Nature Moncton Nature News

Friday 26 April 2024

April 27 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 27, 2024

Nature Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**Louise Nichols found what looked to be a pellet in the woods, just below her trail cam on Friday. The pellet was very light weight, about four inches long, and consisting mostly of fur and some bones. Louise broke the pellet into four pieces and could see a small skull in one of the pieces. The skull was about one cm. in length. The pellet was close to the trail cam, but unfortunately, none of the videos on the trail cam revealed the creature who left it.

In consultation with Alyre Chiasson, his interesting reply is:

“Looks like a Short-tailed Shrew skull. See here: https://craniatescuriosities.com/2023/08/15/short-tailed-shrew-skull-00550/

The reddish-brown color of the teeth is also an indicator, plus no canine teeth. I don't know of any mammal that regurgitates skulls.”

**More Glossy Ibis!

On Friday Gordon Rattray went to the Hillsborough wetland ponds to record specimens for the Nature New Brunswick bioblitz and observed many birds on the water. The highlight for Gordon was the discovery, with the assistance of another birder from Cocagne, of a single Glossy Ibis. Many waterfowl were observed, American Wigeon, Canada Goose, Gadwall pair, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and Northern Shoveler. There were Palm Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, and Tree Sparrow. In the plant/lichen department, Gordon got pictures of a Maritime Sunburst Lichen, Common Tansy new growth, and male Pussy Willow.

** John Inman comments on some of the behaviour of his birdfeeder patrons. A male Downy Woodpecker was not happy the female was enjoying the suet but soon settled down and fed in harmony. Three Northern Flickers were feeding in close quarters until a disagreement broke out.

**It’s always a treat to see the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks arriving.
Yolande LeBlanc in Memramcook had one that arrived a few days ago but was acting very shy but soon got over that to sample the feeder menu which surprisingly included suet as a favourite.

**Mac Wilmot’s grandson got quite a surprise when a Groundhog stood for a good look at him in their Bridgedale yard. He dashed into the house with amazement. " There's a frigging beaver out there". Young naturalists take a few years to bloom!

**It soon will be the change over time when we will not be seeing Bohemian Waxwings but Cedar Waxwings will be arriving to replace them.
Aldo Dorio noticed several Bohemian Waxwings present at Hay Island on Friday and was also pleased to have a female American Kestrel in his Neguac yard.

** On Wednesday Brian Stone visited the Hillsborough Wetlands trail and also stopped in at the Lower Coverdale lagoon to take a few photos. At Lower Coverdale, he had his first sighting of Savannah Sparrows of the season and also saw many male Red-winged Blackbirds. A group of several Green-winged Teal Ducks flew past and many Ring-necked Ducks were still the predominant patron of the lagoon. On the ground, he noted a fair number of small, dark Mining Bees landing on the trail around the lagoon.

At Hillsborough Brian photographed the better side of a couple of nice bright Palm Warblers. He also got Blue-winged Teal Ducks, a Canada Goose, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Song Sparrow. A fearless Ruby-crowned Kinglet came close and gave him a good examination with obvious disapproval. A small White-tailed Deer confused Brian for a moment when he thought it was someone's loose dog. Brian's favorite moment of the day came at the end as he was almost off the trail when a small blue Northern Azure Butterfly decided to land close for a photo session. This was his first one of the season.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nature Moncton

GLOSSY IBIS. APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER ( MALE). APRIL 24, 2024.. BRIAN STONE

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (1st SUMMER MALE). APRIL 26, 2024. YOLANDE LeBLANC

PALM WARBLER. APRIL 24, 2024.. BRIAN STONE

BOHEMIAN WAXWING. APRIL 26, 2024. ALDO DORIO

BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. APRIL 26, 2024. ALDO DORIO

NORTHERN FLICKERS. APRIL 26, 2024. JOHN INMAN

NORTHERN FLICKER. APRIL 26, 2024. JOHN INMAN

BLUE-WINGED TEAL DUCKS. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

AMERICAN WIGEON. (PAIR).APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

NORTHERN PINTAIL (MALE). APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE). APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

GREEN-WINGED TEAL(MALE). APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

GREEN-WINGED TEAL DUCKS. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STON

GADWELL (PAIR). APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

CANADA GOOSE. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

AMERICAN KESTREL (FEMALE) APRIL 26, 2024. ALDO DORIO

DOWNY WOODPECKERS. APRIL 26, 2024. JOHN INMAN

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (MALE). APRIL 24, 2024.. BRIAN STONE

RING-NECKED PHEASANT (MALE). APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

SAVANNAH SPARROW. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

SAVANNAH SPARROW. APRIL 24, 2024.,BRIAN STONE

SONG SPARROW. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

NORTHERN AZURE BUTTERFLY. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

GROUNDHOG. APRIL 26, 2024. MAC WILMOT

WHITE-TAILED DEER. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

OWL PELLET SUSPECTED. APRIL 26, 2024. LOUISE NICHOLS

MARATIME SUNBURST LICHEN. APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

COMMON TANSY. APR 26, 2024. GORDON RATTRAY

MINING BEE. APRIL 24, 2024. BRIAN STONE

April 26 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 26, 2024

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

** Lance Harris walked along the riverfront trail in Dieppe and noticed about 15 Ring-necked pheasants, Muskrats, and he also saw some Tree Swallows using the nesting boxes. He photographed one male Ring-necked Pheasant who was very actively displaying his prowess to potential mate(s).

**The White-throated Sparrows are moving in numbers to join us for the season. Aldo Dorio enjoyed having one arrive at his Neguac yard.
(Editor’s note: the White-throated Sparrow comes in two flavours, one with fluorescent white headbands as in Aldo’s photo and one with more muted caramel headbands. It has nothing to do with gender as the species is monoecious and genders cannot be differentiated by plumage.)

**Spring love continues in the yard of Norbert Dupuis in Memramcook East. His resident female Northern Cardinal continues to accept the offerings of a well-dressed male.
(Editor’s note: Taking a lady to lunch is an age-old custom that still seems to work to cement bonds!)

** Despite the wild winds in Harvey on Thursday morning, John Inman had 3 Rusty Blackbirds singing in the tops of the poplars. John hopes they will reshow closer for a better photo op.
(Editor’s note: it is always rewarding to get reports of this species that has declined in numbers so significantly in recent years.)

**Dale Pugh shares photos of an Eastern Phoebe taken this week at Irishtown Nature Park. Dale took the photo from quite a distance with the phoebe at the top of a very tall tree, and it wasn’t until downloading the photos she noticed the cloud of insects which must have been manna from heaven for this early arriving flycatcher species.

**Frank Branch experienced a first for him Thursday afternoon in his Paquetville backyard when he saw a Common Crackle chase a Wood Frog, catch it, kill it, and eat at least 95% of it with one back leg the only thing left. The frog was either coming or leaving his backyard pond which was his old pool that he changed to a water garden, and in which there are at least a few dozen Wood Frogs present right now.

**Yolande LeBlanc in Memramcook had a lone male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak hiding in the shrubs at suppertime on Thursday. It had only half of his bib, only on his right side (young male??). It never came close to the feeders. Yolande was unable to get a photo.

** With the help of the iNaturalist app, Cathy Simon found Yellow-spotted Salamander egg masses in Irishtown Nature Park.

Additionally, Isabelle Simon believes she found Fall Cankerworm Moth eggs on their back deck in Lutes Mountain. Corrections are welcome.

(Editor's note: the editor agrees with Isabelle's interesting find and photograph but stands to be corrected as well.)

**It’s Friday and that day of the week when sky guru Curt Nason will give us a preview of what we may expect to see in next week’s night sky

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 April 27 – May 4
I was fascinated by the movie Hercules, starring bodybuilder Steve Reeves, which I saw one Saturday afternoon at the Vogue theatre in McAdam sometime in the early 60s. I was nurturing my interest in the sky at that time so the constellation of Hercules has long been a part of my life. These spring evenings it is in the east as twilight fades.

Look for a keystone asterism one third of the way from the bright star Vega toward equally bright Arcturus; that is the upside-down body of the legendary strongman. Hercules is usually depicted down on his right knee, with his left foot on the head of Draco the Dragon and his head close to that of Ophiuchus. Originally the constellation was called The Kneeler, and the star at his head is called Rasalgethi for “head of the Kneeler.” It is the alpha star of the constellation, although Kornephoros (the club bearer) is brighter.

With binoculars you can pick out two globular clusters from the Messier catalogue in Hercules. Globular clusters are ancient compact groups of typically tens-to-hundreds of thousands of stars that orbit our galaxy’s core. One third of the way from the top right star of the Keystone to the bottom right star is M13, perhaps the finest globular cluster in the northern hemisphere. A line from the bottom right star through the middle of the top of the Keystone, and extended about an equal distance, will put you in the area of M92, one of the oldest objects in our galaxy.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:11 and sunset will occur at 8:22, giving 14 hours, 11 minutes of daylight (6:18 and 8:26 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:00 and set at 8:32, giving 14 hours, 32 minutes of daylight (6:07 and 8:34 in Saint John).

The Moon is at third quarter phase on Wednesday, it sits to the right of Saturn Friday morning and between Mars and Saturn on Saturday. Rising shortly before 5 am Monday, Mars is very close to the lower left of Neptune; perhaps a challenge for telescope users. Jupiter sets about 75 minutes after sunset this weekend, just three weeks away from conjunction. The Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks next weekend.

On Sunday evening at 8 pm, tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show via the Facebook page or YouTube channel of Astronomy by the Bay. The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre at 7 pm on May 4.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.