NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
August 16, 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
if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Fred
Richards spotted a goldenrod crab spider patiently waiting for lunch to
show up, which allowed him to get an excellent photograph.
(Editor’s
note: the crab spider gets its name because of its unique ability to run long
sideways as well as forwards or backward. It is often bright yellow as Fred’s
photo shows but has the ability to change colour based on their surroundings
and can sometimes even go to white.
They
prey on insects but are preyed upon themselves by larger spider hunters.
**Brian
Stone spent a few hours peeking out his kitchen window on Friday afternoon,
spying on the birds that were present there and getting a few photos to share.
There were six or more juvenile American robins foraging in the yard along
with their parents. One youngster was caught being fed choke cherries by a
parent while perched in a small English oak sapling.
A northern flicker was picking up
insects from the yard and occasionally perched in a treetop in the back.
A
young-of-the-year northern cardinal was flitting in and out of the big
maple tree, seeming to be hunting insects, but Brian was not sure if that was
actually what it was doing.
A
couple of juvenile European starlings were foraging with a group of
adults, and an eastern phoebe spent the day grabbing insects and spiders
for lunch before moving on to other areas. A small fledgling song sparrow perched
for a photo, as well as a juvenile chipping sparrow.
A chipmunk stopped by for a drink of
water as it does several times a day.
(Editor’s
note: Brian’s photos of the juvenile northern cardinal are very special as they
seem hard to come by. Only the juvenile will have a dark bill which will turn
the adult red by late fall, depending on when it was hatched.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
