NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 01, 2021 (Thursday)
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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)
** Yolande Leblanc in Memramcook has a
very special birth announcement. On Thursday night she saw her first fledged NORTHERN
CARDINAL and is hoping to see more in the days to come. What great news!
Yolande also had her first MONARCH
BUTTERFLY visit her milkweed patch on Wednesday.
**Andrew Darcy was determined to see
the STELLER’S SEA-EAGLE on Gillis Island in the Restigouche River on
Wednesday and with utter determination and effort, HE DID! A preliminary photo
is attached with story and better photos to follow when he recovers from the
adventure. What a ‘honker’ of a bill!
** Chris Antle is noting MONARCH
BUTTERFLY caterpillars in her milkweed patch at Maquapit Lake. She was
gathering up the fallen ones off the ground and thought they were dead as when
she put them back on the plant they would fall off again, however they must
have been doing the play dead trick to not attract predators as she found them
very active when she brought them inside and so she placed them back and off
they went. Chris comments that ”they seem to grow by the hour” which is indeed
the case.
** Daryl Doucet has been noting an AMERICAN
CROW around his Moncton neighborhood with white wing patches for a year or
so. They may colony roost over the winter but obviously return to the same
territory in the summer as this scenario would suggest. These individuals with
variable white wing patches are cited in the Sibley guide as “rare but
regular”. Daryl got a photo.
** Michael Chiasson found an adult TRI-COLOURED HERON at Lac Frye on Miscou
Island. Frank Branch was able to get a distant documentary photo commenting
that it was the first for the Acadian Peninsula.
** Brian Stone and I dropped by the
parking lot at Assumption Place on Tuesday night to be treated to quite a show
at the PEREGRINE FALCON nest site as food was being brought in for at
least 2 fledglings that we could make out. The vocalization was intense and the
youngsters were running about the top of the building and around the nest box
but mostly out of it. You can readily tell the immature birds by the vertical
bands on the chest while the adults have transverse bands. Brian got some
excellent photos considering they were 20 stories plus on top of the building.
Brian comments “they were not as good as he was hoping, but maybe good enough”.
Huh!
** There has been a lot of discussion
about the discovery of the BEECH LEAF-MINING WEEVIL on the Nova Scotia
listserv. Beech Trees in some areas of Nova Scotia have major infestations and
in some areas with the weevil just showing first signs of attack. Donna Crossland
has been following it closely to offer several comments. She does not think it
has arrived in New Brunswick as yet but of course we do not know that for
certain. It was introduced to Nova Scotia from Europe. It has just been
reported from P.E.I. last year..
Donna points out that the first year of
an outbreak is innocent and easily missed. It starts with a bit of leaf tip
scorch as per the photo that Donna shares but changes quickly the following
year. She also points out that the Beech will replace the chewed off leaves the
same year but will only do this for 2 to 3 years. Donna feels that it is coming
New Brunswick’s way as she thinks some wood is trucked to New Brunswick. Donna
suggests that the best way to stop it from coming to New Brunswick is by
shutting out Beech wood from crossing the border to buy more time to develop
tools to counter it. One of Donna’s photos shows an actual weevil feeding with
the tell-tale gunshot holes showing.
An additional point Donna just added this morning is "The adult weevils stow away in the forest duff and the cracks and crevices in the bark of ANY tree, not necessarily only Beech. It spends most of its life from this point onward to early next spring stowed away in these places. In fact, there are likely better places to over-winter in the trunk cracks of spruce, hemlock, maple, etc than the smoother bark of beech (healthy beech anyway). So bringing any species of trees from a site that has this weevil will likely transport the bug. If you could convey this to people it would be most helpful. Don't bring back any wood from NS"
As if Beech does not have enough
challenges at the moment!
** I started seeing the odd Turkey
Vulture in the Sunny Corner/Red Bank area of Miramichi approximately 3 or 4
years ago, however the number has increased somewhat over the years. I have had
some come to fish offal monitored by a trail camera though I was very surprised
on Thursday to see 8 TURKEY VULTURES in a dead tree and on a house at
the north end of the Red Bank bridge. The heavy rain made them look like they
were having a bad feather day as was the camera piercing the downpour. They
were obviously gathered there for a foraging opportunity, but I could not see
what it was.
** The New Brunswick Botany Club
is coming back to life with Covid 19 on the run. The first event is coming
right up on July 10th at Chance Harbour and the write up is below.
Theme: Flora of the
Chance Harbour Fen
Date: Saturday July
10th, 2021
Trip Leaders: Gart Bishop (lead) and Elizabeth Mills (co-lead)
Location: Chance Harbour, Saint John County
The Chance Harbour Fen, a well-known botanical hotspot, is one of the best places
to find the tiny Curly Grass Fern (first discovered for the province by Jim
Goltz at this location). It also has a great assortment of ericaceous shrubs,
sedges, and uncommon plants such as Screw Stem, and Oakes Pondweed. It is not a
long walk (just over 550 m), but it does require rubber boots capable of
handling at least 8” (20 cm) of water or contentment with wet feet. There will
likely be biting insects at the time of our visit so come prepared. Please
bring a packed lunch and a packsack to carry it.
There are at least 3 more interesting events planned over the summer. Go to the updated website at: https://nbbotanyclub.wordpress.com/about/
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
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