NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
August 13,
2023
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**Aldo
Dorio is seeing Black-bellied Plovers arriving to Hay Island with
retained remnants of breeding plumage.
He
also photographed a Lesser Yellowlegs at
the same site.
**Maureen
Girvan photographed what appears to be a Yellow
Bear Caterpillar at Mill Creek Park
in Riverview. This is the larval form of the Virginian Tiger moth and is
exceedingly variable in colouration ranging from beige or yellow to dark
red-brown or nearly black.
**Verica LeBlanc
visited Escuminac Point Saturday morning and found the bird life
fairly quiet.
However,
she saw some movement on the beach below but difficult to see the birds at that distance when they are well-camouflaged.
A
Ruddy Turnstone was very cryptic, but
its carrot-red legs caught her eye. This would be a recent arrival.
A
Spotted Sandpiper was moving about quickly with the tail bobbing up and down in
characteristic fashion of the species. The Spotted Sandpiper nests in New
Brunswick so this may be a resident of the area.
Both
birds were the only ones of their species present.
(Editor’s
note: I visited Escuminac Point last month and was amazed how hurricane Fiona
had rearranged the shoreline.)
**Brian Stone
finally found time to process a few more images from last weekend's botany
outing and sends some photos of the non-plant life that he found interesting.
Dragonflies and Damselflies were high on Brian's list of alternate photo
subjects and he managed to spot several during the excellent botany
presentations. At least 3 newly emerged Dragonflies were noted drying
out on large blades of grass getting ready to continue their life cycle and
several Meadowhawk Dragonflies were also seen on the same lakeshore. Slaty
Skimmer Dragonflies and Bluet Damselflies also patrolled the lakeshore and a Spreadwing Damselfly perched cooperatively just long enough
for a photo.
In another
area a young looking Great Blue Heron was spotted fishing and Common
Wood Nymph Butterflies were caught interacting, possibly mating. Silent Carolina
Grasshoppers were present in a few of the areas visited and their light
grey colouration blended them in nicely with the dusty ground they were
"hiding" on. In Kejimkujik National Park, a park interpreter showed
the botany group some examples of the invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid insect
that is now present in the area and is seriously damaging hemlock trees. The
little insects are invisible in the photo as they are hiding in the patch of
woolly fluff attached to the hemlock branches.
Also, in
Kejimkujik Park A Bald-faced Hornet Fly was seen nectaring on a Button
Bush flower and a Bumblebee was doing the same. A Green Frog
was one of many seen, and the rocky edge of Lake Keji was peppered with tiny American
Toads just beginning their lives.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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