Nature Moncton Nature News

Thursday 10 October 2024

October 10 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

October 10, 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 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 .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**John Inman had an Indigo Bunting drop by his Harvey yard on Wednesday. The very bland plumage would make it a female or young-of-the-year bird.
There are breeding records for the Indigo Bunting in New Brunswick which are relatively few but may be on the rise.
John also had a Ruffed Grouse sneaking across his backyard on Wednesday.
Shannon Inman spotted and photographed a Chipping Sparrow near their home that had gone into its non-breeding plumage.

**When the morning walk to Prosser Lookout was canceled last weekend owing to rain, Barbara Smith went for a walk in Riverview not long after the sky cleared. The autumn leaves were putting on a fabulous, flamboyant show.

(Editor’s note: Gotta love those maple trees!)

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

INDIGO BUNTING (FALL FEMALE OR JUVENILE). OCT 10, 2024. JOHN INMAN

CHIPPING SPARROW. OCT 10, 2024. SHANNON INMAN

RUFFED GROUSE. OCT 10, 2024. JOHN INMAN

AUTUMN LEAVES. OCTOBER 6, 2024. BARBARA SMITH

Wednesday 9 October 2024

October 9 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

October 9, 2024

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 .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Shannon Inman captured a nice spread wing photo of a fresh Gray Comma butterfly. This butterfly would appear to be from a recent brood and will overwinter as the adult employing its very effective biological antifreeze methods.

Shannon also photographed a grouping of Gem-studded Puffball mushrooms. These are relatively small mushrooms and are considered edibles.

Shannon’s camera eye was also attracted to some maple leaves giving off their fall performance.

**Thanks to Tony Thomas’ sharp eye, we can make a very interesting correction on the identification of the butterflies Leon Gagnon had visiting his Miscou Island cottage this past summer. They were originally incorrectly labelled as Black Swallowtail butterflies but are the much more restricted range Short-tailed Swallowtail butterflies.

The worldwide distribution of the Short-tailed Swallowtail butterfly is the area surrounding the Gulf of St. Lawrence that includes parts of New Brunswick, Québec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and more recently, Maine.

It was an interesting scenario that Leon had a dozen of this species of butterfly stay around his yard for a week. It would have to be assumed that a lot of eggs were laid in that area and if this was the last brood of the season, there must be a lot of chrysalids left which could create an interesting scenario again next summer.

The photos are rerun in today’s edition correctly labelled.

**Andy Stultz, a crewmember on a Coast Guard vessel in the Northwest Territories, photographed a ptarmigan that landed on the ship for a rest. It is in its very cryptic snow-white winter plumage making a complete reversal from its summer brown plumage. Two species of ptarmigan are resident in the area Andy is in, the Rock Ptarmigan and the Willow Ptarmigan. Identifying the species from the photo would be challenging.

The chances of seeing a ptarmigan in New Brunswick are remote.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

PTARMIGAN. OCT 6, 2024. ANDY STULTZ

GRAY COMMA BUTTERFLY. OCT 8, 2024. SHANNON INMAN

SHORT-TAILED SWALLOWTAIL BUTERFLY. AUG 10, 2024. LEON GAGNON

SHORT-TAILED SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLIES. AUG 10, 2024. LEON GAGNON

GEM-STUDDED PUFFBALL MUSHROOM. OCT 8, 2024. SHANNON INMAN

MAPLE BLAZING FALL COLOURS. OCT 8, 2024. SHANNON INMAN

Tuesday 8 October 2024

October 8 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

October 8, 2024

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 .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Louise Nichols, as chair of the Presentations Committee for Nature Moncton, is looking for members who would be willing to give short 15-minute presentations after the break at our monthly meetings. These presentations can be on any topic related to nature -- something that you saw that was of interest, a collection of photographs from a place you visited, or just general photos that you particularly like and want to share. If you have something you would like to present, please contact Louise at nicholsl@eastlink.ca. Our next meeting is next Tuesday, October 15th.

**Maureen Girvan photographed a Western Conifer Seed Bug at Centennial Park on Monday. This is a very common ¾ inch bug seen this time of year, especially as it likes to join us in our homes to overwinter.

Another photo of the Western Conifer Seed Bug was featured yesterday with a description of the life and times of this bug. Scroll back to yesterday’s edition for more information.

**Andy Stultz, one of the crew aboard a Coast Guard vessel in the Northwest Territories, sends more photos of some of the interesting things they encounter.

The ship sailed past an area of oil shales (Smoking Hills) on the East Coast of Cape Bathurst that has been smoldering for many years. Check the link below that tells the story of this interesting phenomenon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_Hills

A Ptarmigan also landed on the ship which Andy will share soon.

**With mushroom appreciation season in full swing, it’s a chance to feature another choice edible.

Nelson Poirier and Larry Sherrard photographed a Hedgehog mushroom on Monday to show the underside arrangement resembling sharp teeth/spike-like which is a nice ID feature to look for along with the pale brown cap and no partial veil.

**The paragraph of text accompanying Leon Gagnon’s butterfly sightings on Miscou Island this past summer was not with yesterday’s edition until midmorning. If you missed it and want to read the text, scroll back to yesterday’s edition.

**Lynn Dube captured a photo of her grandson on a mission with a bug net. Get them while they’re young!!

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton