Nature Moncton Nature News: Sept 19, 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 19, 2019 (Thursday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** Louise Nichols reports a great looking new site to visit in Sackville where she found a great array of birds so obviously something there is very attractive to forage on. It is a new impoundment that the Town of Sackville built for flood control off of Lorne St. in downtown Sackville. A trail runs around it and a few observation benches have been put up. On Wednesday there were at least 100+ GREATER YELLOWLEGS [Grand Chevalier] and LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Petit Chevalier] but also a good number of SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS [Bécasseau semipalmé], SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS [Pluvier semipalmé] and a few LEAST SANDPIPERS [Bécasseau minuscule]. There were also 5 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS [Cormoran à aigrettes] as well as RING-BILLED GULLS [Goéland à bec cerclé]. This is a new impoundment and the birds have found it already so it looks like it will have great birding potential. Louise got lots of nice photos.

** Gordon Rattray joined Roger Leblanc to check out Roger’s shorebird survey site at Demoiselle Creek. There were no shorebirds present, but a stop at Lower Cape provided a great selection of warblers and a few vireos. The selection included AMERICAN REDSTART [Paruline flamboyante], NORTHERN PARULA [Paruline à collier], BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER [Paruline à gorge noire], YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune], BAY-BREASTED WARBLER [Paruline à poitrine baie], PHILADELPHIA VIREO [Viréo de Philadelphie] and RED-EYED VIREO [Viréo aux yeux rouges]. Some late season warblers can be a challenge, take a close look at this selection. The Philadelphia Vireo is a nice catch for southeastern NB.

** Eastern Bluebirds are flocking up as we are pleasantly seeing more of in recent years. Marguerite and Bill Winsor are visiting family in Fairisle, near Neguac, and on Wednesday morning their yard had a visit from a large flock of up to 2 dozen EASTERN BLUEBIRDS [Merlebleu de l'Est]. They were congregating in an apple tree and checking out bird boxes as they seem to do this time of year when flocks are spotted. Hopefully they are checking potential for next season. Marguerite comments that it was quite a sight.

** Dale Gaskin also had a similar experience in his Dawson Settlement yard on Wednesday when 9 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS [Merlebleu de l'Est] arrived and spent considerable time in and out of bird boxes.

** Doreen Rossiter reports that her birdfeeder activity over the summer was active but with all the regularly expected birds. She did have several MONARCH BUTTERFLIES [Monarque] around her Swamp Milkweed and had several monarch caterpillars brought to her by neighbors when their milkweed supply was eaten up by their caterpillars. She was entertained on Wednesday by a RED SQUIRREL [Ecureuil roux] carrying what looked like a ball to a yard nest box at the usual, hurried squirrel pace. It turned out to be a baby squirrel, fully haired and seeming to be half grown. It repeated the process 5 times coming from behind a garage. Mr. Rossiter (Willis) had started a project in the garage and they suspect that caused the sudden move.

** A very beautiful BLACK-TIPPED DARNER DRAGONFLY stopped to rest and got photographed by Susan Richards on her yard grapevine on Wednesday. The darners seem to be very active at the moment. We needed Gilles Belliveau’s expertise on this one!

** Aldo Dorio sends photos of 2 mushrooms that are commonly encountered at the moment. One is the FLY AGARIC which is not a suggested edible as it contains muscarine and ibotenic acid that can produce hallucinations and visions which are often of the unpleasant kind. The second is a GEM-STUDDED PUFFBALL. All the puffballs are edible except the Pigskin Poison Puffball which almost always is black when cut in half. The puffballs are not particularly tasty but take on the flavour of whatever they may be sautéed with. Aldo also sends a photo of a GREAT BROCADE MOTH, Eurois occulta, that was confirmed by Jim Edsall.

** Brian Stone noticed 4 HOODED MERGANSERS [Harle couronné] being very active diving for small fish in the main pond at Mapleton Park Wednesday afternoon. He also managed a shot of an unidentified dragonfly as he was leaving the area after a very brief visit.

** I got quite a surprise when a GRAY SEAL [Phoque gris] popped up approximately 30 feet in front of me at the shoreline in Cape Enrage on Wednesday. It blew like a whale and both of us were equally surprised, however it came back for a photo as I stood very quietly. It looks big in the zoomed in photo but I can assure that it was a big one. Note the typical horse head of the Gray Seal, probably a male as it was so large.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton