Nature Moncton Nature
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**The fall is a very
significant time for some meadowhawk dragonflies to be out on mating missions.
David Lilly was out
recently to capture some in great photographs that include the autumn
meadowhawk and the saffron-winged meadowhawk.
Gilles Belliveau offers
some very helpful hints to help identify these fall meadowhawks.
Gilles comments that "only 2 species have brown or brownish legs - the autumn meadowhawk and saffron-winged meadowhawk.
One of David’s photos appears to have a complete lack of black/brown on the side and underside of the abdomen, suggesting an autumn meadowhawk.
The other individuals all appear to show some black or brownish colouration on the underside of the abdomen and possibly a bit on the sides, suggesting saffron-winged meadowhawks. They also appear to have some brown/tan/reddish coloration on the veins at the base of the wings, along the front edge of the wings, and in the stigma coloration, and the stigma appears to have a blackish border along the front and back of the stigma, which also suggests saffron-winged meadowhawk.
Typically, saffron-winged meadowhawks should show some black on the legs (especially along the front edge of the legs), but apparently some individuals can lack black on the legs.”
**Brian Stone joined Nelson Poirier and Fin for a walk on the Mapleton Acadian Forest trail near Elgin on Friday. The weather was just right, slightly cool, partly sunny, and no pesky biting bugs.
No birds were noted on the trail, but in a field just
before the trail, a small group of immature eastern bluebirds was foraging, and
a merlin and kestrel falcons were checking them out, but they avoided being
photographed. A mourning dove was perched on a sapling at the top of the parking lot, but that was the extent of the bird sightings at that
location. (Unexpected to see a mourning dove in such a remote site far from
birdfeeders!)
Many, many interesting mushrooms and fungi
were seen and photographed, and Brian hopes to have those photos ready for
viewing in tomorrow's edition.
(Editor’s note: Brian’s
comment is almost an understatement. We have thousands of species of mushrooms
that can potentially appear in New Brunswick when conditions are right and those
conditions seemed to be met on this trail on Thursday. I hope we can do justice
tomorrow to the many photos taken and unravel some identifications so more
people can appreciate this mushroom year.)
Nelson and Fin led the way on the trail, and
both were experts at locating interesting subjects to study.
A sturdy, well-built
bridge makes it easier for hikers to cross one of the streams/gullies along the
trail. WOW (Women of the Wilderness group) built this solid structure,
and Cathy Simon was instrumental in making it happen.
On the way home, at a
lagoon on the Sanitorium Rd., a few ducks were found, including a couple of wood
ducks and some bland-plumaged mallards or black ducks.
Brian also includes some
photos from an earlier trip to Memramcook at the Reid McManus Nature Reserve,
where he saw a couple of double-crested cormorants, a hovering belted
kingfisher, a few female ring-necked ducks, and some woolly alder
aphids clinging to a tree branch.
(Editor’s note: the
harvester butterfly is our only carnivorous butterfly and lays its eggs in
masses of alder woolly aphids, and if you look closely at Brian’s photos, you
can see both the aphids and their predators, the harvester butterfly larvae. The
aphids are the ones with the “wool” attached. The butterfly larvae will have no
significant effect on the woolly alder aphid numbers as per Mother Nature’s
plan.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
