NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 19, 2021 (Monday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by Fred Richards fredrichards@rogers.com
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** For this
weeks Tuesday night outing tomorrow night, Nature Moncton we will be heading to
Mapleton Park which welcomes visitors with trails that extend from Gorge Road
to Mapleton Road. The trails run along 122 hectares of forested and open
spaces, as well as along the north branch of Hall’s Creek and feature a wetland
and lagoon. Interpretive signage located throughout detail the park’s
ecosystem, including bird species and vegetation.
Andrew Darcy will be the hike
leader for this outing. We will meet at the main parking lot off of Gorge Road
just south of the Trans Canada Highway at 6:15 pm. The trails are fairly flat
but good hiking shoes should be worn. Bugs can be bad in sections so also be prepared for
that. We
will hike along Hall's Creek to the lagoon and then back in a loop which will
be approximately 4 km. We will see some interesting flora and fauna including
songbirds, warblers, and most likely some waterfowl and/or herons at the
lagoon. There should also be a variety of insects including dragonflies,
butterflies, and damselflies. And can be sure the botanists in our group will
find some interesting items as well!
**Jane LeBlanc again got a photo of a well-advanced
Monarch Butterfly caterpillar enjoying her St. Martin’s yard milkweed
patch as well as a HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH that was doing the
same. Jane feels that she has three
resident Monarch butterflies with one ovipositing and two suspected to be
males. Jane also had a WHITE ADMIRAL
BUTTERFLY visiting on Sunday. It
seems that everything likes blooming Milkweed!
Jane also had a RED-EYED VIREO come by her yard to offer its
opinion on things as Red-eyed Vireos do so tirelessly and get photographed.
**Jean-Jacques Rousseau sends some great to see photos of young-of-
the -year NORTHERN CARDINALS coming to his Memramcook feeder site.
They appear well developed so potential possibility they are on their own and
parents are working on a second brood. These youngsters may or may not be the fledged
birds that are patronizing Yolande LeBlanc’s feeder site as well.
So great to hear of young Northern Cardinals being seen.
**Jane Wood came across a colourful feather in her Riverview yard and
wondered if maybe it was from a NORTHERN FLICKER. It looks like Jane was spot
on. Check the link below.
https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/feather.php?Bird=YSFL_tail_adult_ventral
**Andrew Darcy
shares photos exploring Riverview Marsh for the weekly Nature Moncton walk a
few weeks back. He learned lots about the local flora and fauna from the group
leader Gordon Rattray. It was the first time for Andrew hearing and seeing NELSON'S
SPARROW so that was definitely a highlight. The sound they make is so odd
and was very interesting to hear. On a side note, Andrew was very impressed
that the birdnet app actually picked up the call and identified the bird. It
sounds like a popped tire with air being let out of the valve stem, very
distinct but sometimes hard to pick up on. We only heard them for the most part
other then some quick fly-by glimpses. But on the way back, Andrew was
separated from the group, busy chasing a moth and ended up getting some
amazingly clear views and pictures of this typically elusive Sparrow! He also
got two lifer insect species: the beautiful BRONZE COPPER BUTTERFLY and
a CELERY LOOPER MOTH. Gordon showed a wide variety of botanical
specimens and was special to see four species of clover: WHITE, RED, HOP,
and RABBITFOOT CLOVER.
**Connie and Pearl Colpitts have watched a CHIPMUNK for nearly 6
weeks excavate a hole under a steppingstone in their yard. It would go in with seed and come out
pushing rocks as big as their thumbs, sometimes bigger, and turn around and
scratch out the dirt. She knows, because she put the stones there, that there
is nothing but crushed rock and dirt under that step. Three times she has placed a wheelbarrow over
the entrance so it would not drown. The
debris it digs out always includes sunflower seeds witch it oftentimes
eats. There has been no activity for 3 days,
so they cleaned up the excavations which amounts to a large pail full and
another half a small pail. The other
thing that puzzled them is that over the last three days the population has dropped
from 8 to 4. Two out front and 2 out
back, front and back both had 4. Some
were originally litter mates as they would collect seed together but lately
fight and chase is the game. The
Chipmunk hole to its underground chambers is normally exactly 1 1/2 in. in
diameter and goes down almost exactly eight inches then suddenly turns.
** Aldo Dorio got a few photos of a CAPE MAY WARBLER on Hay Island on Sunday morning. It strikes me that we are receiving less photos of Cape May Warblers than came in last year. This maybe simply chance or numbers of this species that flourish in Spruce Budworm outbreaks may be low.
Aldo also got a photo of a buck WHITE-TAILED
DEER with antlers velvet covered and developing. We just do not often see the wary buck deer
out during the day.
**Brian Stone drove along the New
Scotland Rd. on Sunday searching for butterflies to photograph. At one spot
beside a small bog Brian hoped to find BOG COPPER BUTTERFLIES nectaring
on the tall Sweet White Clover lining the roadside as he has done in past
summers. He managed to find only 2 specimens on this outing and figured that he
might be there at the wrong time for that spot. He thought of asking the RED-TAILED
HAWK overseeing the bog for its opinion, but it flew off without comment.
Brian imaged a large CRAB
SPIDER on a Daisy and a couple of NORTHERN AZURE BUTTERFLIES in the
same area, along with a WOOLY BEAR (Isabella Tiger Moth) CATERPILLAR
and a large GRASSHOPPER. At other spots Brian photographed a few ATLANTIS
FRITILLARY BUTTERFLIES, a worn looking NORTHERN CRESCENT BUTTERFLY,
a BARN SWALLOW, and a female COMMON YELLOWTHROAT WARBLER.
** A
few interesting moths were among the patrons at my moth light on Saturday
night. The medium sized HOLOGRAM MOTH
is rather striking and unmistakable.
A
very fresh PRIMROSE MOTH also came by.
This moth will now be seen on Primrose flower blossoms; pollinating the
flower and laying eggs in the flower that the developing larvae will feed on a
few developing pods to end up with mutual dependence on one another.
A CONFUSED
HAPLOA MOTH is one of two Haploa species that are common and easily
recognized as the Haploa genus. They
vary from brown to black in background colour.
We
also had 2 RED FOX dens
near the camp area that are modestly to very comfortable around humans. My
nephew and I went to check out the dens but could see no pups as I suspect that
they are all or almost on their own. A
small mother fox kept popping up around us.
She seemed to want to keep tabs on exactly where we were. I managed to get a photo of her by zooming in
between the branches as she kept monitoring as to where we were at. We often
hear Vixen calls, especially in late evenings.
Also, CANADA LILY was out in full
beautiful bloom. A picture of its leaf
arrangement is attached as well.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
