NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, June
02, 2021 (Wednesday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**The Garganey was back in close proximity
to the same area behind the barber shop on the road into Hay Island on
Wednesday morning where it was originally located. Aldo Dorio photographed it
there early Wednesday morning (today). It surely seems to like what in found on
Hay Island as a home away from home.
** One lone SPRING PEEPER has been singing
in Jane and Eddie Leblanc’s St. Martins yard for weeks, especially at night and
when it is raining. On Tuesday Jane noticed movement in their little pond and
went to investigate. Jane comments … “I guess all that singing paid off”. They
would dive underwater every time she moved so she stayed very still until they
resurfaced. Finally they climbed on to a lily pad and stayed while she took
photos. One photo shows the “X” mark on the back as a great ID clue for the
Spring Peeper. Also note the ‘sucker’ toe pads that allow the Spring Peeper to
cling to the side of objects like bushes, houses, windows, etc. as they tend to
be on land during the summer and fall and are occasionally heard as single
vocalizations that can send one looking for a bird.
** Penny Clark confirms that a pair of BALD
EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche] are building a nest in the same tree as the
old nest but just a bit lower at Camp Wildwood on the Little Bouctouche River.
The community around it is very pleased. It seems odd for a Bald Eagle pair to
be building a nest at this time of year, but it is taking place. They obviously
have next spring in mind.
** Gordon Rattray paid a visit to the
Hillsborough wetlands to note 2 of our native wild cherries in bloom. Note the
cone-like flower cluster of the CHOKE CHERRY and the pincushion-like flower
cluster of the PIN CHERRY. Also RED OSIER DOGWOOD is in bloom that will end up sporting
white berries later in their season.
The
EASTERN TENT CATERPILLAR is in the midst of its season, making its obvious tent
nests. They tend to favour Choke Cherry but not solely and usually do little
serious harm to a tree.
**Yvette Richard made the pilgrimage to
Salsbury’s Highland Park on Tuesday. The bitterns would not give her an
audience but a male YELLOW WARBLER and an adult BALTIMORE ORIOLE did.
** Gilles Belliveau points out that the Beaverpond Baskettail Dragonflies on Monday’s edition were miss-labeled which is corrected. He suspects they are SPINY BASKETTAILS and one is more certain as he could see the black behind the head where the Beaverpond Baskettail would be brown there. Gilles edits the photo to show that feature. Also he can see the cerci (the upper terminal appendages) in one. The cerci in the Beaverpond Baskettail bend down sharply at a 45° angle to rule out that species. The Spiny Baskettail Dragonfly is much more common than the other remaining Baskettail species in New Brunswick to make it more likely to be that species by default.
** We had a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER [Pic maculé] pair come to jam at our camp feeder set up each year and they follow the same pattern every year. The male arrives first and feeds for approximately a week and then the female arrives about a week later with youngsters coming to be fed by their parents when they fledge. This year they seem to be equally attracted to peanut butter after some jam dripped onto the peanut butter below and they got a taste of it. The female shows her white throat area while her mate flashes a bright red throat. She even shows a blush of that usually not to obvious yellow belly.
Pat hailed me to see two strange
critters coming down the river in the distance on Tuesday. A rush for the
camera to zoom in to find 2 well tattooed humanoids on paddleboards!
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
