Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Wednesday, 2 April 2025

April 2 2025

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 2, 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  and proofreader Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca 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

nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

 

**Andrew Darcy has been monitoring local vernal ponds for amphibian activity for a Nature Moncton outing this coming Friday night. Andrew’s recent monitoring has found this coming Friday night is too early, so he is postponing the event until conditions are right, which may well be another week. Stay tuned, as this will be a great spring outing when conditions are right.

 

**A recent discussion on the use of butterfly boxes has surfaced, and it would be very appreciated if readers who have used these structures would comment on their effectiveness and how/if they are used by butterflies.

(Editor’s note: I have the impression that these units may impress people more than butterflies, but I would like to be proven wrong. I hope folks who have used these units will share their thoughts.)

 

 

**Although not serious, the recent ice storm was more of an event in Memramcook than in some local areas. Norbert Dupuis photographed a male northern cardinal on an ice-coated shrub. He also photographed a huge flock of common eider going over the Memramcook Valley on that day.

 

**Fred and Lynn Dube had a dozen or more American robins visit their yard, foraging for food. They hoped they had found what they were looking for, as parts of the yard were very torn up, and that wasn't an April Fool's joke. A photo shows only one area of the yard they searched thoroughly.

 

 

**On Sunday, Brian Stone checked out the ponds at Highland Park in Salisbury but found sparse numbers of ducks, just one pair of green-winged teal. Other birds present were several common grackles, numerous male red-winged blackbirds, a few incoming Canada geese, and one very distant, far across the river, pileated woodpecker. Back at home in the yard, a male ring-necked pheasant showed up for a photo, which Brian appreciated greatly.


        **On Tuesday afternoon, after the weather started to clear a bit,         Brian Stone went for a short walk in Mapleton Park and had fun         photographing a busy muskrat as it went about its business in            the newly flooded cattail pond.

 

 

 

 

 

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier


Nature Moncton 





GREEN-WINGED TEAL. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


GREEN-WINGED TEAL. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


GREEN-WINGED TEAL. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


GREEN-WINGED TEAL. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


CANADA GEESE. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


COMMON EIDER. MAR. 28. 2025. NORBERT DUPUIS


RING-NECKED PHEASANT (MALE). MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (MALE). MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


PILEATED WOODPECKER. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE


NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE) MAR. 30, 2025, NORBERT DUPUIS


COMMON GRACKLE. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


AMERICAN ROBINS. APRIL 1, 2025. LYNN DUBE 






MUSKRAT. APR. 01, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


MUSKRAT. APR. 01, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


MUSKRAT. APR. 01, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


MUSKRAT. APR. 01, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


PUSSY WILLOW. MAR. 30, 2025. BRIAN STONE


ALDER CATKINS. APR. 01, 2025. BRIAN STONE 












Tuesday, 1 April 2025

April 1 2025

 

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

April 1, 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  and proofreader Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca 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

nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

 

 

**Why is the population of turkey vultures in New Brunswick as high as it is at the Hampton lagoons?

This query was posed to Richard Blacquiere, and who better to make comments on that query? Richard lives near the lagoons and has been monitoring their activity for many years.

Richard's informative response is paraphrased below:

“I have pondered that question since the turkey vultures began gathering there years ago. Just speculation, but my guess is that they’re all young and/or non-breeding birds. I used to think Hampton was a good place because it was close to a DNR dead animal dump on the Ravine Road, about 7 km to the NNE.  However, people who have been there see lots of crows and ravens but not vultures. And when the vultures head off in the morning or return in the evening, it’s seldom in that direction.

 So, I’m not sure why Hampton is the place. Possibly a learned tradition?-- Offspring following their parents in the late summer, somehow understanding it’s a safe place with reliable food not far away, then returning in following years to finish growing up. More speculation.

 Currently, the birds appear to prefer the fenced-in area around the first pond. Does the fence give them a feeling of security? Inside the fence, disturbance is minimal, and water is easily accessible. Only a few hundred metres away are the big spruce trees where they roost at night. I liken them to human workers. They leave their house in the morning, stop at Tim’s for a drink and some social time with friends, then head off in various directions to their jobs.     

 That area along the fence isn’t mowed till late in the summer. They’re less likely to be seen on the ground when the grass gets long. But they still perch on the fence for a while in the morning before taking flight. I’m going to suggest to the Hampton grounds maintenance staff that they keep that area mowed in the summer. I think the vultures would appreciate it. I know I would.

 I’ve been meaning to write to the vulture researcher in Florida with whom I used to correspond. He’s worked on vultures for years, so he might be able to shed some light on why Hampton is a favoured location.”

(Editor’s note: My thought would be that Richard, who closely monitors this site and knows the local situation best, may be the most qualified to comment.)

 

**Bob Blake in Second North River maintains daily weather statistics from his home, including morning low temperatures, daily high temperatures, and monthly precipitation.

Bob sends a table comparing the statistics of March 2024 with those of March 2025.

The temperatures did not seem to vary greatly; however, precipitation did, with 83 mm more rainfall in March 2024 than in March 2025. Possibly, the first few days of April 2025 will make up for that.

(Editor’s note: the wise editor makes that unsubstantiated statement after looking out the window this morning!)

