Nature Moncton Nature News: July 28 2919

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 28, 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)

** Susan Linkletter shares a few photos of the wild berry crop, fruiting or getting ready to at the moment. One is DWARF RASPBERRY [Ronce pubescente]. This plant produces nice berries that are tasty when fully ripe but it can take a lot of searching to gather a cupful! Another photo is of BEES [abeilles] on her COMFREY [consoude]. The comfrey plants are loaded with bees and they are definitely the flower of choice for the moment, judging by the full pollen sacs on the bees’ legs, it’s a hearty find for them.

Susan uses her comfrey as a mulch for other plants growing in her garden. They are deep-rooted and recycle nutrients, and are especially good at restoring phosphorus levels. It also makes a great compost tea. You can also transplant veggies into your garden and throw a few comfrey leaves in for fertilizer. (Editor’s note: Susan operates an organic farm, which will explain why she makes these comments.)

Another photo is of this year’s SERVICEBERRY [amélanchier] crop. Susan says that she actually beat the birds to the serviceberries this year, which is unusual. Two days after she took the photo, the CEDAR WAXWINGS [Jaseur d’Amérique] got them; now they are gone. A great treat for attracting birds with a natural feeder crop.

Her last photo is of COMMON ELDERBERRY [Sureau blanc] in bloom, the next crop to feed her birds; well, hopefully her too, she comments, if she is lucky.

** Aldo Dorio sends a photo of one of our Empidonax flycatchers. Most common of these flycatchers are the ALDER [Moucherolle des aulnes], LEAST [Moucherolle tchébec] and YELLOW-BELLIED [Moucherolle à ventre jaune], with the WILLOW FLYCATCHER [Moucherolle des saules] less common. There are several others not native to New Brunswick. They are readily identified by their different vocalizations, and habitat helps as well, except in migration, but they are very difficult to identify with certainty from a photo.

** Brian Stone visited the Twin Oaks Bog on Saturday. He found WHITE-FRINGED ORCHID [Habénaire à gorge frangée] in the hundreds and in peak bloom. Rose Pagonia and Calopogon orchids were also in abundance but moving out of prime bloom. Bog Copper butterflies were present but seeming to look faded assuming their flight period is on the wane. Alder Flea Beetles were stripping the leaves of Alder along the trail. A Palm Warbler, a bog inhabitant, appeared carrying a beak full of food undoubtedly for young nestlings. Cranberries were forming fruit. This is a very productive bog featuring lots of bog favouring habitat species and in the midst of the city. It is unfortunate this bog is scheduled to be drained for development.

Brian also dropped by the Gorge Road milkweed patch on Friday, to find MONARCH [Monarque] butterflies more active and numerous than the previous day. There were at least 5 individuals. Another Say’s Cicada give a photo op with a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT WARBLER that became very interested in that large cicada as well. The hot days we are having at the moment are very much what the cicadas like to let forth their loud and sometimes long sounds (stridulations).

Nelson Poirier, <nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com>,

Nature Moncton