeting.

Peter

Past President

on behalf of the club’s executive

Nature Miramichi is planning a field trip to the Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre (fish hatchery) in South Esk on Wednesday August 2. We will meet at 10:45 am for an 11 am guided tour. See attached map. There is a cost of $10 per adult or $5 per child under 12 years old.

Visit this link for more information about the centre:

Miramichi Salmon Conservation Centre – Miramichi Salmon Association

Do you have summer visitors? Bring them along to see Canada’s oldest operating fish hatchery, established 150 years ago. It is located at 485 Route 420 in South Esk.

Deana

From: Sonya Hinds <lrn306@yahoo.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2023 5:13 PM
To: gadd1313@nb.sympatico.ca
Subject: Lady slippers at French fort cove today

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

The warblers are back, the leaves are just leafing out, so it is a good time now for “warbler walks”. Nature Miramichi members will be at French Fort Cove, Newcastle side parking lot at 7:30 am, Thursday May 18 and will welcome non-members to join them. Although we are interested in seeing warblers, those often brightly coloured and vocal songbirds, we will observe other birds as we walk the main trail of the cove. Binoculars are useful if you have them and cameras or smartphones – but not necessary. It will be cool to start, so dress in layers, and the bugs are also emerging. We could be out for 2 hours or more, but you can leave when you want. If you can’t make this warbler walk we will be having another one next week.

Contact Deana (dhgadd@nb.sympatico.ca) if any questions.

Hi Nelson,

These two White-crowned Sparrows have been with us for 3 or 4 days. Today we looked at them a little more closely. The subject of the second photo shows a few differences from the subject in the first, it perhaps being the normal eastern White-crowned Sparrow.

The most obvious difference is the very clear white throat, much like the White-throated Sparrow, also there is no black at the base of the beak. The black line through the eye is almost non-existent. The hind quarters seem more tan in colour.

Deana has done some hurried research and suggests that the second White-crowned Sparrow is an “Intergrade”, the product of two sub-species of the same species, rather than a hybrid, the product of two different species.

I must work harder at “seeing” rather than just “looking”!!! 😊

Peter