** Brian Coyle watched six COMMON NIGHTHAWKS [Engoulevent d'Amérique]
calling, diving and making their characteristic boom and dives on Thursday
evening at a house with a pond in the Catamount golf course area as they foraged
for insects. It was special to Brian as he has not heard them in many
years.
** Anne Marsch got an excellent photo of a GYPSY MOTH caterpillar and an
egg mass in her lower Coverdale neighbour's yard on Thursday. They're not
common in the Moncton area. The moth is a day flyer. I did see a photo of one
of the caterpillars from the Crawley Farm Rd. area a few years ago. They can be
a serious defoliator of trees when in mass.
** The BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON [Bihoreau gris] is a commonly seen bird in
the Lameque area where there is a nesting colony. Aldo Dorio got a photo of one
during the day at Tracadie on Thursday. It's a beautiful sight to see them at
dusk moving in the Lameque area.
** Barb Jennings has a young-of-the-year EUROPEAN STARLING [Étourneau
sansonnet] sporting a white tail visiting her Riverview yard. The rufous blush
to some of the feathers also seems more accented than usual.
** I transferred Common Milkweed rhizomes to our Moncton yard last fall and
this spring. Several plants emerged earlier this spring and are now flowering.
The big reward for the effort came on Thursday morning when we spotted a MONARCH
BUTTERFLY [Monarque] in the yard. It turned out to be a female. It appeared
she visited every plant in the yard, going from plant to plant for some time,
and a lucky photo caught her while she was depositing an egg. We'll be closely
watching for caterpillars over the next weeks.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON.JULY 16, 2015.ALDO DORIO
GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLAR JULY 16,2015 ANNE MARSCH
MONARCH BUTTERFLY (FEMALE).JULY 16, 2015.NELSON POIRIER (2)
MONARCH BUTTERFLY (FEMALE).JULY 16, 2015.NELSON POIRIER (2)
MONARCH BUTTERFLY (FEMALE).JULY 16, 2015.NELSON POIRIER (2)
SPRING PEEPER.JULY 16, 2015.PENNY CLARK.
SPRING PEEPER.JULY 16, 2015.PENNY CLARK.
STARLING YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR (WHITE TAIL)..JULY 16, 2015.BARB JENNINGS
STARLING YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR (WHITE TAIL)..JULY 16, 2015.BARB JENNINGS
