NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
October 19, 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
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by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
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**A Nature Moncton field trip will take place today Saturday, October 19, with details below:
Location: Sackville
Water Retention Ponds and Waterfowl Park
Start
time: 10:00 AM; Saturday, Oct 19, 2024
Host: Louise
Nichols
Starting
Location: Parking is available
along the side of Charles St. in Sackville.
Driving the TransCanada, take Sackville exit #504. Go through the lights and continue along Main
St. (Rte 940) as it veers to the left.
You will reach a 2nd set of lights at the intersection of Main and
Bridge St. Turn left on Bridge St. Follow Bridge St. past Lorne St, past the
Marshlands Inn, and then turn right on Charles St. Drive until you pass St. James St. (on the
right) and then park anywhere along the side of the road.
The Sackville
Retention Ponds were created in the heart of Sackville to divert rainwater
through a series of ponds connected by culverts and ditches out to the
Tantramar River. Not only does the
system provide flood protection to the town, but it is also a significant area
for waterfowl and shorebirds. This fall,
a group of shorebirds has been frequenting the ponds and this group has
included occasional Stilt Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers which are not
as often seen. Pectoral Sandpipers are
also often among the group along with the usual yellowlegs and occasional
smaller sandpipers.
We will visit the
ponds and look for the shorebirds in the morning. After a brief picnic lunch, we will walk
through the town’s Waterfowl Park in the afternoon to observe the ducks who are
by now finished their summer molt and are once again sporting their beautiful
bright plumages.
Bring a snack and
lunch (if you forget a lunch, there are several fast-food places close to the
waterfowl park).
Don’t forget to
wear your name tag! All are welcome,
Nature Moncton members or not.
**Jane LeBlanc
enjoyed a sunny day off in St. Martins. She went to the harbour at high tide to
see if there was anything new. She saw a Common Loon, (normally it's
Red-throated that she sees) but was more surprised at the butterflies she saw
in the area, including an American Lady and several Clouded
Sulphurs.
Back home, she had
a bird flitting in the trees and after an hour or so, she saw that it was a Ruby-crowned
Kinglet.
(Editor’s note: the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a late migrant and the occasional one stays with us for the winter. Their rapid movements can make them a challenge to photograph.)
**Susan Richards captured
a photo of a Red-bellied Snake at their Taylor Village yard on Friday.
(Editor’s note: this species of snake is one of our small ones usually no more than 10 inches long as an adult. Note the restricted yellow band on the top of the neck to differentiate it from the similar sized Ring-necked snake whose band encircles the neck.)
**John Inman was visited by a Baltimore Oriole, a Merlin , and a Cooper's Hawk. A juvenile Peregrine Falcon was not impressed with the arrival of a new raptor and immediately started harassing it, John capturing the action.
**Christine Lever captured in Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly enjoying the sun in her Riverview backyard. The dragonfly landed on her washing on the line! It stayed around long enough for her to grab her phone and take a photo. Then a wasp came along and it quickly moved off.
A beautiful mint green katydid was much more cooperative, waiting to be adequately photographed.
The katydid let Christine admire its lovely shape, but only after it took a couple of steps where it
rocked back and forth. After rocking a bit, it must have decided she wasn't a threat and
stayed still enough to allow a couple of photos.
Annette helped
Brian out with some close-up photography of the snake. Brian also stopped by
the Salisbury Big Stop to get some distant photos of a small group of Snow
Geese that are resting regularly way out in the field behind the
stop. A few Clouded Sulphur butterflies were still out and about
soaking up the last warm rays of the Sun.
**Brian also sends
one more photo of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinsan-ATLAS) taken Friday
evening in the thankfully second clear night this week.
**David Lilly shares some photos from his site near Fredericton including a photo of a White-breasted Nuthatch doing its upside down routine as well as our common, colourful Blue Jay surveying its domain.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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