Nature Moncton Nature News: June 15 2015

** Louise Nichols spotted a BLACK TERN [Guifette noire] at the White Birch Ducks Unlimited impoundment near Sackville on Sunday. She only saw one; it was carrying a minnow and amazingly, she was able to get a documentary photo of it in flight with the fish in its bill. Black Terns have nested at the White Birch and Eddy Marsh D.U. impoundments in the past, as well as at Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary.

** Both Richard Perron and Aldo Dorio got photos of a caterpillar wandering about Hay Island Nature Park (near Neguac) on the weekend. Richard reports that there was a significant number of them. They are the larval stage of the VIRGINIA CTENUCHA [Cténuche de Virginie] moth.

Aldo also got some great photos of an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER [Moucherolle à côtés olive] at Hay Island on Sunday. His photos nicely show some of the unique features, the white tufts on either side of the rump, the olive-coloured, unbuttoned vest and orange on the lower mandible. I’m adding all four photos that show this relatively uncommon flycatcher from different angles.

** While visiting his brother in Ontario last year, John Foster photographed and shared a photo of a BULLFROG [Ouaouaron] of uncharacteristic blue colour, living in a yard pond. At the time, John Gilhen advised me that this colour morph had been documented. This June, John Foster revisited that pond and again the same frog, now significantly larger. There seems to be another frog in the photo this year. It could be potential lunch for the Bullfrog, as they will consume smaller frogs.

** It never fails to amaze what Brian Stone comes up with in Mapleton Park. On Sunday he got COMMON YELLOWTHROAT [Paruline masquée], YELLOW WARBLER [Paruline jaune], HUMMINGBIRD MOTH [Sphinx colibri], another ARCTIC SKIPPER [Échiquier], SYRPHID FLIES [syrphides], also called hover flies or flower flies, BLUE-FLAG IRIS [Clajeux] in flower, RED ADMIRAL [Vulcain] butterfly, and CANADIAN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL [Papillon tigré du Canada] butterflies.

** The June Nature Moncton meeting is on for tomorrow evening, Tuesday, June 16. The guests will be Paul and Ann Vautour to speak on Bees [Abeilles] and beekeeping, to include the amazing social life of the Honey Bee [Abeille mellifère] and the impact that honey has had on history. No doubt other members of our wild Bee community will be mentioned, and the part that they play. Paul and Ann are active members of the beekeeping community in New Brunswick, and very knowledgeable about their charges and their fascinating biology. Paul and Ann are wonderful speakers and will have a lot of bee information to share; they have been known to bring sweet surprises to their presentations! The meeting will take place at Rotary Park Lodge in Mapleton Park, across from Cabela’s, starting at 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 16th.

Nelson Poirier

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nature Moncton