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.
**The female peregrine
falcon was mantling her eggs for a significant part of the day on Sunday;
however, as of late afternoon, the egg count was still at two. Has that/will that change today?
Oops! Early morning report. Georges Brun saw a third egg on the nest at 7:02 AM on Monday morning.
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
**A crew from CBC joined
the bird nest cleaning effort on the Riverfront Trail in Moncton on Saturday.
Their report, interview, and photos are available at the link below:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nest-boxes-birds-moncton-9.7161042
**Gail Taylor still has
her duo of tufted titmice attending her Canal (near St. George) feeder yard.
Two Nature Moncton nest boxes have been erected in her yard to provide possible
nesting locations. Gail checked on the nesting box down back of her house on
Sunday morning, and this box has had some renovations taking place on it.
Normally, a red squirrel cannot gain access to the nest hole without enlarging
it, yet a flying squirrel can use the nest box without enlarging the hole.
It would appear that a red squirrel is attempting to use the box. Fortunately,
a second box is available should the titmice reward us by taking up residence.
**Shannon Inman
photographed a common milkweed bug on Sunday, as well as a crocus
out in full bloom.
Shannon also spotted a male
American kestrel as well as an American woodcock.
John Inman photographed a female
purple finch with a yellowish coloration around the throat area.
A third wave of blackbirds
arrived after the others left. (The photo shows about a quarter of them under
the cedars.)
Also in the cedars, John
got a quick photo of a suspected yellow-rumped warbler. An overwintering white-throated
sparrow is getting its bright breeding plumage, and a sharp-shinned hawk
monitored the activity in a birch tree.
**Aldo Dorio captured a nice photo of a male red-breasted merganser off the shoreline of Hay Island on Sunday.
**The home of Terry Power from
Hardwicke, Miramichi, borders on a large salt marsh.
He had a short-eared owl
that visited his place in Hardwicke (near Miramichi) almost daily in the winter
of 2004. It used his deck as a perch to hunt from. Terry comments that it got quite
comfortable with him being near it.
(Editor’s note: Terry had
thought he had shared these photos with us, but in checking his sent file,
found they did not go. Even if a bit late, this is a very interesting scenario
to share. Having a short-eared owl hunt from your deck just doesn’t happen very
often!)
**On April 12, 2026, a
group of dedicated Chignecto Naturalist Club members and friends spent the
morning cleaning nest boxes, replacing boxes or posts or both, and collecting
data in the Tantramar marsh.
It was a sunny but windy (heard
it's always windy there) morning with well-prepared people with tools to do the
jobs needed.
The success rate was about
70 %.
The boxes are ready for
this year's swallows, and good luck for the nesting season.
Good work everyone.
While there, Fred and Sue
Richards tended the 10 Nature Moncton Nesting Boxes that were installed last
spring at the Retention Pond in Sackville, which were cleaned out, had brackets
added to keep them straight, and data was obtained.
**Brian Stone visited the
Salisbury Wastewater Treatment Facility off Government Rd. on Sunday but found
very few ducks in the ponds. One wood duck and several ring-necked ducks were
all that were present, and not many more down in the wetlands below. Brian did
note a couple of tree swallows flying over the water treatment lagoons
and managed a few quick photos of one.
While not having much
success with birds there, Brian was very happy to find hundreds of tiny unequal
cellophane bees back at work on the small dirt hillside along the lane
leading into the treatment facility. They were flying briskly all over the
long, grassy mound about two cm above the ground and frequently dropping down
to mate before popping back up again. They will soon dig little holes in the
ground to lay eggs to begin the new generation. Brian made a short video of the
action, but the bees are very small, and the video is best viewed on a large
screen if possible.
**David Lilly shares the most recent Fredericton Nature Club newsletter at the link below.
What an excellent
newsletter, and it is especially important to take note of the field outings the
group has planned for the upcoming months. The newsletter is very worthwhile for all
nature clubs to peruse to get ideas for their own clubs, or maybe attend some of
the outings the Fredericton group has planned.
Thank you, Fredericton
Nature Club, for sharing
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
