Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 20 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Aug. 20, 2018 (Monday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Dan Hicks got a surprise on Sunday, when he looked out his home window, on Elmwood Drive, near the city limits, and saw a BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche] cleaning up its CANADA GOOSE [Bernache du Canada] breakfast. The eagle stayed for an hour and then left. Dan comments that he hopes CROWS [] arrive to complete the cleanup, so he doesn’t have to.

** Aldo Dorio got a photo of a SOLITARY SANDPIPER [Chevalier solitaire] at Tabusintac on Sunday, as well as a young-of-the-year SPOTTED SANDPIPER [Chevalier grivelé] at Hay Island. Note the lack of breast spotting in the juvenile Spotted Sandpiper. The white slash just in front of the wing of the juvenile is barely visible.

** To add a few photos that Brian Stone took in Perth, Ont., that I wanted to confirm with Jim Edsall. Some nice photos of the drab, dun-coloured DUN SKIPPER [Hespérie royale] that is present in New Brunswick, a few photos of the MEADOW FRITILLARY [Boloria des prés], which I have never identified with certainty. However, Jim says they are found west of Fredericton, especially up around the Meduxnekeag River, but he has also seen them along the Cains River at Shinnickburn, along the Barnaby River, and at Blackville, around the dirt roads and fields that follow the Miramichi River. They have two broods, in mid-June and later in July. Some of Brian’s Sunday nature sleuthing got a GRAY COMMA [Polygone gris] and an EASTERN COMMA [Polygone virgule] butterflies, getting both front and hind wing views. We have these commas in New Brunswick.

He also got photos of an EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE [Pioui de l’Est] and heard its distinct call to help with identification. I’m including three photos as it’s a woodland flycatcher that we don’t often get to see well. One photo shows the orange lower mandible of the adult. This species does not stay with us long in summer; it will soon be migrating south. A feature sometimes noted in the Eastern Wood-Pewee is its short legs that seem to make it look like its sitting on a perch. Its nest is built similar to that of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird [Colibri à gorge rubis], shingled with lichens.

Brian’s grandsons have created a frog pond, and so far have only found LEOPARD FROGS [Grenouille léopard] that have taken it as patrons. Note the brown ground colour, especially in one of them. Most Leopard Frogs are green but some have that brown ground colour. The similar brown, PICKEREL FROG [Rana palustris] is always brown.

** After hearing a presentation by Damon Hardie mentioning how fast the HEARTNUT TREE [Noyer de Siebold] (Juglans ailantifolia) grows, I got a source from him and planted a tree in our Moncton yard, approximately ten years ago. I can hardly believe how fast this tree grew, to a height of approximately 25 feet and very spreading so that I had to cut some branches that were heading to visit a neighbour already. It started producing male and female flowers three years ago. It had a small nut crop last year that GRAY SQUIRRELS [Écureuil gris] got before I could. This year there are hundreds of nuts, too many for the two Gray Squirrels that feel they are ready to eat. A basket is filling with nuts that have fallen, I suspect from squirrels knocking them down as they pick off some to eat, so a “crop-share program” is in progress.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Monton