You are cordially invited to attend the next Nature Sussex meeting which will be held on Monday, November 27th, 2023 at St Marks Anglican Church, 6 Needle Ave, Sussex Corner, NB. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm.
Following the business meeting, a lively and informative discussion and presentation on feeding birds will be delivered, led by our president Denis Doucet. This will be our final meeting of 2023, as traditionally there is no meeting held in December because of the holidays. Our first meeting of the new year is scheduled for
Monday, January 22nd, 2024.
Denis has been feeding birds off and on since the 1980s. He worked several years in nature stores and once owned a business where he sold bird feeders, birding optics, and feed. He hopes to lead discussions touching on the ins and outs of feeding birds, what types of food and feeders are most effective, and how to minimize the attraction of certain “undesirables” in particular cases. Emphasis will also be placed on avoiding disease transmission in wild birds, given the current situation with certain illnesses occurring in our region.
You are cordially invited to attend the next Nature Sussex meeting which will be held on Monday, November 27th, 2023 at St Marks Anglican Church, 6 Needle Ave, Sussex Corner, NB. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm.
Flora, fauna and History of Kent Island, NB
Speaker: Naturalist Gart Bishop
Learn some history of the island and its animal and plant life at the most explored location in New Brunswick.
Gart will tell the story of how Kent Island, 6 km from Grand Manan, came to be a wildlife sanctuary owned by an American college. Gart will also inform us about the island’s petrels, albatrosses, rare flycatchers, muskrats, hares and some of the flora.
Everyone is Welcome!
Meeting on Monday October 23 at 7 PM at St. Marks Anglican Church hall in Sussex Corner.
Good Morning – Change to Field trip location for Nature Sussex.
A slight change to the location of the geology tour scheduled for next Saturday, October 14th.
Meet at parking lot behind Tim Hortons (Main Street location) at 9am. We can car pool from there as parking might be limited in some spots
Duration: 2hr+
Higher than normal water levels on the Upper Hammond and its tributaries means getting to and viewing the Hanford Brook area fossils is not a possibility this fall but our geologist guide (Steve Rossiter – DNRED/MRNDE) has found a couple of alternative sites to explore in the Waterford area, centering around the various rock outcrops and sinkholes of the area and how these formed.
Short hikes into the sites but uneven ground so bring good footwear and perhaps a pair of rubber boots in a pack (just in case the sites are more damp than usual ). If the impending storm does not rip the leaves off the trees, the foliage should be breathtaking on the drive to the sites. Might want to bring a camera.
Please forward this to all that you might think interested but it would be great if those thinking of coming could email me so we have a estimate on numbers as well as emails in case plans change between then and now.
Kelly
(506) 832-7582
Geology of the Sussex Area Field Trip
Date/Time: Saturday, October 14, 9am – noon – THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN UPDATED – SEE ABOVE
Geologists Steven Rossiter and Sue Johnson, Department of the Natural Resources and Energy Development department will lead a tour of the surficial (relating to the Earth’s surface) geology around the Sussex area including fossils and massive folds (anticlines) of the bedrock around Hanford Brook.
As with most outdoor treks, there will be some uneven ground in the approaches to some sites. Good hiking boots and perhaps hiking poles would be a good idea.
Meet at the parking area behind the Tim Hortons on Main Street, Sussex for an opportunity to car pool with other members.
As the weather can be quite unpredictable at this time of year, I’d ask that if you are at all interested in this outing, please email me at kellyhoneyman@xplornet.ca or call me at (506) 832-7582 so that postponement or additional tour details can be passed along efficiently.
Thank you
Kelly Honeyman, Nature Sussex Field Coordinator
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Membership Meeting Archive
Nature Sussex September Meeting
Monday, September 25, 2023, 7:00 PM
St. Marks’ Anglican Church Hall, 4 Needle Street, Sussex Corner
Guest speaker Denis Doucet, President of Nature Sussex
Please join us for the first Nature Sussex meeting of this new season. It will be a time to get together, renew our membership, and share stories of what has likely been a busy summer in nature for many of us. Following the business meeting, there will be a presentation on:
Flower Flies
Did you know? Flower Flies (Family Syrphidae), also known as Hover Flies are a crucial part of our ecosystem. As pollinators, they are likely second only to bees in overall importance. Moreover, New Brunswick is home to well over 200 species of the flies! Many are strikingly patterned; and, if that isn’t enough, the larvae of some species are important predators of pests such as aphids. What’s not to love? Come find out more about these fabulous fly friends in a richly illustrated talk which is sure to please. There will also be a little musical surprise at the end of the presentation.
April 24, 2023 We invite you to Nature Sussex’s April 2023 meeting. The meeting will be on Monday evening, April 24th at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 4 Needle St in Sussex Corner. Masks are encouraged, but not required. The meeting begins at 7 pm and the presentation at 7:30 pm.
