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.
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**Leon Gagnon shares some photos of birds he captured on Miscou Island in June.
A photo of a yellow-throated
warbler is special as this is an uncommon warbler to visit New Brunswick,
considered an accidental. Its breeding range is well to the south of us on the
US eastern seaboard.
Leon also shares photos of
a black guillemot in non-breeding plumage. This species appearing in
non-breeding plumage in the spring/summer season would not be unusual, as it can take 2+ years to achieve its adult breeding plumage.
Another photo Leon shares is a gray catbird, nicely showing that chestnut undertail covert that is often concealed.
**Verica LeBlanc spotted
and photographed a prime fresh luna moth at the former White School
House, now Seniors Centre in Nelson, Miramichi. It was day-perching
Sunday at noon.
(Editor’s note: The large,
beautiful luna moth has an average wingspan of 8 to 11.5 cm, being one of North
America’s largest giant silk moths.)
**As mentioned over the
past few days, the wet, warmish weather has wild mushrooms in a growth frenzy!
Brian Coyle came across an
abundant emergence of the king bolete mushroom, which is considered a
choice edible. This is a large mushroom that is often found near conifers,
especially spruce. Brian shares several photographs and a video to help
identify this mushroom. The fishnet pattern on the stalk, right where it joins
the cap, is a helpful identifying feature. This feature appears in only one
other bolete, the bitter bolete, which is much smaller -- and tasting it before
spitting it out quickly differentiates it. Spore prints are not as helpful when
identifying boletes as they are with gilled mushrooms.
**Nelson Poirier was
surprised to find a few nice patches of the horse mushroom on Sunday which
would seem very early in the year for it to appear.
Some photographs show
various features to help identify this beautiful edible mushroom.
It can become quite large
and has pink gills when fresh that turn darker with age, as photographs show.
One photo with the black arrow shows the partial veil of one specimen that has
not yet separated from the cap. A spore print is helpful with this species, as
it is black.
**An interesting
commentary from Pat Gibbs who moved to New Brunswick.
“Sitting on my front porch,
I just spotted a cedar waxwing. Before moving to NB, I had never
seen one or even known of their existence, focused as I was on landscapes, bald
eagles, herons, hawks, and cormorants. When I came here and started
reading the Nature Moncton blog, I noticed photos of them, thinking how pretty
they were, but never expected to see one. However, the birch in my front
yard died, and I decided to replace it with a sour cherry tree, trying to get
both my cherry blossom fix and feed some local birds. That tree is now
about 5 feet tall and has quite a few berries though they never seemed to
attract any of the birds that visited my feeders. I was therefore shocked
today to notice a cedar waxwing fly into my tree and perch there for a good 5
minutes. I am not sure if the berries are still too green or if that type
of berry is not to the liking of these waxwings, but it flew off without
sampling any. I have attached photos. I am going to err on
the hopeful side that when the berries are fully ripe, they will
return. I was further surprised to notice the red and yellow wing tips it had,
something I had never noticed before in the blog photos, though probably only
because I didn't look closely enough. All in all, it made for an
enjoyable afternoon for me.”
**Over the past week, Phil
Riebel has been documenting the aftermath of the flooding in Pierrefonds,
Quebec. He has put together a short photo essay that reflects on the event, the
enormous amount of waste left behind, and what it says about extreme weather,
aging infrastructure, and our relationship with the environment.
LINK TO GALLERY: https://www.philriebelphotography.com/Our-Planet/Pierrefonds-Flood-June-21-2026
There is a short video of Phil arriving in Pierrefonds minutes after the storm.
Most of the photographs are documentary images. A few have been intentionally
enhanced with AI as artistic interpretations - and perhaps to enhance the
message. These images are identified, and the original is included.
**On Sunday afternoon,
Brian Stone was taking photos of nature at Wilson Marsh when he heard, and then
saw, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds performing their amazing aerial
acrobatics over the Petitcodiac River near Bore Park. They were quite far away,
but Brian zoomed in and then cropped and processed the images to bring them
closer.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
