NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, JULY 12,
2020 (SUNDAY)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Erroll Mitchell was in for a surprise on Friday when two young
of the year American Bitterns strolled up to his Stilesville yard. Erroll went
out and photographed them with his cell phone. At one point one decided to put
the run to Erroll by spreading its wings and looking very menacing. Errol’s
photos are attached.
There was no sign of the adults. There are ponds in a wooded area just
behind Erroll’s home with paths that lead up to his yard. He assumed the adults
nested around one of the ponds and the youngsters wandered up the paths into
his yard on an exploratory mission.
**Bob Grant in Cape Spear near Tormentine reported earlier a pair of Eastern Bluebirds
arrived to his yard on June 1 and immediately set up housekeeping in the nest
box. The eggs hatched on June 23 and on July 10 he saw the last nestling leave
the nest box. As of Saturday, the parents are tending the fledged young in Bob’s
orchard.
As a value added bonus, Bob watched a male American Redstart vocalizing
from atop a cherry tree in his yard on Saturday.
**Louise Nichols explored the bog on their Aulac property on Saturday to
find Grass Pink a.k.a. Calopogon orchid in full bloom and plentiful. Another
nice find was Bog Copper butterflies on the wing to get an excellent raised
wing photo. While there, Louise noted a quite large diameter scat that is
suggestive of Black Bear which will vary considerably on what the diet of the
day is.
**Leigh Eaton has been hearing Yellow Warblers vocalizing in his Pointe-du-Chene
site for the past few days but a male visited him up close and personal on
Saturday to offer a pleasing photo of it crooning.
Leigh also took a photo of the Purple Finch that would appear to be a
young of the year bird with fluffy feathers projecting from its head to suggest
remnant down, not making attempts to mimic the local Double- crested Cormorants!
**Aldo Dorio photographed Uglynest Caterpillar moth larvae at work
gobbling up the foliage of what appears to be their favourite host, Chokecherry.
An earlier post mentioned literature that calls their activity a cosmetic
problem as the foliage does recover. In saying that, their name is appropriate!
Aldo also got a photo of a dorsal view of the Northern Pearly Eye Butterfly
at Malpec on Saturday. Note the spots on the fore wing vary in size and the
scalloped edge of the hind wing to help distinguish it quickly from the similar
Eyed Brown butterfly.
**We watched a Common Merganser on the Miramichi River
on Saturday with 20+ ducklings in tow. This is much larger than the average
clutch of 6 to 10 with this species. This species nests in tree cavities and
sometimes duck nest boxes. There would be a strong possibility this female was
taken on another birds chicks. It’s a large family to tend!
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