2024

2025

morning temperatures

daily highs and rainfall

morning temperatures

daily highs and rainfall

-14-1 day

-9-1

-7-1

-6-1

-5-1

-4-4

-3-1

-2-1

-1-3

0-3

+1-1

+2-4

+4-2

+7-2

+9-1

 

 

+13-1

+11-1

+10-1

21 cms. snow

183 mms. rain

-13-1

-12-1

-10-2

-9-1

-7-5

-5-1

-4-1

-3-1

-1-1

0-4

+1-4

+2-1

+3-3

+5-1

+7-1

+9-1

+10-1

+14-1

+15-2

+12-3

+10-2

30 cms. snow

100

 

 

**Last Friday and Saturday, as Brian Stone was scouting areas for the solar eclipse and then going out to photograph it, he took many photos of the gulls, long-tailed ducks, black scoters, and one song sparrow that he encountered along the way. He also relocated the American coot at Saint Edouard (in a pond just past the road to the wharf) that Robert Shortall had found and documented several times over the last few weeks. Brian's new camera is getting a lot of exercise, and it must be developing new muscles as it has become heavier over the last week. Brian wishes he could say the same for himself.

(Editor’s note: gull photos this time of year can be a challenge. The winter plumage of the immature gulls is in the midst of molting at this time to the next year's plumage. Some of the adult gulls are losing their winter head streaking to become clean white (except for the great black-backed gull, whose head stays white all year as an adult). The ring-billed gulls, many of which may have just arrived from the south, all seemed to have lost their winter-streaked heads.

Perhaps there are too many long-tailed duck photos, but keep in mind that we won't be seeing them much longer!)

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier.

Nature Moncton



AMERICAN COOT. MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 




LONG-TAILED DUCKS (PAIR). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 

LONG-TAILED DUCK (MALE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


LONG-TAILED DUCK (MALE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


LONG-TAILED DUCK (MALE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


LONG-TAILED DUCK (FEMALE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BLACK SCOTERS (MALE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BLACK SCOTERS (MALES AND FEMALE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


BLACK SCOTER (MALE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


RING-BILLED GULLS. MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


RING-BILLED GULL. MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


HERRING GULLS. MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


HERRING GULL. MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


HERRING GULL (MOLTING TO ADULT PLUMAGE). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


ICELAND GULL (LATE 1ST WINTER). MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE 


SONG SPARROW. MAR. 28, 2025. BRIAN STONE












 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Monday, 31 March 2025

March 31 2025

 

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

March 31, 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  and proofreader Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca 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

nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

Georges Brun just happened to see a concentric circle in the water just prior to tidal bore arrival on the Petitcodiac River Sunday morning.  A large number of observers managed to witness a harbour porpoise.  Obviously, there were fish in the river. It would start a large circle, then reduce its size, and gradually snack on its catch.

Tides are high at the moment until this Thursday, and then they begin to decay until the next new Moon.  

They saw the harbour porpoise before tidal bore arrival and then again at high tide.

Usually, they see these mammals in May.

 

**Brian Coyle managed to get out to a couple of trail cameras Sunday morning and was pleased to get a mink "ice fishing" in broad daylight. It appears that it is looking through the hole in the ice and then diving in when it sees a fish. It was successful with this dive. Take a look at the action in the video below:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8jvby1j1uzqzxjse59gwb/MINK-FISHING-by-BRIAN-COYLE.mp4?rlkey=jhgc0lyowyob06077zw4uou59&st=ylerpt0l&dl=0

 

(Editor’s note: The video really shows the speed and agility of the mink to dive and get fish prey with such ease!)

 

**Richard  Blacquiere spotted his first green-winged teals at the Hampton Lagoon on Sunday morning. He tallied eight in the largest lagoon. There must have been a flight into the area overnight.

 Turkey vulture numbers continue to grow. A photo shows a portion of the 40 birds estimated to be in the area this morning.  

 

**Jane and Ed LeBlanc took a drive to the Hampton lagoons to see what they could see on Sunday morning. They saw northern shovelers, common goldeneyes, ring-necked ducks, and gadwalls, as well as many others. They also met Richard Blacquiere on the trail, who pointed out where the wood ducks were, but between the sun and the fence, Jane couldn't get a photo of them.

 

**John Inman is noting a few new rusty blackbirds passing through. Male brown-headed cowbirds have been strutting around with their tails up, with some of the common grackles in John’s photos appearing to be female.

(Editor’s note: John Inman’s yard has certainly become a hotspot this past season for rusty blackbirds, whose numbers have gone into sharp decline.)

 

**Pat Gibbs woke up on Sunday morning to see signs of digging in her backyard. This is quite possibly the remnants of the tailings of the Star-nosed Mole as it bulldozed its way underground to overwinter last fall. The ground gets covered by snow, and we don’t tend to notice them until spring.

 

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton



HARBOUR PORPOISE. MAR. 30, 2025. GEORGES BRUN


HARBOUR PORPOISE. MAR. 30, 2025. GEORGES BRUN


HARBOUR PORPOISE. MAR. 30, 2025. GEORGES BRUN


HARBOUR PORPOISE. MAR. 30, 2025. GEORGES BRUN


HARBOUR PORPOISE. MAR. 30, 2025. GEORGES BRUN


RUSTY BLACKBIRD (FEMALE SUSPECTED). MARCH 30, 2025. JOHN INMAN 

 


COMMON GRACKLE (PAIR). MARCH 30, 2025. JOHN INMAN 


COMMON GRACKLE (FEMALE). MARCH 30, 2025. JOHN INMAN 


BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD (MALE). MARCH 30, 2025. JOHN INMAN


TURKEY VULTURES. MARCH 30, 2025. RICHARD BLACQUIERE


RING-NECKED DUCK (MALE). MAR. 30, 2024. JANE LEBLANC


NORTHERN SHOVELER (MALE). MAR. 30, 2025. JANE LEBLANC


GREEN-WINGED TEAL (MALE). MARCH 30, 2025. RICHARD BLACQUIERE


COMMON GOLDENEYE. (MALE). MAR. 30, 2025. JANE LEBLANC


GADWALL (MALE). MAR. 30, 2025. JANE LEBLANC


STAR-NOSED MOLE (TAILINGS). MARCH 30, 2025. PAT GIBBS








 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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