Nature Moncton Nature
News
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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.
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Heads up: reserve this
coming Tuesday night, October 20, for the October Nature Moncton meeting. It’s
going to be a good one! The write-up is at the end of this message and up front
tomorrow.
**It may be cooling off,
but the mushroom season is not over yet!
Gabriel and Tania Gallant found
jelly tooth mushrooms while walking in a forest near their home in Saint
Marie on Saturday afternoon.
(Editor’s note: the jelly
tooth mushroom is a favoured edible of many mushroom foragers.)
**Barbara Smith submits a
few photos from Saturday's walk at Highland Park in Salisbury with a group
of hardy nature lovers.
Although last week's wind and rain stripped many of the trees' brightest leaves, the forest floor was doing its best to keep the show going.
Few wildflowers remained
in bloom, except for purple asters and cold-hardy woodland Angelica.
Also observed were hundreds, possibly
thousands, of small, neatly spaced holes on a tree trunk, indicating a yellow-bellied
sapsucker that had found a favoured tree earlier in the season.
**Brian Stone took a few
photos of the Nature Moncton Outing to Highland Park in Salisbury on
Saturday morning, which took place in cool weather but with warm spirits. It was
a small group of just 9 people who had an enjoyable walk around the
trails, and they managed to spot a fair number of bird species and the last of
the fading fall colours, consisting mostly of yellow and orange leaves
with a few hints of red left over.
A low-flying female
northern harrier was photographed, as well as a suspected pectoral sandpiper
that was blending in with a small group of greater yellowlegs.
Flocks of American robins
and cedar waxwings browsed in the trees, and large groups of American crows
streamed past in a seemingly endless line. A selection of ducks was
present on the ponds, and at least one great blue heron was still hanging
around despite the late season.
(Editor’s note: As the
group noticed on Saturday, the crows are starting to gather in huge groups that
often roost in towns at night.)
**Date: October 20,
2026 at 7:00 PM
Location:
Rotary Pavilion, Mapleton Park
Presenter:
Roland Chiasson
"Is that a
Crow or a Raven?”
How many
times have you seen a crow or a raven and wondered what it is? Just how closely related are they? Do they share the same social habits? Do they eat similar foods? Do they mate for life? Do crows have
funerals?
Roland
Chiasson has done extensive research on these amazing ‘common’ species we tend
to pass by, instead focusing on the less commonly seen ones. That will not
happen after hearing this presentation!
Roland is a biology
graduate of Acadia University. He has
worked as an interpreter at several national parks, started the piping plover
conservation program, and now runs his own environmental consulting service.
Bring your
own stories about crows and ravens and join Roland for an entertaining evening
about our complicated corvids!
All are
welcome, Nature Moncton member or not.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
