Nature Moncton Nature
News
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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)
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Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**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.)
**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.
At home in a poplar, several
mourning doves were raising their wings in the rain.
**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.
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.
The final photo taken
there showed a single hooded merganser swimming near a small group of
mallard ducks.
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.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
