Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 24 2015

** Thanks to Roger LeBlanc for getting the newly minted Nature Moncton field trip committee off to a great start with a Sunday morning visit to Riverview Marsh, for an informative outing with lots of information and discussion of shorebirds. Eleven species of shorebirds were seen, expected species with WILSON'S SNIPE [Bécassine de Wilson], KILLDEER [Pluvier kildir], WILSON'S PHALAROPE [Phalarope de Wilson] and SOLITARY SANDPIPER [Chevalier solitaire] as bonus items. A Bob-o-link female was captured in a photo by Louise Nichols.

** Roger LeBlanc commented that he noted approximately 50 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS [Engoulevent d'Amérique] hawking insects in migration in Notre-Dame on Saturday.

** Barb Jennings got a nice photo of the often hard-to-get-closeup BELTED KINGFISHER [Martin-pêcheur d'Amérique] at the Sackville Waterfowl Park. Barb also got a pair of MEADOWHAWK sp. [sympétrum] dragonflies in a “mating wheel."

** Lots of grasshoppers are becoming evident at the moment, enjoying the heat. Louise Richard got a photo of a RED-LEGGED GRASHOPPER [Criquet à pattes rouges] at their Acadieville cabin on Saturday.

** The Ayers Lake area, west of Millville is one of New Brunswick’s special old-growth foirest areas that is home to some very special botany, including orchids, ferns and other plants. I was fortunate to hike the area with the New Brunswick Botany Club on Saturday. There were many, many photo opportunities, which I will gradually share so not to overload the system all at once, and will attach some of the DWARF RATTLESNAKE PLANTAIN [Goodyérie rampante] orchid, HELLEBORINE [Épipactis hellébore] orchid, and a maturing group of INDIAN-PIPE [Monotrope uniflore], and PURPLE MILKWORT [Polygala sanguin] today. Then we’ll add more over the next week. The Ayers Lake area is a large one and there are lots of amazing woods trails and a guide is needed to get to the treasures there. Barb Brown, who lives nearby, visits the trails very frequently, knows the area inside out and is happy to accommodate visits.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton