Nature Moncton Nature News: July 3 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 3, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Susan Richards will lead the Wednesday evening, July 5th Nature Moncton walk starting at 7 p.m. All details are at the end of this edition today and tomorrow and upfront Wednesday morning.

**A visit to the Riverview Marsh on Saturday, July 1, 2023, allowed Yves Poussart to get some photos of the Glossy Ibis, which had been seen at that site for several days. Unfortunately, another morning visit on July 2^nd did not locate it. Other photographers who were also present did not locate it either.

The fireworks which were presented on the Canada Day evening might have disturbed this bird and may have encouraged it to move elsewhere.

Nevertheless, these visits provided other observations, such as a photo of a Ring-necked Pheasant among seasonal flowers and a Giant Water Bug discovered along the trail.

On Sunday, July 2, 2023, Yves photographed a Viceroy Butterfly and Northern Shoveler Ducklings while visiting the Memramcook area.

**On Sunday, July 2, Fred and Sue Richards and Alain Clavette went for a butterfly walk on Trail A in Cocagne. The leaders, Louis-Emile Cormier and Stuart Tingley were very pleased to see the sun shining and hoped the heavy clouds to the west would not open up and rain. About a dozen people saw 17 species of butterflies, as well as dragonflies, and noted a variety of birds. They also had a garden tour of Cocagne Fleurs en Art. At the end of the walk, they came upon the caterpillar of the Mourning Cloak butterfly in a field and then realized there were many eating the plants they were found on, which were willows.

It was a great learning experience with butterflies.

**With overnight temperatures increasing, many moths are being seen more regularly. There are many hundreds of different species of moths in New Brunswick, making moth identification somewhat of a challenge.

Joanne Savage has taken on the moth identification challenge and has been able to get photographs and identify many New Brunswick moths.

Joanne has identified two species Brian Stone recently photographed: the Maple Looper moth and the Decorated Owlet moth, featured in this edition.

**On Sunday, Brian Stone returned to Missaquash Marsh outside Sackville along with fellow birder Janet Kempster to have another viewing of the Black Terns making that marsh area their home. They saw at least 6 terns actively flying and feeding and observed them for about an hour. None landed during that time, so only a few flight photos were taken, but the terns were observed hovering and dipping down into the tall grass at the far edge of the marsh, suggesting possible nesting sites. An Osprey flew by far overhead carrying a prey item, and a White Admiral Butterfly rested on a leaf briefly beside the trail.

Brian and Janet briefly stopped at Wilson Marsh at the Moncton end of Salisbury Rd. to look for Marsh Wrens. Several were heard vocalizing regularly close to the trail, but none allowed themselves to be seen. While they were waiting to see a wren, an American Bittern flew overhead and disappeared into the edge of the marsh. No cameras were quick enough to record this flight.

A Common Loon, an infrequent visitor to the marsh, was seen and heard and photographed at a distance. A female Red-winged Blackbird and a small Northern Crescent Butterfly were the final two subjects photographed to finish the day.

**Nelson Poirier recently traveled the road to Escuminac Point.

The weather on Saturday was very turbulent in that area, but the huge number of Four-spotted Skimmer dragonflies moving about was amazing.

Photos are attached showing the features that make this ode easily identified. The combination of the amber wash along the leading edges of the wings, the striking triangular black patch at the base of the hind wings, and the small black spot at each node make the identification straightforward.

Hurricane Fiona very much altered the shoreline to make it almost unrecognizable.

** Susan Richards will lead the Wednesday, July 5th Nature Moncton walk starting at 7 p.m. It will be into Beaumont, PAST St. Anne's Chapel. Park in the parking lot, up to the left, at the 'Road closed' sign. The walk is on a gravel roadway through Acadian coastal forest. The first stop will be at the Beaumont Quarry, where, in the late 1800s, the quarry produced grindstones and pulp stones and more, which were taken by water to Dorchester, down the Petitcodiac River, and into the United States. The group will continue to Fort Folly Point, the mouth of the Petitcodiac and Memramcook Rivers. Down along the shore near the point are ice caves. The distance is 1.6 K from the parking lot to the point. The birds they heard while scouting were Swainson's Thrush, Northern Parula warbler, American Redstart, and a loud Crow and an equally loud Raven. The flora observed were ferns, Twinflower (Linnaea borealis), and Bunchberry, to name just a few.

The road to the walk has a few potholes, but it is backroads New Brunswick.

The map is at the head of the photo lineup.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton