NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June 14, 2021 (Monday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by Susan Richards susan_richards@rogers.com
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**The BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS sure put on a
wonderful show for folks who were able to make it to the Atholville lagoon on
Friday. Andrew Olive got some great photos of the special visitors and shares
them to make it almost like being there for those of us who were a day late. It
is hoped these ducks will be located again somewhere on their welcome NB visit.
They are a very long way from their native area but Andrew’s photos show they
are enjoying their visit with a pleasant rest on their meanderings. If they
show up elsewhere, these beautiful creatures would be hard to miss.
The Atholville lagoon is a special spot to visit with
a great viewing stand and many waterfowl patrons.
**Rheal Vienneau was pleased to have his first MONARCH BUTTERFLY [Monarque] arrive to his Dieppe yard and start ovipositing on his
Common Milkweed immediately. This is the
earliest he has ever seen Monarch Butterflies to his yard by two weeks, and
will be out sleuthing milkweed patches today.
**Another pleasant EASTERN BLUEBIRD [OISEAUX BLEU DE L'EST] report.
Kevin Renton reports one of their nest boxes is so occupied with all the
ins and outs, feeding young is suspected.
A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER [Pic maculé] is using their satellite dish to sound the alarm each
morning, and a mother MALLARD DUCK [Canard
colvert] comes up to their deck to feed on a
regular basis.
**Aldo Dorio photographed a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER [Bécasseau semipalmé] at Hay Island on Sunday. It seems an odd time for a Semipalmated
Sandpiper to be there, but suspect it has a good reason.
** Brian
Coyle went out on his kayak to the Irishtown Nature park to enjoy the nature
there. He was able to get a few good photos and video of a GREAT BLUE HERON
fishing for small eels. Take a look at the stealthy hunter at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eppblo6hbqjy95r/DSCN0051.MOV?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ek2xt7hbw26kboa/DSCN0049.MOV?dl=0
Brian also heard and saw two WILSON’S
SNIPE “winnowing”, which seems late in the season to him, and then one on the
ground. There was also a solitary LONG-TAILED DUCK. He heard a COMMON
LOON call but did not see it.
**Anna Tucker is noting how large the
CANADA GOOSE goslings are becoming at Jones Lake. The RING-NECKED PHEASANTS continue
to join walkers on the Riverfront Trail and keeping an eye on them.
**Brian Stone went for another walk behind Crandall
University on Saturday. Saw 3 ATV’s and
1 dirt bike but managed to not get run over.
The pond in the road is almost gone, dried up to just one rut, and ATV’s
and dirt bikes are running through it regularly so it’s not likely anything
will survive in it long enough to get rescued, when it gets smaller. The bigger pond is shrinking fast as well,
but still deep enough to keep it still-life comfortable. He photographed a large developing tadpole
floating lazily near the surface.
Brian saw and heard the same warblers and ALDER FLYCATCHERS [Moucherolle des aulnes], a light coloured BROAD-WINGED
HAWK [Petite Buse] flew over. Gilles
Belliveau feels fairly certain based on the pattern of markings on the chest
and belly and the thickness of the bands (both light and dark) that this is a
first year Broad-winged Hawk.
Brian photographed a Robber Fly / Bee Fly of some variety. Butterflies are showing more variety as he saw VICEROY BUTTERFLY (Editor’s note: Take a moment to differentiate from the Monarch Butterfly. The Viceroy is smaller, more orange and a black line across the lower wing not present in the Monarch Butterfly), a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Arctic Skippers, Dreamy Duskywings and Silvery Blues. White Spring Moths were vey plentiful, and a spider had caught his lunch on a daisy.
Some dragonflies were flying about and he got a male and female COMMON WHITETAIL DRAGONFLY as well as a BEAVERPOND CLUBTAIL DRAGONFLY. The Pink Lady Slippers were still fresh. He found a small patch of TWIN FLOWER. A tiny gray grasshopper nymph was hard to see against the grey gravel roadway, and a green STINKBUG stood out on the same surface.
As many others are noting, there seems to be many
Canadian Tiger Swallowtails flying at the moment. In our yard, ALTERNATE-LEAVED DOGWOOD seems
to be the most obvious bloomer and the swallowtails seem to be very attracted
to it. Am adding a few photos of this
large shrub with many small blooms to show the arcuate veined (veins curve at
the end as they approach the margin) and dense clusters of small flowers
branch-spray that will be end up with dark blue berries.
**A reminder again of the Nature Moncton virtual
meeting, tomorrow night, Tuesday at 7 p.m. with all details and the link for
anyone to join in is attached below:
NATURE MONCTON JUNE MEETING
June 15, 2021 at 7:00 PM
Virtual Meeting
Presenter: David Bell
“Birding Across Canada – On the Way to 500 Species”
Originally from Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, David has been birding since he was 5 years old, and he has
travelled extensively in North America and the Neotropics in pursuit of
birds. After graduating from the
University of Guelph, he has worked various field jobs across Canada, exploring
the country and learning about its bird life along the way. He is currently living in Kelowna, British
Columbia, where his partner is conducting her PhD work on Cougar movements in
the Okanagan Valley.
In this presentation, David
will talk about his experiences on the way to becoming the youngest person to
see 500 species of birds in Canada, and present some of his spectacular
photography from across the country. He
will also provide some tips on how to achieve this milestone.
This presentation will be
virtual and the link for anyone anywhere to join will be:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87210999410?pwd=UHJ0Y0x1cng3WmphYWk0OFV6MENYZz09
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
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