Nature Moncton Nature
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**Marbeth Wilson, Dale Pugh,
and Judy Cairns took a quick trip to Saint John hoping to see the
beautiful tropical kingbird that has been attracting local birders'
attention since Jim Wilson first confirmed it on November 1st. It
didn’t take long to find it, and they were delighted to get good views of it
catching flies atop various trees in the area. This bird is far away from home,
as their breeding range is in the southwestern U.S. and down to
Argentina.
TROPICAL KINGBIRD. OCTOBER 6, 2026. MARBETH WILSON
TROPICAL KINGBIRD. OCTOBER 6, 2026. MARBETH WILSON
**Tania and Gabriel
Gallant checked the sugar maple where they found oyster mushrooms last
month and found some more growing. Some were large, about the size of their hands.
(Editor’s note: the human tooth-like
edge is unusual in the oyster mushroom, but I wonder if some of the freezing
nights that we’ve had in the past have caused some distortion.)
OYSTER MUSHROOMS. NOV 8, 2026. GABRIEL GALLANT
OYSTER MUSHROOMS. NOV 8, 2026. GABRIEL GALLANT
**Shannon Inman went out
for a few rainy-day photos; Shannon spotted a cock ring-necked pheasant
down the road, and on the marsh a couple of great blue herons were discussing
their options.
GREAT BLUE HERON. NOV 8, 2026. SHANNON INMAN
GREAT BLUE HERON. NOV 8, 2026. SHANNON INMAN
RING-NEKED PHEASANT. NOV 8, 2026. SHANNON INMAN
At home in a poplar, several
mourning doves were raising their wings in the rain.
MOURNING DOVES. NOV 8, 2026. SHANNON INMAN
MOURNING DOVES. NOV 8, 2026. SHANNON INMAN
**Northern Cardinals are
showing more interest in birdfeeder yards with the breeding season ending.
Bob and Sharon Blake had a
nice male northern cardinal at their feeders Sunday morning; hopefully he stays
for the winter!!
**Brian Stone took
advantage of a short break in the rainy weather to head over to Wilson Marsh,
hoping to get some photos worth sharing. He did manage to photograph a few birds, but the light was dim, and the camera worked hard to gather
enough light to create a photo good enough to post. A pair of finches high in
an apple tree appear to be possibly house finches, but Brian is not
sure. In nearby trees, cedar waxwings were feasting on berries, and some
appeared to be immature. American robins and European starlings were also
gulping down mountain ash berries in large numbers. A few American
goldfinches were joining in the banquet as well. A pair of northern
cardinals was flitting about in the bushes, but Brian only managed a
difficult photo of the male cardinal.
NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE). NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
HOUSE FINCH (FEMALE). NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
HOUSE FINCH (MALE). NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
CEDAR WAXWING. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
The beaver lodge
near the Bell St. entrance to the trail showed recent construction with extra branches added, and a large tree beside the trail was close
to being chewed down. A path between the two ponds that crossed the walking
trail showed signs of regular use as beavers dragged branches from one side to
the other.
BEAVER LODGE. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
BEAVER CHEWED TREE. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
BEAVER CHEWED TREE. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
BEAVER TRAIL. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
The final photo taken
there showed a single hooded merganser swimming near a small group of
mallard ducks.
HOODED MERGANSER. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
Earlier in the week,
Brian took a few photos in Moncton's Centennial Park that included a
white-breasted nuthatch, a red squirrel carrying a large cone to hide away for
later consumption, and some woolly alder aphids not yet taken flight
from their branch.
WOOLLY ALDER APHIDS. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
RED SQUIRREL. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
WATER DROPS. NOV. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE
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Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
