Editor & Proofreader

Editor: Nelson Poirier    Proofreader: Louise Nichols

Monday, 9 March 2026

March 9 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.

 

To share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor at 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

 

**Brian and Annette Stone noticed the sap beginning to run along some of the branches of their yard maple tree, and on Sunday, they caught their resident red squirrel licking the sweet sap for a spring treat as it does every year at this time. 

 

 

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton



RED SQUIRREL. MAR. 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


RED SQUIRREL. MAR. 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE 


  

Sunday, 8 March 2026

March 8 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.

 

To post (share) nature observations/photos, contact the Nature News  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

 

** President Cathy Simon reports:

Despite a very rainy start, 15 enthusiastic participants came out for Nature Moncton’s snowshoe outing in Centennial Park on Saturday — and by the end of the hike, the rain had slowed down considerably! A big thank you to Nigel McLaughlin for being such an excellent leader and guide to winter tree identification. Everyone learned a lot along the trail, and the group showed off their new knowledge with almost perfect scores on the tree ID quiz at the end. A few of us finished the afternoon at CafĂ© Codiac, warming up, drying out, and flipping through some tree ID books together. Rain and all, it was so much fun!

 

(Editor’s note: It may have been a winter tree identification outing, but Nigel pointed out many easily used identification features of common trees that we can use any time of year. We tend to get to know lots of birds, butterflies, insects, flowers, etc., and not pay enough attention to the trees that contribute so much to the wildlife scene.

Bear in mind that New Brunswick is 85% forested with lots to appreciate, with the number of species being so much less than those other wildlife species we may tend to concentrate on.)

 

**The Manitoba maple tree has become a modestly common maple species that has been introduced to New Brunswick from Western Canada and has become established. It is sometimes referred to as the rogue maple, as its foliage (leaves) are pinnately compound; composed of 3-9 leaflets on a central stock, looking more like ash foliage than maple. The Manitoba maple is one of the few maples that produce seed flowers and pollen flowers on separate trees. The samara produced by the seed flowers cling into winter, which can be attractive fodder for some birds such as the pine grosbeak and evening grosbeak.

Nelson Poirier recently took note and photographed a Manitoba maple sporting its winter clinging samara, indicating it to be a ‘female’ tree.

 

Nelson also came across a flock of Bohemian waxwings enjoying the clinging fruit of a crab apple tree as well as the fruit that had fallen, even though a bit of snow removal was necessary to access them.

We have all enjoyed the abundance of this nomadic species this winter; however, they will soon be departing for their breeding grounds to the west of us.

 

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton



BOHEMIAN WAXWING. MARCH 3, 2026. NELSON POIRIER


BOHEMIAN WAXWING. MARCH 3, 2026. NELSON POIRIER


BOHEMIAN WAXWING. MARCH 3, 2026. NELSON POIRIER




MANITOBA MAPLE. MARCH 3, 2026. NELSON POIRIER 


MANITOBA MAPLE (BARK). MARCH 3, 2026. NELSON POIRIER 


MANITOBA MAPLE (SAMARA). MARCH 3, 2026. NELSON POIRIER


MANITOBA MAPLE (SAMARA). MARCH 3, 2026. NELSON POIRIER


WINTER TREE ID LEADER. MARCH 7, 2026. CATHY SIMON


WINTER TREE ID GROUP. MARCH 7, 2026. CATHY SIMON


WINTER TREE ID GROUP QUIZ. MARCH 7, 2026. CATHY SIMON


WINTER TREE ID GROUP CHAT. MARCH 7, 2026. MARBETH WILSON








 

Saturday, 7 March 2026

March 7 2026

 

            NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

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.

 

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation.

 

 

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor,  nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

 

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.


For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at
www.naturemoncton.com .

 

 

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

 

**Shannon Inman spotted a juvenile northern shrike on top of a tree, possibly the same young one that they spotted a few weeks ago.

(Editor’s note: It is a very typical stance for a shrike to perch on a lone tree summit in an open area to survey its surroundings for potential prey.)

 

**Five members of Nature Miramichi spent a couple of hours on Wednesday morning checking the nest boxes at Miramichi Marsh. Twelve of 14 tree swallow boxes are on islands, so as a spring thaw seems to be approaching rapidly, there was no time to waste. The boxes had been cleaned out last fall, made possible by the extraordinarily low water last year. The check on Wednesday was to make certain that mice had not squatted over the winter. Sure enough, one box was filled with cattail “fluff,” and unfortunately, there was a dead deer mouse inside. The photo appears to show injured hind feet, but not enough time was taken for a more thorough examination.

Two tree swallow nest boxes were replaced on this expedition, one of which had been kindly provided by Nature Moncton.  The Nature Moncton box was placed in such a way that its identifying plaque is visible from the shore, albeit binoculars will be necessary!

Five duck boxes were checked with no indication that there had been any occupants last summer although quite a few, mostly adult male wood ducks and a few hooded mergansers including a young one, had been present.

 

(Editor’s note: Our Nature Miramichi friends give us all a timely reminder that the time is arriving to do some spring housecleaning of bird boxes to be ready for potential tenants. Black-capped chickadees and flying squirrels will already be checking them out, with tree swallows and eastern bluebirds starting to arrive in April.

Newly minted Nature Moncton bird boxes are ready and will be available at the March 17 Nature Moncton meeting night, waiting for new landlords to get them up.

A huge note of appreciation to Fred Richards, who has now built 500+ nest boxes with no plans to stop the assembly line!

Potential landlords and bird patrons offer their appreciation!)

 

**On Thursday, in Irishtown Park, Brian Stone noticed a red squirrel shredding what looked like a facial tissue, bundling it together, and carrying it off -- maybe using it for some nesting material? He also saw a couple of hairy woodpeckers going about their business on suitable trees. 

The next day, on Friday, Brian checked out the trails at Cape Jourimain but found them not being used, and snowshoes were needed. He saw no birds while he was there, but came across four flocks of snow buntings at different spots along the roadside on the way home. They ranged in size from just eight in one group to a couple of dozen in another. 

 
 
 
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
   Nelson Poirier
    Nature Moncton


NORTHERN SHRIKE. MARCH 6, 2026. SHANNON INMAN


SNOW BUNTINGS. MAR. 06, 2026. BRIAN STONE


SNOW BUNTING. MAR. 06, 2026. BRIAN STONE




SNOW BUNTING. MAR. 06, 2026. BRIAN STONE




HAIRY WOODPECKER (FEMALE). MAR. 05, 2026.
BRIAN STONE





NATURE MIRAMICHI MEMBERS. MARCH 4, 2026.
PETER GADD


MOUSE NEST. MARCH 4, 2026. JULIA CONNELL


DEER MOUSE. MARCH 4, 2026. JULIA CONNELL


NATURE MONCTON NEST BOX. MARCH 4, 2026.
PETER GADD


RED SQUIRREL. MAR. 05, 2026. BRIAN STONE




CHEWED BIRCH BRANCH (RED SQUIRREL SUSPECTED).
MAR. 06, 2026.
BRIAN STONE




CAPE JOURIMAIN. MAR. 06, 2026. BRIAN STONE




CAPE JOURIMAIN. MAR. 06, 2026. BRIAN STONE


FROST. MAR. 06, 2026. BRIAN STONE









 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, 6 March 2026

March 6 2026

           

             NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

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.

 

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation.

 

 

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor,  nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

 

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.


For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at
www.naturemoncton.com .

 

 

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

 

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**Yvette Richard has had a pair of pine grosbeaks that have been at her feeders daily for the past 6 days. They have beautiful colors. They are very skittish.

The common redpoll was Yvette’s first of-season visitor that she had seen in her Cocagne yard. She comments, “they are rare at her place, so nice to see."

 

 **Jim Johnson and some friends went to the Parlee Brook Ice Falls (amphitheater) on Tuesday to see how it looked this year. Jim didn’t think there was as much ice due to more snow recently, but still very impressive. It's in back of Sussex Corner and at the very end of Parlee Brook Road, from there about 6 or 7 kms in and out. Crampons are a must, but well worth the effort. It is well described online at NBtrail maps.

Jim shares a few photos of the visit.
 



This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2026 March 7 – March 14
I regard Leo the Lion as the signature constellation of spring, and it is not difficult to picture a lion in its distinctive pair of asterisms. A backwards question mark or a sickle represents its chest and mane, anchored by the bright star Regulus at its heart or front leg. To the east a triangle of stars forms the back leg and tail. Originally, a faint naked-eye cluster of stars represented a tuft at the end of the tail, but that now makes the tresses of the constellation Coma Berenices.

In mythology the lion was a vicious creature that resided in the mountains of Nemea. Its hide was impenetrable to spears or arrows; the only thing sharp enough to penetrate the lion’s hide was its claws. The first of Hercules’s twelve Labours was to kill this creature, which the legendary strongman did by strangulation. He then used the claws to cut off the lion’s hide for use as a shield. A friend of mine sees this constellation as a mouse, with the triangle as its head and the sickle as its tail. However, legends are not made by having a muscular demigod battle a mouse.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:46 and sunset will occur at 6:14, giving 11 hours, 28 minutes of daylight (6:51 and 6:19 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:33 and set at 7:23, giving 11 hours, 50 minutes of daylight (7:38 and 7:28 in Saint John). Daylight time begins this Sunday at 2 am.

The Moon is near Antares Tuesday morning and it is at third quarter Wednesday. This weekend Venus will be passing closely to the right of Saturn as they head in opposite directions. Jupiter reaches its second stationary point on Tuesday, after which it resumes eastward motion relative to the stars. On Monday evening telescope and perhaps binocular users might see its moons Io and Callisto reappear from the planet’s shadow at 9:12 and 9:37, respectively. Mercury is at inferior conjunction this Saturday, moving into a difficult morning apparition for observing later in the month. Mars is too close to the Sun for viewing. Rural observers might see the subtle wedge of zodiacal light reaching toward the Pleiades 60 to 90 minutes after sunset.

The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on March 7 at 7 pm. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay. The Fredericton Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry-Earth Sciences building on Tuesday at 7pm.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca. 
 
 
  nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
   Nelson Poirier
    Nature Moncton


COMMON REDPOLL (MALE). YVETTE RICHARD. MAR 05, 2026


PINE GROSBEAK (FEMALE). YVETTE RICHARD, MAR 05, 2026


PINE GROSBEAK (MALE). YVETTE RICHARD, MAR 05, 2026


PINE GROSBEAK (FEMALE). YVETTE RICHARD, MAR 05, 2026


PARLEE BROOK ICE FALLS. MARCH 4, 2026. JIM JOHNSON


PARLEE BROOK ICE FALLS. MARCH 4, 2026. JIM JOHNSON


PARLEE BROOK ICE FALLS. MARCH 4, 2026. JIM JOHNSON


Leo_2026