Nature Moncton Nature News: June 21 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June 21, 2017 (Wednesday)

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

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

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca
Transcript by: Catherine Johnson johnson2@xplornet.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.

**Beth McMillan reports that she had a pair of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES set up housekeeping on her deck and they have been feeding youngsters. She heard the frantic calls of the parents on Monday to find that one chick only had fledged and was on the ground with the concerned parents trying to protect it and feed the rest of the family in the box as well.

**Jean-Paul and Stella Leblanc noted a red fox in the field behind their Bouctouche home with its pelage on the upper part of the body seeming quite rough and wondering if this was a young-of-the-year not yet attained its adult coat or an adult not yet shed its winter coat.

**Ray Gauvin had two young-of-the-year raccoons cross the street in front of his Parlee beach home on Tuesday. They waddled across the street feeding on grubs under a neighbours shrub. They came right up to him for a photo appearing to show no fear of humans.

**Often BALTIMORE ORIOLES tend to be less attracted to orange/ grapefruit sections as the spring season ends, however Audrey Goguen reports she had a bright male Baltimore oriole return to orange sections attached to a pole in her Northview St. yard in Moncton on Tuesday.

**The HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH is abundant at the moment day flying. Aldo Dorio got one in flight recently. It can be tricky to distinguish the hummingbird clearwing from the less common SNOWBERRY CLEARWING moth however, Jim Edsall points out that the distinguishing band in the fore wing is faintly visible in Aldo's photo. A photo of the hummingbird clearwing moth cooled to show the line better is attached.

**While sleuthing the past few days Brian Stone photographed several moths around my moth light and elsewhere including the POLYPHEMUS MOTH, ROSY MAPLE MOTH, one of the EMERALD MOTHS, BIG POPLAR SPHINX, ONE-EYED SPHINX MOTH, RIDGED PROMINENT MOTH and others. Also RACKET-TAILED EMERALD DRAGONFLY, BEAVERPOND CLUBTAIL DRAGONFLY and HUDSONIAN WHITEFACED DRAGONFLIES.

Also it was interesting to see a pair of TREE SWALLOWS using a tree natural cavity, probably one originally created by a downy woodpecker, which of course was their choice in the past until man-made nest boxes became popular to help the numbers.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton