Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 1 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, November 1, 2018 (Thursday)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling. Note that corrections, deletions, or delayed additions may not always appear on the Info Line and email transcript but will always appear on the BlogSpot. For this reason, it is recommended that those wishing to look at historical records use the BlogSpot rather than the email transcript. The BlogSpot can always be accessed from the website.

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

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com

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

**Brian Bauld spotted four SANDHILL CRANES [Grue du Canada] on the Tantramar Marsh on Wednesday. He saw them from the road between the large, red Prescott barn and the gray house on the knoll (Folkin’s Dr.), in the vicinity of a flock of Canada Geese.

** Brian Stone visited the Irishtown Nature Park on Wednesday to photograph some great colour shows of Tamarack trees taking on their fall foliage along the lake. A new gazebo has been constructed on the old concrete slab beside the reservoir near the entrance to provide an impressive vista of the lake. He came across a lot of mushrooms that included some of the colourful YELLOW CORAL MUSHROOMS, Earth Tongues, and TURKEY TAIL groupings.

** Aldo Dorio continues to see BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS [Jaseur boréal] at Hay Island. The WINTERBERRY HOLLY crop there is super abundant. Aldo’s photo nicely shows the chestnut colored under tail covert of the Bohemian waxwing. SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des neiges] are settling in for their winter stay there and Aldo also photographed a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER [Bécasseau à croupion blanc]. Note the fairly light supercilium and the longer primary projection than the sometimes similar Dunlin at this time of year. Also the drooped bill and usually shorter tail projection of the Dunlin is not there.

** I visited Hay Island as well on Wednesday seeing a nice variety of late Sandpipers including GREATER YELLOWLEGS [Grand Chevalier], SANDERLINGS [Bécasseau sanderling], DUNLINS [Bécasseau variable], BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS [Pluvier argenté] and SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS [Pluvier semipalmé]. A small group of about half a dozen COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin flammé] were foraging on Birch catkins. They were hard to photograph among the branches and being back lit as well. It took close observations to be sure of their identity. One AMERICAN TREE SPARROW [Bruant hudsonien] was seen but was not interested in being photographed.

At the moth light an AUTUMNAL MOTH visited. The Bruce Spanworm Moth flies now as well, but none have appeared to the moth light yet. WINTER CRANE FLIES were noted flying in dancing groups up, down and around in mating flights during the day on Wednesday. This species is just larger than mosquitoes but fly this time of year.

Weather predictions for Sunday, at the moment, look OK for the Nature Moncton visit to the Atlantic Wildlife Institute on Sunday afternoon and it appears that it will be a go. With Halloween now a past event folks planning to head there on Sunday are asked to save/collect any pumpkins to bring as they are used as food for some of the animals there.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton