NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, 17 July 2021
(Saturday)
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Edited
by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript
by: Catherine Clements
Info
Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**As
June closed out, a few days on intense excitement followed when a Stellar’s
Sea Eagle was located in Northern NB. It has been relocated in Quebec, so
chances of a return are not impossible. Let’s go back and enjoy it again with
Andrew Darcy’s report of his adventure to get an audience with this gem by
quoting Andrew’s report with his great photos:
“Two
days before Canada Day, I heard news of an amazing bird that had been found in
the northern part of the province and swiftly left my house at 5 am the next
morning and traveled to the Restigouche River in hopes of seeing the STELLER'S
SEA EAGLE. I could not believe the report when I saw it, never in a million
years did I think we would see this species in Canada, let alone on the east
coast. Naturally, I just had to observe it with my own eyes. After a 3.5 hour
drive up north, I reached my destination and proceeded to launch a kayak I had
rented at Tide Head Beach. I met up with another birder Marco Landry, and we
surveyed Gillis Island to try and spot the eagle. After a couple of hours of
searching and getting excited by every BALD EAGLE (there were lots, apparently,
they show up every year this time and stay until the fall presumably feasting
on fish that are trapped by lower water levels), we finally got confirmation
that the SEA EAGLE was in fact upstream a little way and had been perched in a
dead tree all morning. We paddled quite vigorously upriver to the eagle
location and as we came around a bend there it was perched in a dead tree with
a BALD EAGLE. I could hardly believe my eyes. We watched the bird in awe for a half
hour or so on a sand bar before he abruptly took flight upriver. What a
magnificent sight to see and such a beautiful part of the province. It was most
definitely an adventure I will not soon forget.”
That
report is almost as good as being there!
**The
adult Eastern Newt lives in freshwater ponds however, after the eggs hatch, it
goes to land to remain for 2-3 years as a bright red coloured immature stage
known as the RED EFT. After that land stage, it returns to water as an
adult taking on a quite different appearance. This land stage is very common but
uncommonly seen due to its secretive lifestyle.
David
and Anita Cannon live in a wooded area with an inground pool which attracts a
selection of amphibians. They use weak saline solution water so the visiting
amphibians can be scooped out and sent on their way. They were surprised to see
a Red Eft taking a dip in the pool on Thursday and got a photo (which we get
few of). One would assume this individual must be readying for the aquatic
stage of its life to be taking a dip in the Cannon’s pool.
**Louise
Nichols reports WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS
arrived to their property earlier in the week, and they have been around every
day. They are usually high in the canopy, but Louise managed to get a couple of
photos. She comments it is nice to hear their chattering whenever she’s back in
the woods, and it looks like a good cone crop again, so maybe they’ll stay
around as they did during the winter of 2019-2020.
**Jane
LeBlanc sends a photo of one of only two MONARCH
BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS that she has seen in her MILKWEED patch so far. Something is eating the leaves, but she does
not see any other caterpillars. Jane photographed two Monarch Butterflies
mating, and noted another flying about, so she knows that there were at least
three adults at one time in the yard.
Jane
also sends photos of a CANADA LILY
she purchased in a garden center some years ago that is now in full bloom.
**Gordon
Rattray advises there is now a revised edition out of A Pocket Guide to Butterflies of
the Maritimes by Rick Cavasin. This is a very recommended piece of
material. All details are at the attached link.
https://www.maritimes.butterflyguide.ca/pocket.../maritimes
**Aldo
Dorio got a closeup photo of a BELTED
KINGFISHER on Friday at Hay Island. It nicely shows the huge beak for the
size of this bird, and that white spot in front of the eye.
Aldo
also sends a photograph of a sign just erected at Hay Island that Shellfish
gathering will not be permitted due to potential contamination.
**WILD PARSNIP is a very common roadside
and waste area plant that can form dense stands and out-compete native plants.
It can grow up to 1.5 meters tall. The sap of this plant contains chemicals
that can cause human skin to react to sunlight, resulting in intense burns,
rashes, and blisters. It is an invasive plant from Europe that settlers brought
with them because of the edible root. There would seem to be a lot of effort in
Ontario to remove this plant, but it seems to be quite accepted as is in New
Brunswick, as we sure have a lot of it. It is important for naturalists to be
familiar with Wild Parsnip.
**I
had a visit from a female DOBSONFLY
to my moth light on Thursday night. These are large insects at 10-14 cm in
length. They do have short powerful mandibles capable of a bite to a pesky
human. The male has long sickle-shaped mandibles and is incapable of a bite.
Dobsonfly larvae live under water and are known as hellgrammites and are
sometimes used as fishing bait. The adult is one of our largest
non-lepidopteran insects. One view shows the huge wings when spread.
I also came across a group of the plant PIPSISSEWA a.k.a. PRINCE’S-PINE. The attractive flowers are always drooped over, so
all that is seen is the top view. A photo of the striking flower frontal view
is attached. Some plants had the hard brown seed capsules from last year still
in place. This plant grows approximately 6-8 inches tall and is in groups.
**Dr
Alfredo Justo, Curator of Botany and Mycology at the New Brunswick Museum, has
received funding from the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund to study CHANTERELLES and HYDNUM MUSHROOMS this
season in New Brunswick. He is looking for folks to contribute their findings
to support this study. All information on how to do this is at the link below.
https://alfredojusto.weebly.com/nbchanterelles.html
So
coincidentally, I happened to check email before I went out to gather some
Chanterelles, and there was Alfredo’s note. First contribution should be ready
today. Some photos of the Chanterelle top and under view of the thickened gills
are attached.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson
Poirier,
Nature
Moncton
