NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
August 7, 2025
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**A sincere thank you to Maureen Girvan
for leading the Wednesday night walk to one of her favourite sections of the
Riverfront Trail in Dieppe.
The weather conditions were perfect
from the start until the sun melted away.
There were many highlights, including more than expected bird activity of a wide selection due to the diverse habitats, including tidal pools with many shorebirds, grasslands for sparrows, and
lots of marsh.
The group was quite quickly met with
a flyover of a peregrine falcon, and were wondering if it was “one of
ours”.
A very appreciated highlight was the
in-and-out of the tall grass of a family of Virginia rail on their evening
feeding mission, which kept the group totally captivated for an extended period.
There were lots of cameras clicking, and it is hoped many of these photos will be
available for tomorrow’s edition.
One of the last specialties spotted by a few who lingered for a moment at the parking area after everyone had left was the very quick movements of a weasel.
**Jane LeBlanc is very excited to
announce the 'birth' of her first monarch butterfly hatchling...a
girl...weight unknown, occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. She
gently took it out of the cage when its wings had enlarged and placed it on a
nearby Joe Pye weed flower, where it hung for about three hours and flew off at about
2:30 p.m. It was in the chrysalis for 16 days. Five more to go.
(Editor's note: Point Lepreau and Mexico filing plans made!)
She also saw a very worn white
admiral butterfly in the yard, as well as several cedar waxwings and lots
of hummingbirds.
**It was very interesting to hear
Katie Girvan’s report of seeing five peregrine falcons flying together and
vocalizing loudly in downtown Moncton. It is very strongly suspected this would
be the family from the nest box atop Assumption Place and very rewarding to
assume the nesting effort was a complete success!
**Georges Brun used Google Earth and
the imagery button to look back in time.
Since 2004, the Petitcodiac River measurements from the riverbank at the center of Chateau Moncton to the other side of the
river are as follows:
2004 - 364 feet across
2005 - 388 feet
2012 - 507 feet
2014 - 529 feet
2014 - 544 feet
2015 - 567 feet
2016 - 574 feet
2017 - 587 feet
2021 - 626 feet
2022 - 664 feet
2024 - 713 feet
2025 - 731 feet
(Editor’s note: some revealing
numbers to show what has happened since the river has been allowed to flow more
freely.)
Georges photographs the Petitcodiac
River showing its width as it appears today, along with a photographed bald
eagle as it watches with equal interest.
Nelson Poirier.
Nature Moncton
