NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 24, 2025
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To
view the live feed of the Peregrine Falcon nest cam on the summit of Assumption
Place in Moncton, go to:
**
A heads-up on the Nature Moncton Wednesday evening walk tomorrow night, June
25. All details at the end of this edition and upfront tomorrow.
**Monday
morning led to some very anxious texts going back and forth between
obviously over-concerned “human parents” of our peregrine falcon family as to
what they were doing and where they were going beyond what the camera could
see. With all appreciation to Brian Stone’s monitoring, as Brian was able to show the whole
family knew just what they were doing and are quite capable of handling things on
their own to end up with three teenagers safely back in their nest for the night
getting some much-needed “zees” after a very busy day, much to the relief of the
adopted human parents!
Brian Stone spent several hours below the peregrine falcon nest box on Monday watching the newly fledging falcon chicks starting to explore their immediate neighborhood on the roof of the Assumption Place. One chick spent the morning and afternoon perched out at the end of the perching pole, and one stayed inside the nest box, peering out at its siblings that were being more adventurous than it was. The most active chick was out on the roof exploring all day and was even brought food by one of the adults to its spot on the corner of the building. Brian hopes the parent was tipped well for delivering food to a secondary address. Both adults stayed near most of the day and occasionally flew around, voicing encouragement to the children and coaxing them to get out and exercise. By the end of the day, all three chicks were back in the nest box and were soundly sleeping off their exertions of the day!
**A
very different goose has been buddying up with Canada geese for the past few
days in the area at the end of the Malpec Road at Neguac to raise lots of
questions about its origin.
We consulted our goose guru, Ron Arsenault, and his assessment came back as “The
bill proportion relative to the head, along with the hanging belly, suggests a domestic
goose.”
Although its appearance may suggest its domestic origin, it appears to have
forgotten that part of its life and is acting very comfortably in the wild,
enjoying its newly found friends.
**The
Canadian tiger swallowtail butterflies are well into their flight period and starting to show signs of wear, like the one Maureen Girvan photographed on
Monday with a missing tail.
**Lisa
Morris is now noting the huge inflorescence of the cow parsnip plant she
photographed just a few days ago when it was yet to bloom. Lisa also photographed bird’s-foot
trefoil in bloom.
**Jack Perry
sends an inquiry on a plant he found growing in a yard in West Saint John,
which he photographed.
The plant is
ragged-robin (Lynchis flos-cuculi). This is a non-native plant
introduced from Europe, but it has not become invasive. It tends to like wet
areas, but not always, and is a perennial.
(Editor’s
note: the ACCDC (Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre) reports this species
is unranked in Atlantic Canada. The editor has identified this plant only once,
leaving the suggestion that it may not be all that commonly encountered.)
**Hay Island
is a very popular habitat for the savannah sparrow, with many nesting
there. Aldo Dorio photographed a typical savannah sparrow on the boardwalk
there.
**WEDNESDAY
EARLY EVENING WALK
JUNE 25, 2025, 6:30 PM
Where: Mapleton Park Trail
Meeting place: Parking lot P2 on Gorge Road next to
Highway 2. (There will be a Nature Moncton sign at the parking lot.)
Leader: Brian Stone
Our walk will cover about 3.5 km over an estimated 1.5
hours. Walkers can expect the trail to be groomed, wide, and flat paths of
dirt and fine gravel. The walk is mainly easy, with the exception of
one short but steep hill. Bug spray and protective clothing are
recommended. Don't forget to wear your name tag too!
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
