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.
https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam
** Another heads-up for two Nature Moncton activities this
week. The year-end barbecue will take place tomorrow night, Tuesday
night, June 16, with all details below with registration suggested:
**NATURE
MONCTON JUNE MEETING
END-OF-THE-YEAR BARBEQUE!
Tuesday June 16, 2026, at 6:30 PM
Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge
Our June meeting will continue the tradition of a fun
social event with good food to celebrate the success of another fantastic
fall/winter series of meeting presentations, outings and workshops! Members and non-members are invited to the
Rotary Pavilion at Mapleton Park, where we will serve some delicious beef and
veggie hamburgers and enjoy a picnic outdoors.
Burgers and potato chips will be provided as a thank you from the
executive for all your help and participation, but we would welcome any other
food contributions brought for sharing (please note that this is a
non-alcoholic event).
After we feast on hamburgers, we’ll go inside and
watch a presentation of photos taken by participants of various nature
highlights they have had throughout the year.
If you would like to share some of your sightings, choose your best 10
photos and bring them on a USB stick.
Photos of birds, plants and insects, as well as photos of participants
on outings, are all welcome as ways to share great memories of the year.
To help us get an idea of how much food will be
needed, please let us know if you plan to attend the barbeque by sending an
email to outandabout4nm@gmail.com. Also indicate whether you would prefer a
veggie burger, so we have an idea of how many we’ll need.
Hope to see you there.
All are welcome, Nature Moncton members or not.
The first Wednesday
walk of the season will take place on Wednesday night, June 17. All details
at the end of this edition and upfront tomorrow.
**Lisa Morris was helping
a friend transfer perennials from a garden bed when they noticed a wasp
not very happy with the disturbed soil. Lisa assumed the wasp must have had a
home in the soil as it kept disappearing into and re-emerging from the soil.
They kept a respectful distance!
(Editor’s note: We often
tend to think of a wasp’s nest as a basketball-sized woven structure hanging in
the tree and easily able to detect and stay away from.
Actually, several of our
native wasp species do create ground nests as an underground tunnel network.
They are often in social groups, and accidentally stepping on one can create an
unsuspected scenario.)
The pink lady’s slippers,
aka moccasin flower, are in full bloom at the moment and it's a pleasure to pause
and admire them as Lisa did.
(Editor’s note: The pink
lady’s slipper is normally a pleasant pink colour, as in Lisa’s photo; however,
the white morph is not unusual to encounter in New Brunswick.)
**On Sunday afternoon and
evening, a flock of cedar waxwings found the crab-apple tree in Louise
and Glen Nichols' yard and took their fill of apple blossoms. Louise
sends a few photos of the birds, looking beautiful in their flower setting
**Anna Tucker sends a
photo of a blooming lupin. She reports that she saw massive, beautiful
blooming patches of this plant earlier in the season that went to seed. She seems now to be seeing it all over again. Not sure why!
**Nelson Poirier paid a
visit to a burn-over that was termed the Beaver Lake wildfire near Miramichi last summer.
Nelson was particularly
interested in finding true morel mushrooms, which were not present (as yet),
and black-backed woodpeckers. There was only one male black-backed woodpecker which was recognized by its cadence and vocalization, and then eventually spotted.
The very small, uncommon eyelash
cup mushroom was found at one site.
A surprising plant found
was pale corydalis, a.k.a. rock harlequin (Capnoides sempervirens), in full
bloom and very numerous. This plant is not numerous in New Brunswick and is
threatened in some areas of the Eastern seaboard. The literature states that
this plant is prone to becoming established in burn-over areas. How it got
there in the first place would be an interesting scenario to know.
A second very abundant
greenery (a bryophyte) noted was the common liverwort, a.k.a. umbrella
liverwort (Polymorpha marchantia), which the literature states is also
prone to appear in mass in recent burn-over areas.
I did not expect to see
any mammal wildlife in the burn-over areas, but a very beautiful dog
was noted. He said his name was Fin!
The only mammal life
observed en route was a moose in the fog and a fisher, which crossed
the road faster than any camera could capture.
This burn over is located
in a remote area near the North Pole (outside of Miramichi), which gets
its name from having the Christmas Mountains as a vista.
**June 17, Wednesday Evening Walk
Location: Irishtown Nature Park
Start time:
6:30 PM
Hosts: Matt
Nguyen and Cynthia Doucet
Starting
Location: Parking Lot P2.
Directions:
Irishtown Nature Park is located north on Elmwood Drive. From TCH Route 2, Exit
459A onto Elmwood Drive (Route 115). Turn north and travel 1.6 km to the sign
for the park on your right, and a main parking lot. Continue on the short
access road past the first parking lot and find the second P2 lot. Gather near the board posting the park map.
Description:
Irishtown Nature Park provides woodland trails, and is a favourite spot for
birders and botanists. Our walk will take us along the Hawk footpath, the
Bouctouche Line, and the Scout footpath, for about 2 km. The footpaths are
sometimes uneven, a mix of gravel and dirt. The Bouctouche Line is part of the
Reservoir dam system, and is narrow but smooth.
Bug spray
and protective clothing are recommended. Don’t forget to wear your name tag
too!
All are
welcome, Nature Moncton members or not.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
