St. John River outing
A lovely day on the river in canoes and kayaks with Kelly Honeyman leading the group. We were joined by plant expert Gart, naturalist Nelson Poirer and geologist Mark who helped tremendously with the flora and fauna identification.
Along with the flora we saw numerous osprey, great blue herons, delicate black catfish and multiple dragonflies of various sizes. What a super time!
Nature Sussex Field Trips Completed
Field trips archived
Hammond River Flood plain Field outing
May 11, 9am-noon
Meet at Tim Hortons parking lot (Main Street) where we’ll car pool and head out for a morning of discovery.
Skunk Cabbage ( Symplocarpus foetidus): Certainly not the prettiest flowers to bring home to your mom on this Mothers Day weekend, to say nothing to the smell (hint is in the latin). This member of the Arum family will be in full show on the 11th. We’ll have a close-up look and smell at these floral oddities while looking at some of the other plants along the Hammond River floodplain at Nauwigewauk.
Drake waterfowl will be in full courting colours in the nearby Hammond, so we’ll take the opportunity to witness the dating scene.
Bring rubber boots along with your hikers, binocs, camera and sun screen (because I always promise great weather!)
Questions? Contact me at (506) 832-7582 (home),text me at (506) 271-6567 (cell) or drop an email at kellyhoneyman@xplornet.ca
April 13th Spring Waterfowl Outing Jemseg
April 13th (9am) outing to Jemseg for the annual waterfowl watch. As always, meet at the Tim Hortons back parking lot at 638 Main St, Sussex for car pooling from there.
Jim Brown will be leading us out to the various spots along the St. John in the Lower Cambridge – Jemseg area. Bring some boots to get a bit closer to the water (if need be). Outing host is Kelly Honeyman.
Tracks and Twigs – Moss Glen Nature Trail
Join us for a winter snowshoe walk through the Moss Glen Nature Trail. Learn the natural and cultural history of this area as we explore the snow for winter wildlife and examine the diversity of trees and shrubs along the trail. Bring a mug for some delicious hot chocolate prepared on site and sample some “tremendous” treats in the snow.
As with most outdoor treks, there will be some uneven ground in the approaches to some of the sites. We plan on doing the trek on snowshoes but may switch to winter boots should the snow be too deep. Hiking poles are always a good idea.
Meet at the parking area behind the Tim Hortons on Main Street, Sussex for an opportunity to carpool with other members. The Moss Glen Nature Trail is located on the Williams Road, off Route 845, Clifton Royal (about 6 km from the Gondola Point (ferry)
As the weather can be unpredictable at this time of year, if you are at all interested in this outing, please email Kelly Honeyman at kellyhoneyman@xplornet.ca or call Kelly at (506) 832-7582. Postponement or other tour details can then be passed along to you. Come and Enjoy!
Warbler Walk Cancelled
Wood Warbler Walk in Fundy National Park has been scrubbed for this spring. Sorry!!
per Field coordinator Kelly Honeyman
Pending
June 2-4
The Festival of Nature 2023 (hosted by our sister club The Saint John Naturalist Club and Nature NB) has a number of outings happening
around southern NB. There are waterfowl walks, tours of facilities such as Crane Mountain Landfill, exploration of Little Salmon River and Walton Glen
and even a botany walk by our own Gart Bishop and Bruce Bagnell on the Black Beach Trail. These outings can be experienced for as little as $15.
Registration is required and some things will book up quickly, so clink on the link to view choices and sign up.
https://www.naturenb.ca/festival-of-nature-of-nature2023/
June 24, 2023
Dubee Settlement Orchids will be a 2-2.5km round trip to a cedar stand that hopefully with host a half dozen or more species of orchids.
May 20, 2023 9am – noon
Meet at: Parking lot behind Main Street Tim Hortons
Treemendous Tour In Picadilly guided by Brian Roulston
A 3km walk along a woods trail on a north facing slope amongst mostly mature hardwoods consisting of yellow birch, sugar maple, ironwood, clear beech and black ash. Scattered within the stands are red and white pine, red spruce and hemlock. This is an impressively diverse forest in itself but also within we’ll encounter species such as horse chestnut, butternut, basswood, shagbark hickory and a variety of oak species sourced from across Canada and the UK. Brian will talk of their origins, the trials of propagating and the delight in seeing them flourish in our southern NB climate. In addition, we’ll be witness to the abundance of spring wildflowers in this rich forest. Brian will also talk of the impact of geology to the site and its diversity.
The walk is on dry ground with approx. 150m in elevation change and a bit of a rough scramble through open woods at the end.
Questions?? Contact Kelly Honeyman (506-832-7582 kellyhoneyman@xplornet.ca)
March 25 8pm
An Owl Outing with Scott Makepeace
Scott Makepeace
April 29 (weather date April 30th) 8am
Annual Jemseg Waterfowl Outing
Denis Doucet
Parking lot behind Tim Hortons 638 Main Street , Sx
May 20 9am-noon
Treemendous Tour – Highlighting the unusual trees and smaller
plants of his property
Brian Roulston
Parking lot behind Tim Hortons 638 Main Street , Sx
June 2-4th
Nature NB AGM and Festival of Nature (location: Saint John)
Events: https://www.naturenb.ca/festival-of-nature/festival-of- nature-2023/
June 24th 9am-Noon
Dubee Settlement Orchids
Kelly Honeyman
Parking lot behind Tim Hortons 638 Main Street , Sx
October
Geology Walk: Hanford Brook
TBD
Parking lot behind Tim Hortons 638 Main Street , Sx
December
Annual Christmas Bird Count – Count Period: