Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Monday, 30 March 2026

March 30 2026

 

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 activity, scroll down to the first large image which shows what is happening in real time. By scrolling down a bit further, you will see recent images from the past few days which shows that the adult birds have been visiting the nest box and have created a scrape depression in the gravel so activity is expected any moment with that first egg!

 

https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

 

**As part of Riverview's Maplefest, Nature Moncton presented a Beginner Birder Workshop on Sunday March 29th. Twenty enthusiastic participants took part in this event.  The program included an instructional component featuring the Merlin bird identification app.  Then the eager budding birders had hands on experience using Merlin during a walk in Mill Creek looking for birds.

 

 

**Yvette Richard comments she rarely sees a white-breasted nuthatch at her feeders. She got a nice photograph of the undertail ID feature.

Yvette is pleased to have her northern cardinals continue their daily visits

 

 

**Gordon Rattray’s feeder yard got very busy this weekend with new arrivals and regulars showing up in numbers.  American robins were in a flock of about 100, and grazed lawns for two days.  For only the second time this year Gordon had a visit from a male northern cardinal who was around both Saturday and Sunday.  Sunday morning, he sang from the top of a high spruce tree for about an hour and then dropped in to feed at the feeders.  Purple finch came in numbers on Sunday with several males and females.  A female red-bellied woodpecker made a visit to the suet feeder.  Gordon has two crows visiting most days to their own feeder station; he believes they are the nesting pair from last year as they have been around all winter.  Gordon had a single snow bunting as well as a single song sparrow. 

Yard list for the weekend:

American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, blue jay, mourning dove, northern cardinal, pine siskin, purple finch, red-bellied woodpecker, red-breasted nuthatch, snow bunting and song sparrow.

 Also present but no photos- red-winged blackbirds and common grackles.

 Gordon is hearing territorial calls of the black-capped chickadees and the mourning doves

 

**Jane and Ed LeBlanc in St. Martins had a lone turkey vulture fly right overhead as they approached the marsh on a walk with the dog.

 

**Maureen Girvan photographed a duo of Canada geese seemingly a bit impatient that the Centennial Park pond was still ice covered as of Saturday.

 

 

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 


RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER (FEMALE). MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


AMERICAN GOLDFINCH (MALE TAKING ON BREEDING PLUMAGE). MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY




  


WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. MAR 28, 2026. YVETTE RICHARD


WHITE BREASTED NUTHATCH ( UNDERTAIL ID FEATURE). MAR 28, 2026. YVETTE RICHARD



PINE SISKIN. MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


NORTHERN CARDINAL. MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


NORTHERN CARDINAL. MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


NORTHERN CARDINAL (FEMALE). MAR 28, 2026. YVETTE RICHARD


PURPLE FINCH (MALE). MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


PURPLE FINCH (FEMALE). MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY





CANADA GEESE. MARCH 28, 2026. MAUREEN GIRVAN


AMERICAN CROW, MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


TURKEY VULTURE. MARCH 29, 2026. JANE LEBLANC


SONG SPARROW. MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


SNOW BUNTING. MAR 29, 2026. GORDON RATTRAY


BEGINNER BIRDER WORKSHOP. MARCH 29, 2026. MARBETH WILSON













Sunday, 29 March 2026

March 29 2026

 

 

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

 

 

**Since the ducks have not returned yet to Sackville, Deanna Fenwick has had to be satisfied with the daily visitors at her feeders.

 Over the last few weeks, she has had the usuals - American goldfinches, black-capped chickadees, mourning doves, rock pigeons, downy and hairy woodpeckers, a white-breasted nuthatch and a northern cardinal couple that Deanna is delighted to say have been with her all winter. During the last couple of weeks, she has also had both evening grosbeaks and pine grosbeaks, dark-eyed juncos, common redpolls, and just this week the song sparrows have returned. Last year Deanna was lucky to get a few warblers show up in early spring so she is hopeful that will happen again!

 

 

**Jane LeBlanc had several song sparrows in her yard on Saturday, as well as common grackles.

 

**John Inman photographed a few (!) of the blackbirds that have been in his yard. He notes some are heading north across the river when the peregrine falcon is not in sight. John also took note of a common grackle with a deep purplish coloration to its head (adult male?) and a red-winged blackbird and hairy woodpecker having a squabble over the suet.

 

**On Saturday evening Brian Stone went to a spot in the west end of Moncton and stood in the very cold air to wait for the appearance of an American woodcock that frequents the area. By the time the woodcock made an appearance it was too dark for decent photography, but Brian did that anyway and also made a short video to let viewers hear the woodcock's call. Turn the volume up to hear it properly.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6gwmibjeknzowurzgy88g/WOODCOCK.-MAR.-28-2026.-BRIAN-STONE.mp4?rlkey=kshf9ekfhz2j41i8uswnhln0e&st=mascn7e9&dl=0

 

 (Editor’s note: This is the warm-up show ground vocalization. The males will fly up abruptly; wings making a twittering sound then fall back to the exact same spot to repeat the performance. It is not easily observed as normally occurs between dusk and dawn.)

 

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton



AMERICAN WOODCOCK. MAR. 28, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


AMERICAN WOODCOCK. MAR. 28, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


PINE GROSBEAK (FEMALE). MARCH 25, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE). MARCH 25, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


NORTHERN CARDINAL (MALE) AND PINE GROSBEAK (FEMALE). MARCH 24, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


NORTHERN CARDINAL (FEMALE). MARCH 25, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


EVENING GROSBEAKS (MALE), MARCH 25, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


HAIRY WOODPECKER (MALE). MARCH 19, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


DARK-EYED JUNCO. MARCH 22, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


COMMON REDPOLL, MARCH 24, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


COMMON GRACKLES. MARCH 28, 2026. JOHN INMAN


COMMON GRACKLE. MARCH 28, 2026. JOHN INMAN


COMMON GRACKLE. MARCH 28, 2026. JANE LEBLANC


BLACKBIRDS. MARCH 28, 2026. JOHN INMAN


WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. MARCH 19, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK


SONG SPARROW. MARCH 28, 2026. JANE LEBLANC


RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD AND HAIRY WOODPECKER (IN DEBATE!). MARCH 28, 2026. JOHN INMAN


PURPLE FINCH (PAIR), MARCH 19, 2026. DEANNA FENWICK




 

 

Saturday, 28 March 2026

March 28 2026

 

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

 

 

**Jane LeBlanc caught both American robins and Canada geese on a walk through St. Martins on Friday. The one she missed (twice) was a northern harrier seen flying over the marsh. At least she knows they are in the area, so she can keep an eye out for them.

 

**Shannon Inman photographed a group of alder shrubs that had lesions that she had not noticed before, and she was wondering what may be the cause. A consultation with Doug Hiltz at the Maritime College of Forest Technology brought back a commentary with a portion of that response quoted below:

 

“Normally fungus and fungus-like pathogens are usually fairly dormant in the winter. SO, I believe this is probably some type of sun-scald injury. This time of the year when the air is cold and dry and the sun is bright and intense, it can cause damage to the outer and inner bark. Essentially like a peeling sunburn on humans. I’ve never really seen it on an alder so I can’t be certain but it looks similar to this in other species.”

 

**Thanks to Georges Brun for alerting Nature News to Mike Wedge's Petitcodiac Tidal Bore Channel!  Mike for certain has the most video dating back to prehistoric times when the Albert County Mastedon roamed the province of New Brunswick.  Joke!

Mike Wedge’s amazing history of the Petitcodiac River tidal bore is definitely something to watch in order to appreciate and understand this phenomenon that has attracted people from all over the world.

 

https://youtube.com/@hightidesup?si=kiZTaSO5fGFQ0SB7

 

**On Friday Brian Stone checked on the bald eagle nest in Upper Coverdale and saw that the nest had one eagle sitting in it, deep enough to be hidden from view when near the nest. As Brian was watching to see if the eagle would peek up over the edge of the nest the eagle's partner flew in (blurred by the trees in front of it)  and landed on the side of the nest. Brian was amazed by the eagle's wingspan that was evident in one photo as it landed and its wings were held straight up showing an impressive length. At a further stop in Highland Park Brian found a large number of Canada geese and caught a pair of common mergansers flying fast over the river. A female hairy woodpecker looked comically out of place pecking for insects at a pileated woodpecker site.

 

 

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 


BALD EAGLE. MAR. 27, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


BALD EAGLE. MAR. 27, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


BALD EAGLE. MAR. 27, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


BALD EAGLE. MAR. 27, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


AMERICAN ROBIN. MAR. 27, 2026. JANE LEBLANC


HAIRY WOODPECKER (FEMALE). MAR. 27, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


COMMON MERGANSERS. MAR. 27, 2026. BRIAN STONE


CANADA GEESE. MAR. 27, 2026. JANE LEBLANC



ALDERS WITH BARK PEELING. MAR. 26, 2026. SHANNON INMAN







  

Friday, 27 March 2026

March 27 2026

 

 

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

 

 

**Monarch Butterfly tracking continues to improve.

 Michael Cybulski points out that there is now an app that folks can download on their phone, and it will help track monarch butterflies automatically if they have the tracker attached:  

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+track+mopnachars+phone+app&oq=how+to+track+mopnachars+phone+app&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRiPAtIBCTEyMDY2ajBqNKgCAbACAfEF5Lf6xTxz-wY&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/monarch-butterfly-mexico-migration-tracking-smartphone-9.7126224

 

 

 

**On Wednesday, Brian Stone went to Highland Park in Salisbury to check for new arrivals, as he had noticed on Tuesday that the water was beginning to thaw, and he found that the ponds were 90% ice-free. There were a few Canada geese and just two green-winged teal present, but the photos of the day were a pair of hooded mergansers snuggling up together in the smaller side pond. It won't be long before more pond-loving birds show up, so it will be good to keep checking the ponds on a regular basis. 

Brian also found a female common goldeneye duck in the ponds, and three white-tailed deer alongside the road on the way.

(Editor's note: Brian's photo of the green-winged teal shows some detail in the wing plumage we don't often get to see in this fast-flying duck. Note the black side band beside the green speculum and the buff borders seen in flight.)

 

 

 

**This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2026 March 28 – April 4 
With Easter happening next weekend let us look for signs of it in the night sky. Lambs have long been associated with spring and Easter, so we can start with Aries the Ram low in the west. For many the symbol of Easter is Peter Cottontail, the Easter Bunny. When darkness sets in we can see Lepus the Hare below the feet of Orion. I see the constellation as three vertical pairs of stars, with the brightest pair in the middle and the widest to the right. With a reasonably dark sky you can see the bunny ears between the widest pair and Orion’s brightest star, Rigel.

In Germanic mythology Ostara, the goddess of spring, found a wounded bird and changed it into a hare so that it could survive. This animal was allowed to run as fast as it could fly and it retained the ability to lay eggs, which it did in spring to honour its rescuer.  The Saxon name for the goddess was Eostre. I think the best symbol is seen on the Moon when it is full or nearly so. When it rises in spring, look for the dark bunny ears to the upper right. With them identified, it isn’t difficult to picture Peter Cottontail clutching a giant egg.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:06 and sunset will occur at 7:42, giving 12 hours, 36 minutes of daylight (7:12 and 7:47 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:53 and set at 7:51, giving 12 hours, 58 minutes of daylight (6:58 and 7:56 in Saint John).

The Moon is below Regulus on Sunday evening, full on Wednesday and near Spica Thursday. Venus sets around 9:30 pm this weekend, becoming more prominent now as it climbs up the steep angle of the spring ecliptic. Jupiter is high in the southwest at sunset, and this Saturday telescope users might see its moon Europa disappear behind the planet at 9:54. Mercury is a challenging binocular target, rising 50 minutes before sunrise this weekend but not gaining much altitude before twilight gets too bright. Saturn and Mars are too close to the Sun for observing. Beginning late in the week rural observers might see the subtle glow of zodiacal light in the west 60 to 90 minutes after sunset. 

Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay. The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre at 7 pm on April 

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

 

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton





HOODED MERGANSER (MALE AND FEMALE). MAR. 25, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


HOODED MERGANSER (MALE AND FEMALE). MAR. 25, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


HOODED MERGANSER (MALE). MAR. 25, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


GREEN-WINGED TEAL (MALE). MAR. 25, 2026. BRIAN STONE 




COMMON GOLDENEYE DUCK (FEMALE). MAR. 25, 2026. BRIAN STONE


CANADA GEESE. MAR. 25, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


 


WHITE-TAILED DEER. MAR. 25, 2026. BRIAN STONE 




Easter Bunny