Nature Moncton Nature News: June 14 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June 14, 2017 (Wednesday)

Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Transcript by: Catherine Johnson johnson2@xplornet.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
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**Sightings of MONARCH BUTTERFLIES on Monday and Tuesday have come as a real surprise with a surprising number of sightings around the province.

Yolande Leblanc's monarch was still present on Tuesday and is expecting lots of caterpillars at her milkweed plants.

Alain Clavette spotted one flying past his window on Tuesday evening commenting it is the earliest that he has ever seen a monarch at his Taylor Village home.

Dave Christie spotted a monarch butterfly flying near the interpretive centre at Mary's point on Tuesday along with PAINTED LADY, RED ADMIRAL and CABBAGE-WHITE butterflies which with the warm windless day perfect for butterfly flight there.

**Monday's great monarch arrival news just keeps on coming.

Kathleen Spicer in Apple River NS caught a female monarch from their greenhouse on Monday and released it with some milkweed plants. On Tuesday she saw the monarch laying eggs on the milkweed plants and got a photo of one. Last year she only saw one monarch butterfly, hoping for a better year this year with some eggs already.

Kathleen also had a pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS arrive on Monday and right to checking some real estate, so hoping they set up housekeeping.

**Jamie and Karen Burris paid a visit to the very productive Tucker St. Lavoie Ducks Unlimited impoundment to get some great flight photos of some of the birds active there as well as the RING-NECKED DUCK take off flight to show the running across the water surface style of a diving duck lifting off vs the straight up style of the dabbling ducks. 3 special butterflies also cooperated beautifully for photos. The SILVERY-BLUE, a CANADIAN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL and the ARCTIC SKIPPER. Sure pleasant to see the butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies coming to life. They also heard SORA calling but did not see any.

**Dave Christie reports the BLUE JAY migration that he encounters each year in his Mary's Pt. area is now ebbing with numbers down to 6 from the 25-40 that he was seeing just last week.

**The weather forecast for the coming weekend is not great at the moment therefore a decision to postpone or to go ahead for the Nature Moncton field trip to go to Cocagne Island will be made on Friday, so participants stay tuned. Weather reports this spring seem to get changed suddenly. Fortunately, the boat owner is flexible on timing our visit to this special spot when Mother Nature will cooperate.

**Each year about this time I explore a cedar bog in Halcomb area of the Miramichi for CALYPSO ORCHID. On Tuesday a 2 hour search located 1 plant only. I have found one or two plants at this site for the past several years but never more. I was advised several years ago by a nearby resident that they used to gather the orchids as home bouquets. Assume that this may be the reason for its rarity there today, but always rewarding to find that one 3"high beauty. This bog had ROUND-LEAVED HEPATICA in bloom earlier and YELLOW LADY'S SLIPPER over the next weeks. Many other woodland plants in there as well.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton