Nature Moncton Nature News: Oct 15 2016

**Brian Stone and Danny Sullivan did a run on Friday to the end of Runneymeade Road in Riverview behind the former Naval Base. The town is developing good walking trails and they comment how pleasant the area is. The area and around the dam there has lots of birds and nature. Some bird photos are added. There’s a lot of water in Riverview Marsh at the moment after the heavy rain, and it was being very much enjoyed by a number of GREAT BLUE HERONS [Grand Héron], as one of Brian’s photos shows. A photo of the old dam at the site is also attached. I’m not sure what has been decided to do with this dam.

**Gilles Belliveau points out an important note on wording from yesterday’s comments on the LAKE DARNER Dragonfly [Aeschne porte-crosses]. The thoracic line was mentioned as being broken. The word “notched” should have been used, as some Darner species do indeed have a broken thoracic line, such as the VARIABLE DARNER [Aeschne domino] (usually) and this is another important point in separating the Darners. One of the Lake Darner photos is reattached today, and Gilles shares a photo of a Variable Darner that shows that notched thoracic line very nicely.

**On a tip from Gordon Rattray, I went Friday to check a site where he had noted what he thought was a large group of SHAGGY MANE MUSHROOMS [Coprin chevelu]. There sure was, and I gathered approximately 50 that were prime, but had to leave approximately 50 that had started to deteriorate, turning dark at the bottom and liquefying to ink. I’m attaching photos of some of the nice fresh ones and the ones that had deteriorated. It was a very public site off Vaughan Harvey Boulevard, so I had lots of curious onlookers. With Shaggy Manes you only have about a day or so at best to gather them. If the day is cool they stay fresh a bit longer.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton