NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
October 15, 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.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .
Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols
at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Aldo Dorio photographed a leucistic
male American robin in the yard of Isiae Comeau in Tabusintac on Tuesday.
(Editor's note: Leucism occurs when
normally pigmented feathers contain no pigment to appear completely white. This
is an anomaly and can surely make a normally pigmented plumaged bird look strikingly
different. Only one copy is produced to make the individual quite unique.)
**It is that time of year when gull
watching can become quite interesting as the gulls will be taking on their cycle
winter plumage which will be held until next spring to make identifying them an
interesting birding adventure. It is also that time when surprise gull species
can show up. There will be a gull workshop held at Saint John’s Rockwood Park
on November 29 which will enable participants to be ready to call them by name.
Brian Stone sends an early preview
of a gull he photographed at the Hampton lagoon, which would appear to be a young-of-the-year
ring-billed gull about to go into its winter cycle. Any differing opinions
would be welcomed.
**John Inman reports the red-bellied
woodpeckers chased each other around the yard for a day, and then one went to the new Nature Moncton feeder that John had just put up to give it a
five-star rating.)
The red-tailed hawk took its meal
to its favourite spot to eat and will move further into the tree if the eagle
or ravens are around, and the blue jays were squabbling at the
feeder.
(Editor’s note: This is an
interesting scenario, as this hawk has been arriving for many years,
anticipating that John will put out a piece of raw scrap meat for it. It seems
to know John will comply promptly when it arrives.)
(Editor’s note: It's the time of
year when blue jays gather in large numbers at feeders before the primary wave of
them migrates south. However, a portion of them will overwinter with us.)
**Mark Connell and Gart Bishop did a
reconnaissance walk out to Sussex Big Bluff on Tuesday in preparation for the
walk on Saturday, October 18.
They did see some interesting
plants. Perhaps the most surprising was a serviceberry (the first white
flowering shrub in spring) in flower.
As there was only one bloom, no attempt was made to identify it to
species.
They also saw the very rare Douglas
knotweed, which is a small annual plant that was discovered by Jim Goltz
about 10 years ago on a New Brunswick Botany Club outing. The next nearest
known site for this plant is in northern Vermont!
They
saw scattered populations of rock spike moss, a type of very
small fern. It is an S1.
(Editor’s
note: the Sussex Big Bluff is a very unique area in New Brunswick, and leaders Mark Connell (geologist) and Gart Bishop (botanist), who know this area so well, will probably find other surprises. This is a Nature Sussex sponsored event but
all are welcome to join with actual announcement out in the next two days.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
