October 20 2026

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking a photo enlarges it for closer viewing. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

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 October Nature Moncton meeting is on tonight. It’s going to be a good one! The write-up is below:

 

**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.

 

 

 

**The seasonal display isn't over quite yet in Riverview, where Barbara Smith found plenty of reasons to look up, way up, and back down. Aspens, maple trees and a bright red maple leaf popped against the blue sky and green grass. 

(Editor’s note: We are also seeing tamarack trees starting to take on the golden hue of fall. This is the only conifer we have that loses its needles for the winter.)

 

MAPLE TREE FALL COLOURS. OCT. 18, 2026. BARBARA SMITH

MAPLE LEAF. OCT. 17, 2026. BARBARA SMITH

ASPEN AND BIRCH FALL DISPLAY. OCT. 18, 2026. BARBARA SMITH

 

**Marbeth Wilson shared some photographs of recent observations yesterday, and a black-throated green warbler photo disappeared into cyberspace.  It is attached today.

(Editor’s note: this may be one of our common warblers, but we will have to say adieu to it now; it no doubt has its migration plan filed and we will not see it again until next spring.)

 

 

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. OCTOBER 13, 2026. MARBETH WILSON

 

 

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Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 

 

 

  

October 19 2026

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking a photo enlarges it for closer viewing. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

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

 

 

Reserve tomorrow night, Tuesday, October 20, for the October Nature Moncton meeting. It’s going to be a good one! The write-up is below:

 

**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.

 

 **Marbeth Wilson shares some photographs of recent observations.

 While in Upper Cape on October 13, she spotted what she thought was a red fox or coyote, but something about the animal was very different.

We suspect the animal is a red fox that would appear to have sarcoptic mange. Usually with this infection, the pelage appears in a more serious condition, so we wonder if this animal is in the earlier stages of it. Any comments would be appreciated.

RED FOX (SARCOPTIC MANGE SUSPECTED). OCT 13, 2026.  MARBETH WILSON

RED FOX (SARCOPTIC MANGE SUSPECTED). OCT 13, 2026.  MARBETH WILSON

RED FOX (SARCOPTIC MANGE SUSPECTED). OCT 13, 2026.  MARBETH WILSON

While she was there, Marbeth was able to get nice photographs of a female American redstart, a black-throated green warbler, and an orange-crowned warbler.

(Editor’s note: It is nice to see the photo of the orange-crowned warbler. This warbler tends to breed to the north of us, so we usually only see it migrating in spring and fall.)

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. OCTOBER 13, 2026, MARBETH WILSON

AMERICAN REDSTART (FEMALE). OCTOBER 13, 2026. MARBETH WILSON

AMERICAN REDSTART (FEMALE). OCTOBER 13, 2026. MARBETH WILSON

 

Marbeth also sends photos of a young-of-the-year great blue heron and a pair of greater yellowlegs seen on the Saturday Nature Moncton outing.

GREATER YELLOWLEGS. OCTOBER 17, 2026. MARBETH WILSON

GREAT BLUE HERON (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). OCT 17, 2026. MARBETH WILSON




**Louise Nichols visited the Port Elgin lagoon on Friday morning.  She counted 18 bufflehead ducks and over 30 scaup, seemingly a mix of lesser and greater scaup.  This lagoon is good for bufflehead, and you can often see large numbers there in spring and fall.  Unfortunately, the ducks were all at the very far end of the lagoon, making photos not really worthwhile.

 

She also stopped in Baie Verte and walked the NB trail near the Baie Verte park.  She spotted a female Surf Scoter on one of the ponds.  Some greater yellowlegs were feeding in the mud along with mallard ducks and American black ducks.  A couple of great blue herons were present with one juvenile heron fishing.

SURF SCOTER (FEMALE). OCT. 16, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS 

GREAT BLUE HERONS. OCT. 16, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS 

 

GREAT BLUE HERONS. OCT. 16, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS 

 

In addition, Louise includes a couple of photos she captured of a female northern harrier that passed close above her at the Fundy Winds Marsh off Eddy Rd. near Amherst.

 

 

NORTHERN HARRIER (FEMALE). OCT. 9, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

NORTHERN HARRIER (FEMALE). OCT. 9, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

 

**Jane LeBlanc was wandering through her garden on Sunday and scared up a monarch butterfly. She couldn't say whether it was one she recently released, but it seemed to be enjoying what was left of the garden after a hard frost Saturday night.

 

MONARCH BUTTERFLY. OCT. 18, 2026. JANE LEBLANC

**Brian Stone sends a few more photos from the Nature Moncton outing to Highland Park on Saturday. Large groups of American crows and Canada geese flew overhead, and in the ponds several female hooded mergansers, green-winged teal ducks, and a lone female bufflehead duck offered themselves for photos. A group of 3 green-winged teals were doing their best to hide from the camera but only "ended up" embarrassing themselves. 

GREEN -WINGED TEAL DUCKS. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE

CROWS. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE

CANADA GEESE. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE

SLIME MOLD. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE

HOODED MERGANSERS (FEMALE). OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

HOODED MERGANSER AND BUFFLEHEAD DUCK (FEMALE). OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE

HOODED MERGANSER (FEMALE). OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

 

Back at home, Brian got a couple of yard photos, including American robins starting to forage on the berries of a mountain ash tree in the yard, a male ring-necked pheasant at the far side of the double lot, and a western conifer seed bug that decided to visit Brian inside the house.

 

WESTERN CONIFER SEED BUG. OCT. 15, 2026. BRIAN STONE

RING-NECKED PHEASANT (MALE). OCT. 13, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

AMERICAN ROBIN. OCT. 18, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

 

 

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

October 18 2026

 

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking a photo enlarges it for closer viewing. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

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

 

 

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.)

 

JELLY TOOTH MUSHROOMS. OCT 17, 2026. GABRIEL GALLANT 

JELLY TOOTH MUSHROOM. OCT 17, 2026. GABRIEL GALLANT 

**Barbara Smith submits a few photos from Saturday's walk at Highland Park in Salisbury with a group of hardy nature lovers. 

NATURE MONCTON FALL OUTING. OCT 17, 2026. BARBARA SMITH

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. 

FALL FOREST FLOOR. OCT 17, 2026. BARBARA SMITH.

Few wildflowers remained in bloom, except for purple asters and cold-hardy woodland Angelica.

WOODLAND ANGELICA. OCT 17, 2026. BARBARA SMITH

 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.

 

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER FEEDING HOLES. OCT 17, 2026. BARBARA SMITH.

**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.

NATURE MONCTON OUTING. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

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.

NORTHERN HARRIER (FEMALE). OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

NORTHERN HARRIER (FEMALE). OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

PECTORAL SANDPIPER. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

PECTORAL SANDPIPER. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

The group noticed leaves with cocoon-like structures that turned out to be the homes of a small spider species.

SPIDER NEST. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

SPIDER NEST. OCT. 17, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

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.

 

 

 nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 

 

 

 

October 17 2026

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking a photo enlarges it for closer viewing. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

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 recent weather systems seem to have affected reports and observations. Hopefully, as the weather improves, we can get more reports and observations to share with Nature News.

 

** Barbara Smith was fortunate enough to visit Parlee Beach 3 times this month, where the rippled patterns in the sand at low tide never fail to impress. 

For those who want to learn more about how the ripples form, this blog post from BlueWild Press explains how. 

 

SAND RIPPLES. OCT. 4, 2026. BARBARA SMITH

https://bluewildpress.com/what-causes-ripples-in-sand-underwater

 

 

  

 nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton