Nature Moncton Nature News: July 13 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, 13 July 2019 (Saturday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Catherine Clements

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

**Jane LeBlanc sends a photo of an adult SPOTTED SANDPIPER [Chevalier grivelé], which is a nice reminder, as the shorebirds arrive, that this species is one of the few shorebirds (along with the WILLET [Chevalier semipalmé]) that nests in New Brunswick. The juveniles of the Spotted Sandpiper should be appearing soon – they lack the spotting on the breast.

**Rhéal Vienneau shares a photo of an EASTERN TENT CATERPILLAR Moth [Livrée d'Amérique] whose larvae form the familiar tents, especially in wild Cherry shrubs [Cerisier]. The FOREST TENT CATERPILLAR [Livrée des forêts] is similar, but does not build nests.

**Aldo Dorio got a series of photos of a GREAT BLUE HERON [Grand Héron] capturing and downing a very good-sized Flounder [Plie]. It’s a large meal to send down whole. It can be seen making its way down the bird’s food pipe. Aldo also got a photo of a LEAST SANDPIPER [Bécasseau minuscule] at Hay Island, which along with the LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Petit Chevalier], is among the first arriving shorebirds.

James Whatley recently purchased a 55-300 mm zoom lens and tried it out for the first time Tuesday at Marie Curtis Park in Toronto. The level of Lake Ontario has apparently been its highest ever this spring. For a couple of months, Etobicoke Creek has formed a large pond in the east side of the park, although as of Friday, it’s noticeably receding. The ducks and geese have made very productive use of the pond.

One thing James never noticed before is the very fine “bow” waves preceding the swimming Canada Geese. From a distance, he has only previously observed their wake. I am vaguely aware that boat designers pay particular attention to minimizing the shape of the bow wave. It seems that Mother Nature is way ahead of them!

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton