Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 8 2016

** A nice surprise for Kathy Popma and Louise Nichols on Sunday. Kathy got a call about a different bird at a home in Aulac, so she and Louise went to check it and found a male NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge] attacking its reflection in car mirrors there and at the house next door. The Cardinal appeared on Saturday for the first time at the home of the folks who called it in.

** Judy and Sterling Marsh and their daughter paid a visit to the Tantramar Marsh just after 9 p.m. on Saturday to take in the SHORT-EARED OWL [Hibou des marais] show. They spotted at least ten, and they seemed to prefer to sit on the road. In one of Judy’s photos you can see six owls on the road, when a rodent made the unwise decision to cross the road; four of the owls spotted it and went after it. They described the owl show as "quite the experience."

** Louise Richard and her grandchildren came across a frog that they examined very closely and photographed at their Acadieville cabin on the Kouchibouguac River. The features in the photos strongly suggest MINK FROG [Grenouille du Nord] with the unclear dorsolateral fold, hind limb spots running parallel with the leg, not across it. They were unable to detect the musky odour that most Mink Frogs would have.

** Brian Stone got an excellent photo of a an EASTERN COMMA [Polygone virgule] butterfly, very clear upper and back views, to show the difference, with the folded up wings providing striking camouflage.

** We briefly visited Hay Island on Sunday afternoon. The only shorebirds at the time were a few GREATER YELLOWLEGS [Grand Chevalier] and several LEAST SANDPIPERS [Bécasseau minuscule]. I was surprised at the many COMMON WOOD-NYMPHS [Satyre des prés] flying about the marsh area.

** Chuck Prince got a photo of a bull MOOSE [Orignal] from his trail camera on July 27. The antler rack is becoming quite well-developed to be ready for [the rutting season in] September.

** Kevin Renton came across a COMMON GARTER SNAKE [Couleuvre rayée] in a cage that they let their cats run in. It appeared to be dead, but when Kevin placed it in a pile of grass, that changed quickly. It appeared appropriately to be playing dead.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton