Nature Moncton Nature News: July 26 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 26, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The week’s Nature Moncton Wednesday evening walk is happening tonight! All info below:

** NATURE MONCTON WEDNESDAY NIGHT WALK

JULY 26, 2023

Salt Marsh Behind Beaubassin Research Station in Aulac at 7:00 pm, guided by Louise Nichols

This Wednesday’s walk will be on part of the dyke road that runs alongside the Cumberland Basin, including an area of salt marsh that houses Nelson’s Sparrows. We will listen for the sparrows and hopefully spot some who sometimes sit atop the vegetation when they sing. Other birds commonly seen in the area are Savannah, Swamp and Song Sparrows, warblers (especially Common Yellowthroat and Yellow Warbler), Northern Harriers, and shorebirds which are now arriving. Butterflies and dragonflies are possible, along with various plant species beside the road and in the marsh. If we’re lucky, we may even spot a Short-eared Owl as dusk approaches.

To get there, take the Aulac exit (1^st exit past Sackville) from the TCH. From the exit ramp, turn right toward Aulac Rd. and then left at the stop sign. Go past the Irving Big Stop until almost the end of the road where you’ll see a small gravel road on the right called Brown Rd (note there is no sign at the road but it is labeled “Brown Rd” on Google Maps). Turn right and follow that road past various marsh impoundments and then over the railway tracks. You’ll see a house on the right which is the Beaubassin Research Station (you may see students inside with scopes set up). Behind the house is a parking area. We will meet there at 7:00.

This is a fairly easy walk, mostly on a dirt road or grassy dyke. In addition to the birds and other nature interests, the sunset scenery is beautiful. Looking forward to seeing you all there! Bring mosquito protection -- and a light sweater or jacket as the south wind can be cool in the evening.

**Jane LeBlanc was swimming in a lake near St. Martins and got an excellent photo of a Calico Pennant Dragonfly. It was one of many flying in the hot sun.

(Editor’s note: this has to be a hotspot for this species as Jane gets it every year at this spot at this time.)

**Several years ago, Louise and Glen Nichols noted a single Ragged-fringed Orchid growing on the edge of their lawn close to long grasses. Then it disappeared and they haven't seen it for a couple of years. On Tuesday morning, Glen came across an interesting spike flower growing in the middle of his vegetable garden that turned out to be a Ragged-fringed Orchid, looking a bit ragged as it must have been there a while before anyone noticed. Louise sends a couple of photos. As Glen said, that's the advantage of NOT weeding the garden.

**Brian Stone sends more photos from his walk at Hillsborough on Sunday, and later that day at Highland Park in Salisbury. At Hillsborough, Brian photographed a selection of insects, including an interesting fly identified as a parasitic Tachinid Fly (Cylindromyia), a Dogwood Sawfly, Banded Longhorn Beetles mating, an Eastern Forktail Damselfly, many Northern Crescent Butterflies, a Northern Pearly-Eye Butterfly, a Painted Lady Butterfly, a Red Admiral Butterfly, and a Virginia Ctenucha Moth.

Bunchberry Plants were bearing fruit, and Alfalfa was displaying beautiful blue blooms.

Along the trails in the Hillsborough White Rock Recreation Area, Brian noted several Wood Frogs, one quite small, and another deeply coated in mud from a wet rut it was soaking in. A tree displayed telltale small holes circling its trunk that is an obvious sign of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker feeding on its sap, and nearby a young-looking sapsucker was calling angrily at being disturbed. Another sapsucker, a male, was seen feeding chicks in an excavated hole in a tree at a different location.

At Highland Park in Salisbury, Brian photographed a range of subjects that include an Eastern Kingbird that caught a bee-like insect and slurped it down quickly, an American Coot, a Northern Cardinal, several different young Pied-billed Grebes, an American Wigeon Duck Family, and a female Wood Duck stretching its wings. A pair of mating Common Green Darners were egg-laying along the edge of the water, and Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonflies joined Dot-tailed Whiteface Dragonflies perching in the grasses. A Hummingbird Clearwing Moth nectaring among some dogwood flowers was the final photo of the day, and then Brian gave in to the call of air conditioning waiting at home.