Nature Moncton Nature News: April 23 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 23, 2024

Nature Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

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Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

** Roger Dumaresq shares a very interesting report from that very special place in northern New Brunswick.

Roger reports the Sandhill Cranes are back in Black Rock. He saw two of them, most probably a couple, in a field in Upper Black Rock on Sunday afternoon.

Also, the Razorbills are now on their nesting site in Pokeshaw at the sea stack there. Their number is around 40, increasing each year.

Hopefully, this report will get some long-distance non-disturbing cameras to the site to share the action.

**Louise Nichols was out in their yard and woods on Sunday taking photos of whatever small creatures she could see. She came across a small Long-jawed Orb Weaver Spider and after photographing it, she realized it had some sort of very small fly as prey. A few minutes later she saw another tiny spider (only about one millimeter) which BugGuide helped identify as a Sheetweaver Spider. She lifted a lucky log to find a Red-backed Salamander underneath, thinking it was an earthworm for a moment. She also took a couple of photos of a Bee Fly resting on a twig in the woods.

(Editor’s note: the Sheetweaver Spider is well-named. This very small spider creates incredible-sized sheets of web, making the area look like it has been covered by a sheet.)

** Richard Blacquiere reports bird life is slowly changing at the Hampton lagoon ponds. The overall number of waterfowl seems to be declining; the ponds don’t look nearly as crowded as they did a few weeks ago. But there is still plenty to be seen including scaup, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, and Wood Duck.

In just the last few days, a pair of Blue-winged Teal have been regulars in Spooner Pond, the small wetland by the parking lot. Richard is also seeing more lone male Mallard Ducks suggesting many females have already gone off to start nesting. The Ruddy Duck hasn’t been seen in days. A Pied-billed Grebe is back on the middle pond; last year, a pair of Grebes successfully fledged two broods on that pond. A few Canada Geese are lingering – Richard hopes they leave soon. Great Blue Herons and Osprey are now seen daily.

Tree Swallow numbers are growing, with some showing interest in nest boxes generously provided by the Nature Moncton manufacturing facility. Barn Swallows are back and part of the swallow swarm feeding over the ponds.

**Frank Branch spotted a small group of Greater Yellowlegs at Hay Island on Sunday. They are taking a bit of a repose there as Aldo Dorio spotted them again on Monday.

**David Cannon pulled his first two salamanders of the year out of his pool on Monday. The very first was a Yellow-Spotted Salamander which posed nicely for a photo. The second was a Red-backed Salamander.

**Those folks lucky to have a pair of Ring-necked Pheasants in their yard are very much enjoying the antics of the cock trying to impress a female, often with very muted return interest.

Sterling Marsh shares some of the activity of his pair.

**As reported yesterday, the Riverfront cleanup on Sunday was a big success and it is very notable that the City of Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold (arrowed in the photo) took time from her busy schedule to join the cleanup troupe.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nature Moncton