Nature Moncton Nature News: July 30 2015

** Sterling Marsh was pleased to have a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] visit his Shediac Rd. peanut feeder on Thursday that let him within a foot of it to snap a nice photo. However, a DOWNY WOODPECKER [Pic mineur] was not amused with the newcomer and kept trying to chase it away while Sterling took the photo.

** Brian Stone and I paid a visit to the Johnson's Mills Nature Conservancy Shorebird Site on Thursday at high tide at 11:40 am. When we arrived, there was not a shorebird to be seen. However, about a half hour earlier, approximately 60,000 were roosting on the beach until a PEREGRINE FALCON [Faucon pelerine] arrived to put them all up and away. We returned approximately two hours later to find a very significant number feeding all along the Johnson's Mills shoreline as the tide was receding to make for some great observations. In the interim we went to check out Slack's Cove at Rockport. Lots of expected butterfly and odonate activity along the road, and a nice find was a GREEN-FRINGED ORCHIS in bloom all by itself. We then crossed over to Sackville to some waste water ponds just across the Nova Scotia boarder to find many shorebirds there for close observations including SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER [Bécasseau semipalmé], LEAST SANDPIPER [Bécasseau minuscule], GREATER YELLOWLEGS [Grand Chevalier], LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Petit Chevalier], SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER [Bécassin roux] and others that neither of us have been able to process photos from as yet. On route to Johnson's Mills, we stopped at the Arthur St. lagoon in Memramcook to find a wide variety of expected duck species with young. Photos could only be documentary due to the shimmer over the water, but at least one and I expect more RUDDY DUCKS [Érismature rousse] were present, one male still in very bright breeding plumage.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton