NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 18, 2025
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 the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader
Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca if
any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
For more information
on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com
Proofreading
courtesy of Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
To
view the live feed of the Peregrine Falcon nest cam on the summit of Assumption
Place in Moncton, go to:
**The first
in the series Nature Moncton Wednesday evening walks will happen
tonight, Wednesday night, June 18, on the heels of a successful year-end
barbecue on Tuesday evening. All details below:
**Wednesday Night Walk
Date: June 18, 2025, 6:30 PM
Location: Humphreys Brook Trail
Meeting place: Harrisville Blvd. entrance of the
Humphreys Brook Trail (Look for the Nature Moncton sign)
Leader: Lynda Leclerc
Join us for Nature Moncton’s first Wednesday night walk
for the 2025 summer season! We will be walking the first 2 km of the
Humphreys Brook Trail. This walk will be easy on a wide, level, and
well-groomed trail.
At the beginning of our walk, we’ll see a man-made lake where waterfowl and green frogs are often evident. Along the trail and brook, there will be lots of wooded areas and plant life to see. Many birds can be seen or heard depending on the time of day. There may be many mosquitoes, so plan accordingly! If you have a Nature Moncton name tag, please wear that too! All are welcome, Nature Moncton members or not.
Directions: Via the eastbound Trans Canada Highway,
take Exit 462 at the Caledonia Industrial Park. Turn right at the stop sign
onto Harrisville Blvd and drive 0.6 KM. The trailhead entrance is on the
right. There isn’t a parking lot; therefore, please park on the widened gravel
shoulder.
Via the westbound Trans Canada Highway, take Exit 462 at
the Caledonia Industrial Park. Turn left at the stop sign onto Harrisville
Blvd. Drive 0.8 KM to the trail entrance on the right and park on the shoulder
of the road.
Via Shediac Rd., drive 1.1 KM’s east from Stirling Apples
and turn left at the traffic lights onto Harrisville Blvd. Drive 0.7 KM to the
trail entrance which is on the left. You can park on either side of the road.
**Veronica Price removed a piece of row cover from her garden on Tuesday, and a garter snake quickly slithered "under cover." At first, his head was out of sight, but eventually, he started slowly working his way forward until more of him was exposed.
Veronica comments, “I didn't actually put the row cover
on for the purpose of attracting snakes, but it's good to know that different
materials work for them.”
**On
the morning of 17 June 2025, Richard Blacquiere reports finding a large snapping
turtle laying eggs on the side of the walking trail which runs along the
wastewater treatment ponds in Hampton. This has become an expected annual
event. For several years, in the latter half of June, Richard has encountered a
snapping turtle depositing eggs in approximately the same location. So far, he
has not seen evidence that any eggs have ever hatched.
Since April, two adult pied-billed grebes have been inhabiting the middle pond of the Hampton lagoon system. Also, on the morning of June 17, Richard saw three downy young grebe chicks, confirming that nesting was a success. He went back in the evening and found seven chicks being tended by the two adults. This is the 4th year in a row that grebes have nested on that pond.
**Peter Gadd and others have been keeping an eye on a pied-billed
grebe nest at Miramichi Marsh, constructed very close to a walking
trail. Although easily disturbed by people passing, the nest was successful.
However, by Monday morning, the family relocated to a new nest, perhaps 100
feet away. This nest is a little more secluded, but not much, still only perhaps 12 feet offshore,
also by the walking trail. But the family seems to be doing well. There are
seven youngsters, and as is the case with grebes, both parents are involved.
Lovely to watch. Over the last three years or so, pied-billed grebe families seemed
not to have survived for long at the marsh. Young families have vanished, predated by river otters perhaps. Presently, at Miramichi Marsh, a major beaver
dam/pond has been destroyed, perhaps limiting river otter access.
**Susanne Rousseau sends some photos of the colourful
display of the plant dame’s rocket which is in full bloom at the moment along the
Sussex trail.
(Editor’s note: Dame’s rocket is a non-native escapee to North America that has become very invasive yet very beautiful. It is often confused with our phlox species; however, they can be readily distinguished as dame’s rocket has alternately arranged leaves and four petals per bloom, whereas the phloxes have oppositely arranged leaves and five petals per bloom.
Dame's rocket is very fragrant and attractive to pollinators, especially in the evening.)
**Brian Stone processed a few more photos from an outing
to Wilson (Bell) Marsh last Friday and sends along a selection of the better
ones. He noted a group of at least six Canada geese families that
consisted of a wide range of gosling ages, all hanging out together at one
end of the marsh. One of the families had very young goslings, and the other
families each had goslings of a different age, up to a couple that were young
adults. These families were in close proximity to each other and frequently
displayed aggressive poses as they interacted.
At one small pond, a sora reacted loudly to
Brian's presence and ran around acting as though it was protecting a nest or
maybe hatchlings, but Brian did not see either. He moved on after just a few
quick photos to allow the sora to settle back into its normal routines. A Virginia
rail looked on, curious as to what was causing all the commotion. A pair of
hairy woodpeckers flew up and down the wooded part of the trail,
sometimes landing on the same tree together, and one appeared to be an immature
bird.
Several mallard duck families were present, and a white-throated sparrow
paused long enough to get a photo. A busy male yellow-bellied
sapsucker was tending its extremely well-holed birch tree, which was
supplying it with sweet sap and insects attracted to the same sap. A freshly
minted four-spotted skimmer dragonfly was perched and drying out its
wings, and a tight group of blue-gray coloured aphids were clustered
around a small twig.
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