Did you know that:
- New Brunswick has over 140 species of dragonflies and damselflies, which is more than is found in all of Europe.
- A species of dragonfly that occurs in New Brunswick and is widespread globally actually has the longest migration of any insect, even further than the Monarch butterfly.
- The order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) is one of the oldest groups of insects found on the planet. They have been around for more than 300 million years!
Come and learn more about this fascinating and important group of insects that are dragonflies in a rich presentation using imagery, notes, quotes, and anecdotes. This engaging, visually stunning, and thought-provoking presentation will be provided by our own Denis Doucet, new President of Nature Sussex.
Since the mid-1980s, Denis has been a naturalist and avid nature photographer, observing, studying, and photographing dragonflies and other living things. He currently resides in Sussex Corner and works at Fundy National Park as a Heritage Interpreter, a job he loves and has done with Parks Canada for close to a quarter-century. He has taught Ornithology at l’Université de Moncton (1999-2003) and is a former assistant zoologist, then zoologist with the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre (ACCDC, 2003-2009). He has also worked as a naturalist with The Irving Eco-centre la Dune de Bouctouche from 1996-2001 and as a long-time hiking and nature guide with Fundy Hiking and Nature Tours (1995-2008). His images of birds and insects have been published in more than a dozen nature guides and books, including Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East by Dennis Paulson (Princeton Field Guides, 2011), A Field Guide to Flower Flies of Northeastern North America by Jeffery Skevington and Michelle Locke (2019), the Flower Flies of Minnesota by Scott King (2021), the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Maritime Provinces (many authors, 2015), The Beetles of North America by Arthur V. Evans (2014), Pacific Northwest Insects by Merrell Peterson (2018) and the forthcoming (2023) Butterflies of Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces by Philip deMaynadier, John Klymko, Ronald G. Butler, W. Herbert Wilson Jr., and John V. Calhoun, among others.
March 27, 2023
You are cordially invited to Nature Sussex’s March, 2023 meeting. The meeting will be held on Monday evening, March 27th at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 4 Needle St in Sussex Corner. Masks are not required but encouraged. Our speaker will be Ben Whalen, who is the project manager with the Kennebecasis Watershed Restoration Committee (KWRC). In addition to all the valuable watershed monitoring and restoration work this group has been conducting in the region for several decades, did you know the KWRC has recently been installing bat houses throughout the watershed to help with the recovery of our endangered bat species? Ben will be delivering a lively and engaging presentation that will give an overview of many projects including this one that the KWRC is conducting. The talk will begin at 7:30 and there will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and questions throughout the evening. A short biography of our speaker: Ben Whalen started working with the KWRC in 1995 as a Habitat Technician and worked here for three summers after he received his diploma in Environmental Technology at NBCC Miramichi. After pursuing various contracts and other opportunities in his field, he returned to the KWRC as Project Manager in 2007. Ben loves the fact that he can work in his field and make a positive difference here in his hometown. Ben and his wife, Michelle, raise their two children and attempt a garden while living in Sussex. Ben also loves to reap the rewards of his work as an avid angler and can often be found wading down local streams casting a line as often as he can be found measuring their depths and widths. His familiarity and passion for the Kennebecasis watershed have proven to be an asset for the KWRC and he wants to continue to improve the watershed while also improving local communities.
March 25, 2023
Details on Owl Prowl
Scott Makepeace, avid birder and lead Biologist with DNR will meet members at the parking lot behind the Tim Hortons in Sussex (638 Main St) at 8pm on Saturday, March 25. He’ll talk a bit on owl life history and then group will car pool for drive out to area south of Picadilly Mtn where we’ll do some calls.
In case of snow, the date will be pushed to April 1st, same time/place. Questions ? Call Kelly at 636-1982 during day or 832-7582 at night.
February 27, 2023
Come join Nature Sussex for our monthly meeting! The meeting will be held on Monday evening, February 27th at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 4 Needle St in Sussex Corner. The meeting will begin at 7 pm. All are welcome!
Topic: Pollinator Garden at Fundy National Park
Beginning at 7:30 pm Neil Vinson will be delivering a lively, informative presentation on a wonderful project that is the pollinator garden in Fundy National Park.
Neil Vinson:
Originally from Halifax, NS, Neil has been living in Moncton since graduating from the Maritime College of Forest Technology in 2014. Shortly after graduation, Neil started working in resource conservation at Fundy National Park, where he is now in his ninth year. Neil’s love of plants and birds started in school but flourished during his time spent at Fundy. In his day-to-day work, Neil conducts forest bird monitoring, battles with invasive plants, and measures forest growth in permanent sample plots. Neil has been involved with Fundy’s 400m2 native plant pollinator garden since its inception in 2019 – adding new species, knocking back overly-aggressive ones, weeding, and performing general maintenance. Through this work, Neil has developed a passion for gardening with native plants and spreading the word on the importance of reintroducing our native species back into our urban landscapes.”