Nature Moncton Nature News: Sept 2 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 02, 2020 (Wednesday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** Ralph Eldridge shares some photos of some SLIME MOLD FUNGUS that appeared very quickly on some wood/bark mulch beside his St. George home. He took note of it one day and it seemed to almost disappear the next day. This is typical of Slime Mold fungi. Some species can be very colourful in their sometimes brief, fresh state. Ralph comments that there was some rain and fog in the area which no doubt spurned the fungus to put on the brief showing.

** Louise Nichols went to Petit-Cap on Tuesday afternoon and ran into Brian Stone there. They walked around together and saw lots of shorebirds there … CASPIAN TERNS [Sterne caspienne], GREAT BLUE HERONS [Grand Héron], a great place to be! They saw the usual shorebirds though Louise reports the two most notable sightings. They saw 1 WHIMBREL [Courlis corlieu], albeit from a distance. It flew from one side of the peninsula to the other and landed quite far from them but they both got distant photos. They saw a surprising flock of approximately 26 (at least) RED KNOTS [Bécasseau maubèche]. Louise comments that she doesn’t know why there seemed to be more of them this year but it is great to see them and she got some great photos of them, plus a few others added.

Brian also, in addition to the Red Knot fallout got nice photos of CASPIAN TERNS [Sterne caspienne], a RUDDY TURNSTONE [Tournepierre à collier] and a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER [Pluvier argenté]. They had a great day.

As an editor’s note on all the Red Knots this year, there was a problem with the Horseshoe Crab egg food supply in Chesapeake Bay which I think has/is being addressed that may be a reason for their comeback. Horseshoe Crabs were being over harvested by man which understand there is an attempt to limit that.

** Aldo Dorio got 3 flight photos of a CASPIAN TERN [Sterne caspienne] that dropped by Hay Island on Tuesday. It appears to be adult and was travelling solo. Aldo also reports the 10 RED KNOTS [Bécasseau maubèche] were still present at Hay Island on Tuesday.

** Louise Nichols got some interesting photos of plants around her Aulac yard freshwater pond. One is NORTHERN WILLOW HERB which is a fairly common New Brunswick plant but only in its suitable habitat with its feet wet in fresh water. The other is ARROW-LEAFED TEARTMUMB, which has an interesting method of pollinating with the apparent emerging blooms in Louise’s photo not actually opening. Gart Bishop gives a nice explanation that he found online that describes their unorthodox way of propagating, which is attached below.

“The flowers all produce a single achene (indehiscent fruit=not splitting open to release the seed when ripe). The seed is fairly large in comparison to the size of the flower and they form very early and remain in the flower. It is almost as if the whole flower is part of the achene. They commonly self-fertilize, and some are even cleistogamous (self-fertilization that occurs inside a permanently closed flower).”

Louise is also experimenting with the use of a trail camera on her property. A WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] and a RACOON [Raton laveur] were some of her first subjects. Check them out at the attached links.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c8yamai5v8rggcg/Louise%20Nichols%20Raccoon.%20Aug.%202020.AVI?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dr20p69bfu4tluu/Louise%20Nichols%20Deer.%20Aug.%202020.AVI?dl=0

** Many of us are adopting the use of Zoom and Webinars since Covid-19 has hit the fan. Dorothy Diamond is giving a free Webinar on a BIRD ID WORKSHOP: ALL ABOUT SPARROWS on Wednesday, September 09 at 3:00 pm. that is listed in the New Brunswick Environmental Network list of activities. It is available after the live event if you can’t be available at the time of the first delivery. I am going to try to add the details and registration information below and I hope to ‘see’ you there.

Bird ID Workshop: All about Sparrows (Webinar)

WEDNESDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2020 - 03:00PM - WEDNESDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2020 04:00PM

Even a good birder will tell you that it can be difficult to identify sparrows. Well, we are here to help. Join the Nature Trust, Nature NB, and Ornithologist Dorothy Diamond on Wednesday, September 9th for a free, family-friendly webinar to learn about how to identify sparrows in New Brunswick.

During this 1-hour webinar, you will learn how to identify sparrows based on their field marks and calls, how to use e-bird to contribute to the conservation of birds, and more.

Space is limited, so please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8215937084149/WN_R80VnjkPQiidrHoQMW1EIQ

This webinar is a part of our digital Passport to Nature, a series of educational webinars and videos created with you in mind, whether you are new to the outdoors or an avid outdoor explorer. The Passport to Nature is proudly sponsored by the Alcool NB Liquor Community Foundation.

*If you cannot attend this webinar live, please register to receive a recorded copy following the webinar.

Contact Communications and Engagement Coordinator at laura.douglas@ntnb.org

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton