Nature Moncton Information Line

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

May 18, 2022 (Wednesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**A very big thank you to Andrew Darcy for his Tuesday night presentation on the very large number of underwater community members that we just never get to see and possibly never will. Andrew’s experience with the research and monitoring branch of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was a real eye-opener and we are very fortunate to have a keen naturalist doing this research to share it with us.

Also a thank you to Fred Richards for successfully being able to share the live presentation with folks who were not able to get there in person.

**Louise Nichols took a walk down old Fairfield Rd in Sackville on Monday. White-throated Sparrows were in full serenade with three or more singing at the same time. Many new migrant warblers were also in the area, especially Black-throated Green, Nashville and Yellow-rumped Warblers. On her way back, while driving along Buck Road, Louise spotted two Turkey Vultures in the ditch, perhaps cleaning up some carrion. One of them flew when Louise's car approached, but the other stayed put, allowing Louise to get some fairly close photos.

**Susan Richards had a female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak stop in Tuesday to their Taylor Village yard and did much the same thing as the male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak did Monday. It flitted from the sunflower seed feeder to the tree, to the nyjer feeder, to the ground then on the wooden stick holding the feeders up high, then gone. There were no sounds Susan could hear coming from her nor the male yesterday, just a quiet show, then gone. She got some photos of the female but not the male. Susan is 'camera ready' now!

Susan has cut-in-half oranges out on a 4-posted shepherd's hook and is on the watch for orioles.

Susan also heard Bobolinks in the fields Tuesday morning after a thunderstorm.

**Jim Johnson in Scotch Settlement reports the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have arrived. There were only a few until Tuesday night when numbers suddenly swelled to a dozen. He has lots of Tree Swallows and a few Bobolinks are being noticed.

**Brian Stone only made it out to his back yard deck on Tuesday but managed to get a few photos anyway. A dark, orangey Mining Bee landed on the patio stones long enough for a quick photo and the Spruce Trees were blooming with new pollen and seed cones. While he was waiting and hoping for more bees to show up he noticed a small, white-ish flutter in the nearby shrubbery and he rushed to get the photo of a Bluish Spring Moth (editor’s note: this moth is very easily confused with the Northern Azure Butterfly until looked at closely) that had stopped just long enough to make Brian's best photo of the day.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. MAY 16, 2022. LOUISE NICHOLS

NASHVILLE WARBLER. LOUISE NICHOLS. MAY 16, 2022

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. MAY 16, 2022. LOUISE NICHOLS

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (FEMALE). MAY 17, 2022. SUSAN RICHARDS

TURKEY VULTURE..MAY 16, 2022. LOUISE NICHOLS

BLUISH SPRING MOTH. MAY 17, 2022. BRIAN STONE

MINING BEE. MAY 17, 2022. BRIAN STONE

SPRUCE POLLEN CONES. MAY 17, 2022. BRIAN STONE

SPRUCE SEED CONES. MAY 17, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

May 17, 2022 (Tuesday)

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

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

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

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**Tonight, Tuesday, May 17 is Nature Moncton May meeting night. Andrew Darcy, who was with the DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) team in Moncton will take participants to a place many of us never get to experience, the underwater world to share how DFO works to monitor the underwater community.

This presentation will be delivered live at the Rotary Lodge in Mapleton Park. It will also be covered virtually via Zoom. Please note updated Zoom link from what was first published yesterday.

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

**NATURE MONCTON MAY MEETING

May 17, 2022, at 7:00 PM

Location: Rotary Pavillion at Mapleton Park (live meeting)

"A Virtual Field Trip: Fisheries Science and Long-term Monitoring in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Maritimes Region of Atlantic Canada"

Presenter: Andrew Darcy

As the weather warms up and we think forward to enjoying outdoor activities, fisheries scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans gear up for another busy field season.

Andrew Darcy is currently a technician with the Marine Fish and Mammal group which operates out of the Gulf Fisheries Center in Moncton, New Brunswick, and functions under the Ecosystem Science division of Fisheries & Oceans Canada.

His presentation will include an overview of the department's current research objectives with a focus on lab and field activities. A virtual field trip will take us through the day-to-day activities of being aboard a research vessel conducting trawl surveys in the Gulf region. We will learn about fishing methods and sampling techniques used on these surveys, as well as an introduction to the diversity and identification of a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate marine species that are commonly encountered on a daily basis while at sea. Please join us for what is sure to be a "fintastic" evening and explore a world that is seldomly seen by most.

Please note that this will be an in-person meeting. Masks are recommended. The meeting will also be live-streamed and people can join at the following link:

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

All are welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.

**On Saturday Brian Stone passed through Hampton, N.B., and he stopped in at the lagoons to check for photo subjects. Along the path beside the lagoons 2 White-tailed Deer were browsing the new grasses. (Editor’s note: note the deer in Brian’s photo are losing their heavy winter pelage with areas of the chestnut brown summer pelage showing). Plump Common Eastern Bumblebees were buzzing the newly opened Dandelion Flowers. Serviceberry Flowers were in full bloom in almost every area Brian passed through.

**Brian Stone walked the roads and woods behind Crandall University on Sunday to find an interesting Nest slightly larger than the average Robin's nest. He photographed a Black and White Warbler, a Common Eastern Bumblebee nectaring at Honeysuckle Flowers, and Tent Caterpillar webs growing large in small trees. Plants noted were Canada Mayflower beginning to produce flowers, Pink Lady's Slipper shoots starting to poke up from the forest floor, Alternate-leaved Dogwood, broad Clintonia leaves and False Morel Mushrooms.

**Brian Stone walked through the west end of Mapleton Park on Monday and found lots of subjects to photograph. The warblers were plentiful and active around the pond area. Seen were 6 or more Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Yellow Warbler, a Northern Parula, and a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Also seen around the pond were a male Belted Kingfisher, a Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrows, Canada Geese, and a pair of Hooded Mergansers. An Eastern Phoebe was seen but evaded the camera.

Paddling around in the pond was a small group of Ducklings, seemingly unattended by any adults. Ferns were emerging fast and Nodding Trilliums were producing flower buds that will soon open and hang below the three large leaves of the plant. A pair of mallards resting beside the water appeared to be a male Mallard Duck and a female Intersex Mallard Duck. Before leaving for his walk in the park Brian photographed a section of the large patch of blue and white Violets in his back yard which were being visited by a Northern Azure Butterfly.

**Nelson Poirier maintains a trail camera on fish offal placed in a secluded wooded area near Sunny Corner. So far, the main guests have been Black Bears during the night and Turkey Vultures and Common Ravens during the day. One Turkey Vulture flew off to a distant tree to carefully watch as the supply was being replenished on Monday. One video caught an altercation between a Turkey Vulture and a raven not wishing to share the booty. It appeared quite clear the modus operandi of the raven was to grab and pull some of the flight feathers or tailfeathers of the vulture. A 16 inch seemingly flight feather was collected at the site with a damaged end that may have been connected with the altercation. Note the difference between the topside and underside. Take a look at the spirited altercation at the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3o325mp48lqptcz/TURKEY%20VULTURE%20AND%20RAVEN%20ALTERCATION.%20MAY%2016%2C%202022.%20NELSON%20POIRIER.AVI?dl=0

Nelson also took note of the very strikingly beautiful masses of Marsh Marigold that were covering marshy areas along the Miramichi River. Their early emergence and blooming surely added colour to the dead marsh grass!

This plant is very abundant and is easily transplanted to yard pond edges.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. MAY 16, 2022. BRIAN STONE

BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER. MAY 16, 2022., BRIAN STONE

YELLOW WARBLER. MAY 16, 2022. BRIAN STONE

YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (MALE). MAY 16, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (FEMALE). MAY 16, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

BELTED KINGFISHER (MALE). MAY 16, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

DUCKLINGS. MAY 16, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

HOODED MERGANSER DUCKS (MALE). MAY 16, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

HOODED MERGANSER DUCKS (MALE AND FEMALE). MAY 16, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

MALLARD DUCK AND INTERSEX FEMALE. MAY 16, 2022. BRIAN STONE

TURKEY VULTURE. MAY 16, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

TURKEY VULTURE WING FEATHER (TOP VIEW). MAY 16, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

TURKEY VULTURE WING FEATHER (UNDER VIEW). MAY 16, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

MARSH MARIGOLD. MAY 16, 2022. NELSON POIRIER

CANADA MAYFLOWER. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

ALTERNATE-LEAVED DOGWOOD. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

CLINTONIA. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

PINK LADY'S SLIPPER SPROUTS. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

NODDING TRILLIUM. MAY 16, 2022. BRIAN STONE

SERVICEBERRY FLOWERS. MAY 14, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

VIOLETS. MAY 16, 2022. BRIAN STONE

NORTHERN AZURE BUTTERFLY. MAY 16, 2022. BRIAN STONE

COMMON EASTERN BUMBLBEE. MAY 14, 2022. BRIAN STONE

COMMON EASTERN BUMBLEBEE ON HONEYSUCKLE FLOWERS. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE.

EASTERN TENT CATERPILLARS. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

FALSE MOREL MUSHROOM. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

NEST. MAY 15, 2022. BRIAN STONE

WHITE-TAILED DEER. MAY 14, 2022.. BRIAN STONE

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