Nature Moncton Nature News: May 9 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, May 09, 2018 ( Wednesday )

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor,

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

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

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Gordon Rattray paid a visit to the KING RAIL [Rale elegant] at Fundy National Park on Monday morning, observing it from the amphitheater to get some great photos of it as it came out of its favourite clump of bushes to forage. Gordon also got the immature, male ORCHARD ORIOLE [Oriole des vergers] at John Innman's 225 Mary's Point Rd. feeder yard along with a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW [Bruant à couronne blanche] and a photo of both genders of PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré]. A great day for Gordon with two "lifers" back to back. Gordon's BALTIMORE ORIOLE [Oriole de Baltimore] that arrived on Sunday at his Weldon home is still a regular, very much enjoying oranges.

** Connie Colpitts issues an invitation that everyone is welcome to join in on a Salisbury Naturalists Club field trip on Saturday, May 12, to the Taylor Rd. led by Dave Miller. They will be carpooling at the Salisbury Baptist Church parking lot at 8:00 am. It is an excellent spot to go with a leader that knows that area so well.

** Lisa Morris had a lot of a particular type of bee sunning themselves on her yard clothesline this week and had the odd one coming inside the house by mistake that were all returned to the outside successfully. They were unfamiliar to me but BugGuide has identified them as DUNNING'S MINER BEE ( Andrena dunningi ). Further checking lists it as being in the eastern United States and in Quebec but not in the Maritimes, so I am not sure if this is a bee native to our area or a recent expansion. The mining bees of the Andrena genus are a big group and we do have several identified to be in New Brunswick that have been previously submitted.

There is a new postal stamp issued of bees. I was stocking up on some and the postal worker said something that really made me think. She commented that she thought bees were the most important creatures out there. She may be very well right as they are pretty important to us.

** Linda LeClerc comments that she has never seen so many WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS [Bruant à gorge blanche] in her Moncton yard, noting that there are at least ten. That would seem like a very notable number in an urban yard ... good stuff.

** An EASTERN PHOEBE [Moucherolle phébi] has found Bob and Sharon Blake's garage. A just right location to set up housekeeping. The Eastern Phoebe likes nesting under bridges but also has a taste for protected areas around human structures with appropriate cover above the nest. It is a very pleasant bird to have around the home.

** Sue Richards had a NORTHERN FLICKER [Pic flamboyant] come to her yard suet block on Tuesday. She also suspects that she has a MERLIN [Faucon émerillon] nesting on her Memramcook property.

** Aldo Dorio got a nice, open winged view photo of a WILLET [Chevalier semipalmé] at Hay Island this week, which I missed adding earlier. It shows how this relatively conservatively dressed bird becomes a show stopper when it opens its wings.

** Brian Stone went on the Twin Oaks Dr. trail that crosses over to Ryan St. on Tuesday to find that development had started. It is unfortunate to hear that but maybe it will be replaced with a trail elsewhere. Dan Hicks will bring us up to date on that front in June. Brian did go to the small bog that is near there that is still intact, although now being squeezed between two areas of development, to find some interesting early season bog life. LEATHER LEAF shrub was in peak bloom, a BEE FLY landed long enough for a photo, last fall's fruit of the BOG CRANBERRY was present, an AZURE BUTTERFLY or two were seen, and a BROWN ELFIN [Lutin brun] butterfly posed that we just don't often get to see due to their short season.
As Brian often does he captured some interesting cloud formations.

On Monday Brian got photos of a KILLDEER [Pluvier kildir] and a SWAMP SPARROW [Bruant des marais] at McCully near Sussex as well as a NORTHERN SHOVELER [Canard souchet] duck at the Riverview Marsh. It turns out that most of the ducks there on Monday were Shovelers with some GREEN-WINGED TEALS [Sarcelle d'hiver] and a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER [Harle huppé]. He also got a group of WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] on Monday in the Titusville area that are in excellent condition for the time of year.
Brian got a video of the SNOWY EGRET [Aigrette neigeuse] as it was foraging at St. Martins that you can check out at the attached link.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8xemx068ni5j2km/Snowy%20Egret.MOV?dl=0

Brian also got a documentary photo of a BROAD-WINGED HAWK [Petite Buse] from under in flight. Gilles Belliveau helped to confirm the identification by noting the horizontal barring across the chest, the pale underwing and the dark border on the trailing edge of the wings.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton