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)
daily edition of Nature News.
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observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
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**An important heads-up
on the Nature Moncton outing coming up this Saturday, November 17, as Nature
News may not be published on Friday due to a conflicting commitment. All
details below:
Date: November 21, 2026
Destination:
Mapleton Park
Start
time: 10:00 AM
Host: Brian Stone
Meeting
Point: Parking lot P2, off Gorge Road next to Highway # 2
Join Nature
Moncton for a walk through Mapleton Park. Our walk will cover about 4 KM over an estimated 2
hours. Walkers can expect the trails to be groomed, wide and flat paths of
dirt and fine gravel. The walk is mainly easy, with the exception of one short
but steep hill.
Don’t forget
to wear your name tag if you have one.
All are
welcome, Nature Moncton members or not.
**Marbeth Wilson and Judy
Cairns were off to Saint John for the second time in a week to see a rare
bird. This time it was the ash-throated flycatcher that's delighted
birders at Seaside Park since Monday, Nov. 9. This bird moved quickly through
the low brush, seemingly finding insects near the ground, making it difficult
to locate and even more challenging to photograph. This bird's breeding range
is Western North America, reaching as far north as south-central Washington, so
it's far from home.
**Wednesday afternoon,
wrapped up in winter coats, hats and gloves, Deana and Peter Gadd spent a
couple of hours in the Escuminac Point area. Looking in at the fishing harbour,
which is undergoing a major renovation, they almost overlooked five juvenile male
harlequin ducks that seemed to be sheltering from the wind in a nearby
corner of the inner harbour, and at almost the same moment a Bonaparte’s gull
came by to check out the same spot! Traveling down the 5 km improved (wider and
smoother) dirt road to the actual point, they came across a ruffed grouse but
saw little else bird-wise until they got to the point, and there they were not disappointed. Immediately, about a dozen non-breeding plumaged red-throated loons were
fishing just offshore. They also saw at one time or another red-breasted
mergansers, common eiders, common goldeneye, two female black scoters, and
about a dozen long-tailed ducks. Along the shore amongst the stones and
kelp, four white-rumped sandpipers appeared, followed shortly by a black-bellied
plover and a dunlin. Unexpectedly, there were only two unidentified
gulls and only one double-crested cormorant.
A single Bonaparte’s Gull
had the calm eastern side of the point to itself. Deana caught a glimpse of a
single snow bunting whizzing by.
As they returned along the
dirt road, they spotted a northern harrier circling over the peat bog and a
common raven flying above the road.
Thinking they had had a
pretty good outing, they were not done yet. In a small sandy cove just off
where the Pointe-Sapin Road intersects the Escuminac Point Road, they came across a
single semipalmated plover and one sanderling, both apparently
without their winter apparel, trying to stay out of the wind!
**Deanna Fenwick was out at the Sackville Waterfowl Park and around the Tantramar Marsh this week.
There were no surprises at the Waterfowl Park, where she saw the usual
mallards, Canada geese, gadwalls, American wigeons, seagulls, crows,
chickadees, and cedar waxwings. Out on the marsh, she spotted three eagles
far out, as well as many flocks of crows and a few very large flocks of snow
buntings performing their acrobatics and making it difficult to get
any close-up photos.
**Jack Perry found a
pseudoscorpion on the basement wall (finished basement) in his daughter’s
house in West Saint John and got photographs of it. One pixelated out too much
to add today, but a second picture with the finger in the photo shows how small
they are. A photo from the internet is added to show the features of this
interesting insect.
(Editor’s note: this small
insect, 2- 8 mm, has no stinger and is completely harmless to people. It
prefers dark, humid areas such as leaf litter but can get into homes,
basements, bathrooms, or around dusty books. They feed on small household pests like dust
mites, book lice, cloth moths, and carpet beetles.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
