NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
October 8, 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
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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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**On Tuesday and for the previous two mornings, Peter Gadd has been enjoying a bit of a light breakfast on his patio,
only to look up and see a male white-breasted nuthatch nibbling away at a
peanut feeder, not three feet away. On each of seven visits, when
it was able to get a sizable chunk of nuts, it flew off in the same direction,
likely building up a winter cache.
The white-breasted nuthatch has been a frequent visitor for the last 10
days, and Peter hopes it will last all winter as it did two years ago.
Take a look at the close-up action
below, and especially note the markings on the undertail that can help identify
this nuthatch when observations are not clear, as they have a tendency to
travel upside down along the trees and feeders as they forage.
Breakfast with a White-breasted Nuthatch | Peter Gadd | Flickr
**Thanks to Jim Mann for putting
this together and to Georges Brun for submitting it.
At
the Gunningsville bridge, the river is 712 feet across, looking in a straight line across
the river.
Google
Earth date is 4/20/2025.
From
the Moncton side to the structure is 200 feet.
From
the Riverview side to the structure is 500 feet.
Looking
back to 8/2022 the river was 625 feet across.
From
the Moncton side to the structure was 112 feet.
From
the Riverview side to the structure was 500 feet.
It
appears that the Moncton side is eroding, while the Riverview side remains
unchanged.
**The
Ducks Unlimited Treasured Wetlands event at Wilson Marsh was held Tuesday
with beautiful weather. There were groups from the New Brunswick Invasive
Species Council, Heather Fraser from Explore Nature's Bounty, Nature Moncton,
and Ducks Unlimited. Fred Dube and Fred Richards installed 20 Nature Moncton
nesting boxes in possibly the best location yet. The event had about 40
people in attendance and was deemed a success. Micheala Randall, from
D.U., said she would like to hold an annual event there.
**Brian Stone attended the Treasured Wetland event at Wilson Marsh on Tuesday afternoon, along with several Nature Moncton members.
When he arrived, he saw Fred Richards and Fred Dube finishing up the installation of 20 new nest boxes along the trails, and hopefully they will become homes for swallows and other small birds in the next season coming. Brian joined a couple of event attendees and some Nature Moncton members on a walk along the trails to observe and identify the birds and other life that they encountered.
At one spot at a
gazebo, a northern harrier popped up out of the reeds just a few meters from
the group, startling the photographer and resulting in a tail-end photo as it
flew away. A group of eight American wigeons, accompanied by three mallard ducks,
flew past and were photographed, along with an immature bald eagle that
may have been the cause of their flight. Some recent beaver activity was noted,
with two small trees recently chewed down.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
