NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 7, 2023
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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
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**Aldo Dorio photographed a Swainson’s
Thrush in his Neguac yard on Monday. Take note of the buffy eye ring and
supraloral line (arrowed) with the upper parts of the bird an olive shade that
helps to identify this thrush.
**Brian Stone sends a few more
photos from his outing to Shediac on Sunday to finish off his report. While
photographing the storm-petrels, he looked around at times to see what else was
in the area and noted hovering Osprey, some Common Terns fishing,
and a Great Blue Heron gliding overhead quite close. At the water's
surface, a curious Grey Seal checked things out before diving out
of sight and remaining that way.
Brian also photographed a late tarrying Iceland Gull.
**Brian Stone recently captured some
photos of a Green Frog showing bluish coloration. This is a very
interesting scenario.
Stephen Hecnar, a herpetologist at Lakehead University, researches this phenomenon and offers some comments to explain this
condition.
He comments it occurs in the Green Frog but one missing the
yellow pigment that makes its typical hue. Blue versions are “quite rare,” he
says, “and rarer even than other colour aberrations such as albinos or
yellow-coloured frogs.”
Hecnar is leading a project to track this genetic variation—technically
called axanthism—across the range of the Green Frog, from the eastern U.S. into
southeastern Canada. “The blue trait seems to be more frequent towards the
north and east of the range,” he says. “So more of a Canadian than an American
characteristic. But even in Canada, it appears more common in the Maritimes
than in Ontario and Quebec.”
If you find an elusive blue frog (or any frog), Hecnar says it’s
best to “observe rather than capture,” though he does acknowledge that “many
young people learn about nature by capturing frogs, turtles, and snakes.”
**Even though he is at least 90% sugar Brian Stone
bravely went out in the drizzle and rain to check on the development of the
small patch of Pink Lady's Slipper Orchids in the woods behind Crandall
University on Tuesday. The orchids were open in full bloom, and Brian
photographed them from several angles as the mosquitoes dined on him
relentlessly.
Also in the
woods, he photographed Blue Bead Lily (Clintonia), Canada Mayflower,
Wild Sarsaparilla, Jack Pine flowers, and a tiny Moth
hiding in camouflage on the side of a tree.
Nelson Poirier
Nature
Moncton
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