Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 9 2015

** Welcome back RED-THROATED LOONS [Plongeon catmarin]. Louise Nichols was out to the Tormentine wharf area on Wednesday to spot a group of 17 Red-throated Loons out in the water fairly distant from the wharf. Some zoomed in photos show some of them still with the adult red throat of breeding plumage. Great to see this species joining us again for the season.

** Anna Tucker photographed a cooperative Darner Dragonfly at the Sackville Waterfowl Park recently which Gilles Belliveau suspects to be a LAKE DARNER [Aeschne porte-crosses], a species we've not heard from this season. The two photos do seem to differ, but I suspect it is the different angle of the photos. Gilles points out the black stripe across the middle of the face is enough to rule out other possibilities with similar thorax patterns.

** Georges Brun spotted a PEREGRINE FALCON [Faucon pelerine] perched on the eastern big "A" logo of Assumption Place on Thursday evening. He also noted some escapee CHINESE LANTERN plants with fruit in the small wetland near the former Assomption Blvd fire station.

** Brian Stone adds some photos captured over the past few days to include an EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi], FLY AGARIC MUSHROOMS [Amanite tue-mouches], a HAIRY WOODPECKER [Pic chevelu] enjoying his son's wooden log house, one of the fall CRICKETS [Grillon], a SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur] enjoying wild seed, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche], as well as a BULLFROG [Ouaouaron] keeping an eye on the photographer.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton