Nature Moncton Nature News: July 23 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 23, 2020 (Thursday)

To view the photos mentioned in this edition go to http://nminfoline.blogspot.ca .

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: david.cannon@rogers.com

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

** Louise Nichols is finding the ripening RED-BERRIED ELDER in her Aulac yard very attractive to some birds. Louise got some nice photos of a HERMIT THRUSH [Grive solitaire] enjoying them as well as a COMMON GRACKLE [Quiscale bronzé]. She also saw ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] and SONG SPARROWS [Bruant chanteur] foraging on them to the point they have the bush nearly stripped of fruit. The RED-BERRIED ELDER fruit is not edible for humans but is relished by fruit-connoisseur birds. Their yard pond has many GREEN FROGS [Grenouille verte] at the moment and also many small juvenile ones. A LEOPARD FROG [Grenouille léopard] also posed for a photo.

Louise got a great photo of a solitary SANDPIPER [Bécasseau] that visited their yard pond, and they're seeing lots of dragonfly exuvia on the cattail blades now.

Louise also photographed the plant MONEYWORT aka CREEPING JENNY. This is not a common plant in NB and favours wet areas and is a creeping plant.

** Rhéal Vienneau is now seeing MONARCH BUTTERFLIES [Monarque] every day to his Dieppe yard MILKWEED. They seem to be favouring unopened heads of SWAMP MILKWEED and has only seen females and lots of ovipositing. Monarch butterflies have been visiting Rhéal's yard for several years on a regular basis, and one has to wonder if there is genetic information passed on that leads future generations to yards where they have been successful before, as is the case with birds. Rhéal did get a video we were able to share at the attached link of a Monarch butterfly ovipositing.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/55gi45clfljtr2p/Video%202020-07-13%2C%208%2035%2001%20AM.mov?dl=0

** Yolande LeBlanc advises the Monarch butterflies have reached Memramcook. She watched her first one about the yard milkweed on Wednesday. Yolande comments it is so hot the SWAMP MILKWEED seems to show limp leaves, however, the COMMON MILKWEED does not seem to be bothered.

**Sterling Marsh has found his peanut feeding arrangement very popular with local birds. A photo shows a Downy Woodpecker and a Starling young-of-the-year sharing the bootie. Take note of the immature Starling that can fool folks as to its identity at the moment.

Sterling also has a Downy Woodpecker that has very seriously taken to enjoying the nectar in the hummingbird feeder. Sterling comments he was wondering where all the nectar was going. “Maybe my peanuts are a bit too salty!”

**Wayne Corcoran in Chelmsford sends a photo of a nest in one of his nest boxes wondering if it could be done by a HOUSE WREN. He just saw the bird briefly outside the nest box a few times and it looked like a small brown coloured bird. This is very typical of what a House Wren will do filling a nest box with twigs in hopes of finding a mate in NB, which can be a tall order, and often the effort has to be abandoned if no mate is found.

Wayne also gets more Evening Grosbeaks to his feeder yard in winter than anywhere I am aware of. He now has parents bringing young to his feeder yard. Wayne comments he has lots of Purple Finches and American Goldfinch as well.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton