Nature Moncton Nature News: April 28 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, April 28, 2020 (Tuesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: david.cannon@rogers.com

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

** It’s that joyous time of year to welcome plants emerging. Gart Bishop starts us off, with most of the information below as Gart reported:

Gart found some BLOODROOT [sanguinaire du Canada] just about to bloom along the banks of the Kennebecasis River just below Apohaqui. BLOODROOT gets its name from the red liquid that oozes from its roots if cut. Nearby there were some (YELLOW) TROUT-LILIES [érythrone d'Amérique] though no flowering stalks yet. One frequently finds non-flowering Trout Lilies as it takes them about 4-7 years to go from seed to flowering plant. When the seeds develop, shortly after flowering, the seed germinates immediately and sends down a main root about one centimeter long, to the end of which it forms a small bulb, then stops growing until next year, at which time the bulb sends up a small leaf and sends down another main root about another centimeter, at the end of which forms another bulb. This process continues until the bulb is down 6 - 15 centimeters at which time the plant begins to flower and the bloom is spectacular. That’s why if you collect the bulbs for eating, you have to dig down to find them. (Never harvest in abundance). Trout Lily is considered ephemeral, which means they will appear early, do their magic, then suddenly leave nothing above ground to indicate they were ever present.

The spring is an easy time to identify ferns as it is at this time only the evergreen ferns have fully developed fronds (about 12 species). EVERGREEN WOOD FERN [dryoptère intermédiaire] is abundant. If you are lucky you can find some CRESTED WOOD FERNS [dryoptère à crêtes] as shown in Gart’s photo.

** Gordon Rattray recently visited 3 well-established BALD EAGLES’ [Pygargue à tête blanche] nests: Hillsborough, Hopewell Hill, and Lower Cape. He was surprised to see that only the Hillsborough nest was occupied, so more monitoring of these sites is indicated. He is also finding the Gray Brook pond less active this year. There are a lot of CANADA GEESE [Bernaches du Canada] that make it difficult to observe other waterfowl as the geese raise an alarm that causes other waterfowl to lift off. Over the past week he has seen 3 NORTHERN PINTAIL [Canard pilet], a pair of BUFFLEHEADS [Petit Garrot], 5 pair of AMERICAN WIDGEONS [Canard d'Amérique], 7 RING-NECKED DUCKS [Fuligule à collier], but only 1 GREEN-WINGED TEAL [Sarcelle d'hiver] and 1 male WOOD DUCK [Canard branchu]. His home Weldon yard is hopping with SPARROWS and others that he has shared photos of.

** The two owlets of a pair of GREAT HORNED OWLS [Grand-duc d'Amérique] within the town of Riverview are starting to wander to and from the nest onto tree branches. The Great Horned Owl is not able to fly for up to at least a few weeks after they leave the nest and being fed by their parents. Jane Wood has a ring-side seat to the activity. Jane reports that AMERICAN CROWS [Corneille d'Amérique] mob the parents nearly every day - but that’s life for a Great Horned Owl.

Like many of us, Verica LeBlanc have been trying to catch glimpses of the satellite chain in late evening lately. Erica missed it, as most of us did in Moncton on recent clear nights, but Verica shares some of her Moon/Venus photos and one of a blown-up photo of Venus that Brian Stone points out is what photographers and optical scientists refer to as “circle of confusion” with some explanation in the attached link.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_confusion

On Sunday, Magda and Grant Kuhn visited the Sussex Nature Trail. They saw 3 female HAIRY WOODPECKERS [Pic chevelu] busy scratching around and on the trunks. Bloodroot was in full bloom, and a group of WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] were present. The deer appeared in good shape after a relatively mild winter. There wasn’t much on the Ducks Unlimited ponds but a MUSKRAT [Rat musqué] did not want to pose, so Magda includes a photo of one that did cooperate well two weeks ago at the Sackville Waterfowl Park. They also noted the beautiful colours of the COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé] and listened to a SONG SPARROW [Bruant chanteur] in full vocalization.

** I’m adding a few more items today on items noted on Sunday’s Lower Jemseg and Sheffield visit: There are many RED ASH [frêne rouge] trees in that floodplain. Some are infected with the ASH FLOWER GALL MITE. These mites feed on the flower clusters in spring making them become irregularly branched and fringed. The galls formed are initially green, then turn dark as they dry and often cling to the infected trees all winter and sometimes longer, when they become obvious in the leafless trees. The galls don’t affect the trees’ health or vigour and are only considered a cosmetic disease. Also, PUSSY WILLOWS [saule discolore] were noted in bloom now; a photo is attached of a male pollen catkin showing the yellow filaments. Female seed catkins are on separate trees (dioecious) and show green pistils.

A GREATER YELLOWLEGS [Grand Chevalier] was spotted in a distant pool of water in a field. Aldo Dorio also photographed a Greater Yellowlegs at Hay Island on Monday. A worn MORNING CLOAK BUTTERFLY [morio] was in flight soaking up the warmth on Sunday to show its colourful topside, and very dull camouflaged underside for winter survival as an adult.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton