Nature Moncton Nature News: May 12 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, May 12, 2019 (Sunday)

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Edited by Nelson Poirier, <nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>

Transcript by David Christie, <maryspt@mac.com>

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

** The Nature Moncton field trip to the Cocagne River floodplain on Saturday turned out to be a major success, with timing just right for emergent spring plants and other lively signs of spring, with weather cooperating other than a mild shower. The participants led by Roger LeBlanc found a lot. There were still some large chunks of melting ice that had grounded at freshet time.

Some of the highlights were FIELD HORSETAIL [Queue de renard], HONEYSUCKLE [Chèvrefeuille] almost ready to burst into bloom, OSTRICH FERN [Matteuccie fougère-à-l’autruche] fiddleheads, DUTCHMAN’S-BREECHES [Dicentre à capuchon], lots of TROUT-LILY [Ail doux], RED TRILLIUM [Trille dressé] yet to bloom, SPOTTED SANDPIPER [Chevalier grivelé], fossilized pieces of wood, INDIAN POTATO [Apios americans] aka GROUNDNUT, COLTSFOOT [Pas-d’âne], fresh PILEATED WOODPECKER [Grand Pic] workings, and more that had to remain unidentified to this point.

A huge thank-you to Roger LeBlanc for leading the outing and making sure that timing would be right, and to Louise Nichols who was able to photograph many things and thus preserve highlights of the trip.

Nice to get a photo of CANADA YEW [If du Canada] starting its unique bloom. Louise Richard got a photo of just that at their Acadieville cabin area on Saturday. Louise also came across some very fresh work of a BEAVER [Castor] that took on a very huge tree to harvest. Note how the chewing is mostly on one side, as it has decided the direction it wants the tree to fall.

** Catherine Sherrard in Sunny Corner, near Miramichi, has a pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS [Merlebleu de l’Est] that would appear to be taking a nest box in their yard. The beautiful male stopped by briefly for a photo on Saturday evening. Both birds of the pair seem not to be amused by their reflection in the mirror of a shiny new vehicle in the yard and got back at their competitor by defecating robustly on the mirrors and vehicle!

** Doreen Rossiter reports two new arrivals to her Alma yard on Saturday, a BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER [Paruline noir et blanc] and a female YELLOW WARBLER [Paruline jaune]. Yellow Warbler is usually not among the first of the troop of warbler arrivals, although this one could be called early, and a female at that.

The young Red Foxes are starting to emerge from their earthen dens at the moment. Brian Coyle came across a fox den recently and was able to zoom in at a distance to get some special photos of the fox kit exploring its surroundings possibly for one of the first times. He also got some nice videos. Take a look at the attached links.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rnpo4blo3rtezdn/DSCN1800.MOV?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w6rpxxi5tmk9g23/DSCN1786.MOV?dl=0

** Bev Schneider in Fredericton has a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine blanche] that has taken a standard swallow box as its nest site. The Harrison guide points out that this nuthatch is a cavity nester that usually nests in natural cavities or old woodpecker holes, and sometimes in man-made bird-boxes, but occasionally excavates its own cavity. We don’t have many White-breasted Nuthatches in the Moncton to Miramichi area, but it’s interesting to keep in mind that this is another species that could use the now up to 200 boxes set out on Nature Moncton’s nest-box project. Bev shares a photo of the very ordinary looking nest box this nuthatch pair of chosen.

** Horsetails are a very common plants in New Brunswick, and the FIELD HORSETAIL [Prêle des champs] is the most common. Other horsetails have the vegetative and sporophyte sections all in one stalk but Field Horsetail does not do it that way, sending up a non-green sporophyte stalk, as shown in Brian Stone’s photo that will produce its spores and wither away with vegetative green stalks shooting up after, which is the green stalk coming up beside it in the background of the photo. I was not aware that they would appear at the same time. Sean Blaney reviewed the photo and says that is what’s happening, with both stages of Field Horsetail showing at once.

** Brian Stone shares several photos of nature sleuthing the past few days, from the St. Martins area, the Fundy Parkway and Upham area. A photo find includes the beautiful small rosebud-like female blossoms of the TAMARACK [Mélèze laricin] tree, some TROUT-LILY [Ail douce] that did not open due to a very cloudy day, OSTRICH FERN [Matteuccie fougère-à-l’autruche] fiddleheads, a bright male WHITE-THROATED SPARROW [Bruant à gorge blanche], male WOOD DUCK [Canard branchu], MOSQUITO [moustique] larvae, YELLOW-SPOTTED SALAMANDER [Salamandre maculée] egg masses, a WATER STRIDER [Patineur étrange] riding the surface tension of water, and a predacious diving beetle [dytique]. Some very nice observations to share.

Nelson Poirier, <nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>

Nature Moncton