Nature Moncton Nature News

Wednesday, 15 April 2026

April 15 2026

Nature Moncton Nature News

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation.

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.

If you would like to share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The camera on the peregrine falcon nest box on the summit of Assumption Place is now live. When checking the link to watch the activity, scroll down to the first large image, which shows what is happening in real time.

**The female peregrine falcon is mantling over her egg cargo as she incubates them this morning and she may not reveal until later in the day whether there are any new arrivals or not.

https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**Ted Sears in St. Martins was cleaning out his bird boxes Tuesday. While driving from one, he came across an American woodcock crossing the road doing its moon walk. Ted comments, “had a police officer made it take a sobriety test and walk the yellow line, it never would have passed!”

**The amphibians are making their debut.

Issac Acker was able to photograph (in Riverview) a blue spotted salamander, a yellow-spotted salamander, a spring peeper, and get an excellent photograph of the more uncommon four-toed salamander.

Isaac comments that he has heard wood frog, northern leopard frog, and spring peeper so far, and he has seen some red-backed salamanders and has heard some owl and coyote vocalizations.

**Brian Coyle had the pleasant opportunity to watch a male northern flicker drum and call, atop a dead tree in his backyard on Tuesday afternoon.

Brian was able to capture an excellent video that clearly lets us hear the vocalization and drumming sound of the northern flicker. It’s a classic. Check it out at the link below:

DSCN3499.MOV

**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins had not one but three yellow-bellied sapsuckers in her yard today: a male, a female, and a juvenile. That’s performance!

(Editor’s note: Jane’s photograph of the juvenile sapsucker [second summer bird] is considered an anomaly. Normally, the young-of-the-year yellow-bellied sapsucker takes on its adult plumage by late winter at the latest. It is expected that the bird Jane photographed will soon be molting into its adult plumage.)

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

FOUR-TOED SALAMANDER. APRIL 14, 2026. ISAAC ACKER

BLUE-SPOTTED SALAMANDER. APRIL 14, 2026. ISAAC ACKER

YELLOW-SPOTTED SALAMANDER, APRIL 14, 2026. ISSAC ACKER

SPRING PEEPER. APRIL 14, 2026. ISAAC ACKER

AMERICAN WOODCOCK. APRIL 14, 2026. TED SEARS

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (FEMALE). APRIL 14, 2026. JANE LEBLANC.

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (MALE). APRIL 14, 2026. JANE LEBLANC.

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (IMMATURE). APRIL 14, 2026. JANE LEBLANC.

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (FEMALE). APRIL 14, 2026. JANE LEBLANC.

NORTHERN FLICKER. APRIL 15, 2026. BRIAN COYLE

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

April 14 2026

Nature Moncton Nature News

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation.

If you would like to share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

A heads-up on an event taking place this Saturday, April 18, at the Baie Verte Hall. All the info is on the poster below:

The male peregrine falcon was mantling/incubating their eggs early Tuesday morning, possibly giving the female a break. The egg count was still at 3, as could be seen, but could change by the end of the day.

https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**Brian Coyle happened to glance out his upstairs window on Monday to peek at his feeders, when he spotted an eastern phoebe perched on the feeder hanger. Brian got a video that highlights the typical "tail bobbing" of this species.

(Editor's note: The eastern phoebe is typically one of the first flycatchers to return in the spring.)

DSCN3488.MOV

Brian was also able to capture a video with his trail camera of a duo of beavers, possibly showing bonding behaviour.

IMG_0012 - Copy (5).MP4

A mink was also scampering around in the same area to be captured in a video.

IMG_0045.MP4

**Jessica Belanger-Mainville and Andrew Darcy went on an adventure on Sunday to find as many bird species as possible.

The star of the day was a northern shrike, a lifer for Jessica. It was first reported by Rhonda and Paul Langelaan in their yard that morning. They graciously welcomed Jessica and Andrew to take a look at this bird. They also saw a purple finch in a nearby tree while looking for the shrike.

They then went on to Highland Park in the hope of finding many waterfowl, but only mallard ducks were present. However, they found two white-breasted nuthatches and a group of bohemian waxwings that posed for the camera. They stopped at a few more spots and ended their trip in Moncton at Jones Lake, where they found a pair of common eiders, ring-necked ducks, a lot of common mergansers, wood ducks, and a pair of northern cardinals. At the end of the day, they tallied up 45 species!

**It would appear that the American robins took Jamie Burris’ "welcome" sign in his backyard seriously!

**Pat Gibbs comments that normally a male northern cardinal stays in her back yard where there is more cover, but on Sunday, he ventured out as far as her front yard.

A great blue heron was unexpected, fishing in a suburban wetland on one of the back streets of Shediac below a culvert, but they have keen eyesight and was not impressed with Pat watching him even though she was far away, so it took flight but offered nice photographs.
Pat also photographed crocus blooms, brightly displaying their pollen to early emerging pollinators.

**Georges Brun reports small groups of black scoters along the open water in the Cocagne area. 98% of the ice is now gone. There are still large thin bands of ice (clear and grayish) near the Cocagne Cemetery and below the new Bouctouche River bridge.

George saw a dead common eider on the south side of Cocagne Bridge, and an osprey was on the artificial nest near the former E.P. Melanson Fish Plant.

There was some ice along the shore in places.

A few great blue herons were in the area.

Georges saw his first great blue heron arrive near the bend of the Petitcodiac on Saturday.

American robins are starting to show. Their song is a welcoming sound.

**Georges also comments that the wet weather at this time of year usually brings out a beaver around Halls Creek and the Petitcodiac River. This was the case on Monday evening. It appeared to be re-oiling its fur and then moving up Halls Creek.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

EASTERN PHOEBE. APRIL 14, 2026. BRIAN COYLE

WOOD DUCK (MALE). APRIL 12, 2026. JESSICA BELANGER-MAINVILLE

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. APRIL 12, 2026. JESSICA BELANGER-MAINVILLE

NORTHERN SHRIKE. APRIL 12, 2026. JESSICA BELANGER-MAINVILLE

AMERICAN ROBIN (MALE). APR. 8, 2026. GEORGES BRUN

RING-NECKED PHEASANT. APRIL 12, 2026. PAT GIBBS

NORTHERN HARRIER. (FEMALE). APR. 8, 2026. GEORGES BRUN

NORTHERN HARRIER. (MALE). APR. 8, 2026. GEORGES BRUN

NORTHERN CARDINAL. APRIL 12, 2026. PAT GIBBS

NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE). APRIL 12, 2026. JESSICA BELANGER-MAINVILLE

GREAT BLUE HERON. APRIL 12, 2026. PAT GIBBS

COMMON EIDER (MALE). APRIL 12, 2026. JESSICA BELANGER-MAINVILLE

BOHEMIAN WAXWING. APRIL 12, 2026. JESSICA BELANGER-MAINVILLE

BLACK SCOTERS (COCAGNE). APR. 12, 2026. GEORGES BRUN

AMERICAN ROBIN. MAR 31, 2026. JAMIE BURRIS

BEAVER. APR. 13, 2026. GEORGES BRUN

BEAVER (OILING FUR WITH CASTOREUM). APR. 13, 2026. GEORGES BRUN

CROCUS. APRIL 12, 2026. PAT GIBBS

Monday, 13 April 2026

April 13 2026

Nature Moncton Nature News

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation.

If you would like to share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**The female peregrine falcon was mantling her eggs for a significant part of the day on Sunday; however, as of late afternoon, the egg count was still at two. Has that/will that change today?

Oops! Early morning report. Georges Brun saw a third egg on the nest at 7:02 AM on Monday morning.

PEREGRINE FALCON NEST. APR. 13, 2026. GEORGES BRUN

https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**A crew from CBC joined the bird nest cleaning effort on the Riverfront Trail in Moncton on Saturday. Their report, interview, and photos are available at the link below:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nest-boxes-birds-moncton-9.7161042

**Gail Taylor still has her duo of tufted titmice attending her Canal (near St. George) feeder yard. Two Nature Moncton nest boxes have been erected in her yard to provide possible nesting locations. Gail checked on the nesting box down back of her house on Sunday morning, and this box has had some renovations taking place on it. Normally, a red squirrel cannot gain access to the nest hole without enlarging it, yet a flying squirrel can use the nest box without enlarging the hole. It would appear that a red squirrel is attempting to use the box. Fortunately, a second box is available should the titmice reward us by taking up residence.

**Shannon Inman photographed a common milkweed bug on Sunday, as well as a crocus out in full bloom.

Shannon also spotted a male American kestrel as well as an American woodcock.

John Inman photographed a female purple finch with a yellowish coloration around the throat area.

A third wave of blackbirds arrived after the others left. (The photo shows about a quarter of them under the cedars.)

Also in the cedars, John got a quick photo of a suspected yellow-rumped warbler. An overwintering white-throated sparrow is getting its bright breeding plumage, and a sharp-shinned hawk monitored the activity in a birch tree.

**Aldo Dorio captured a nice photo of a male red-breasted merganser off the shoreline of Hay Island on Sunday.

**The home of Terry Power from Hardwicke, Miramichi, borders on a large salt marsh.

He had a short-eared owl that visited his place in Hardwicke (near Miramichi) almost daily in the winter of 2004. It used his deck as a perch to hunt from. Terry comments that it got quite comfortable with him being near it.

(Editor’s note: Terry had thought he had shared these photos with us, but in checking his sent file, found they did not go. Even if a bit late, this is a very interesting scenario to share. Having a short-eared owl hunt from your deck just doesn’t happen very often!)

**On April 12, 2026, a group of dedicated Chignecto Naturalist Club members and friends spent the morning cleaning nest boxes, replacing boxes or posts or both, and collecting data in the Tantramar marsh.

It was a sunny but windy (heard it's always windy there) morning with well-prepared people with tools to do the jobs needed.

The success rate was about 70 %.

The boxes are ready for this year's swallows, and good luck for the nesting season.

Good work everyone.

While there, Fred and Sue Richards tended the 10 Nature Moncton Nesting Boxes that were installed last spring at the Retention Pond in Sackville, which were cleaned out, had brackets added to keep them straight, and data was obtained.

**Brian Stone visited the Salisbury Wastewater Treatment Facility off Government Rd. on Sunday but found very few ducks in the ponds. One wood duck and several ring-necked ducks were all that were present, and not many more down in the wetlands below. Brian did note a couple of tree swallows flying over the water treatment lagoons and managed a few quick photos of one.

While not having much success with birds there, Brian was very happy to find hundreds of tiny unequal cellophane bees back at work on the small dirt hillside along the lane leading into the treatment facility. They were flying briskly all over the long, grassy mound about two cm above the ground and frequently dropping down to mate before popping back up again. They will soon dig little holes in the ground to lay eggs to begin the new generation. Brian made a short video of the action, but the bees are very small, and the video is best viewed on a large screen if possible.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fm5bxprlmvc5uy23pjdns/UNEQUAL-CELLOPHANE-BEES.-APRIL-12-2026.-BRIAN-STONE-2.mp4?rlkey=fyk1sygxmylhbitazhhs78z3w&st=faf9ngeb&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3gmfnjyus4r62ed2z19t7/UNEQUAL-CELLOPHANE-BEES.-APRIL-12-2026.-BRIAN-STONE.mp4?rlkey=bwzw82bosmm3la0fwg1sulf6c&st=aseo06mq&dl=0

**David Lilly shares the most recent Fredericton Nature Club newsletter at the link below.

What an excellent newsletter, and it is especially important to take note of the field outings the group has planned for the upcoming months. The newsletter is very worthwhile for all nature clubs to peruse to get ideas for their own clubs, or maybe attend some of the outings the Fredericton group has planned.

Thank you, Fredericton Nature Club, for sharing

www.frederictonnatureclub.com

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton