NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 5, 2021 (Monday)
To respond by email, please address your message to
the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording
or photo labelling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check the
website at www.naturemoncton.com
Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by Susan Richards susan_richards@rogers.com
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**Aldo
Dorio photographed an EYED-BROWN BUTTERFLY at Hay Island on Sunday. Nice to see this one flying. He also photographed one of the several INSECT
GALLS that get on Roses. Insect
galls are a science unto their own. Each
gall maker has a consistent type of gall it creates on its host plant with the
larval stage growing inside and often quite protected. Aldo also sends the photo of the blooms of a
plant that appear to be MEADOW RUE.
I cannot see the leaves to help confidence in the identification.
**The
following is a mini course on a mushroom story, so if not interested in
mushrooms, skip this paragraph now.
**The
cool weather we’ve experience for the past few days caused a flush of a few
dozen BLUSHER MUSHROOMS (AMANETA RUBESCENS) that I have never seen
before at this spot beside our camp. The
cluster has a lot of ID features to take note of. The mushroom is actually classed as an edible,
but we just don’t eat amanita mushrooms due to some of their toxic kin. Note the reddish splotches on the cap. This mushroom bruises red when cut open. All amanita’s have a partial veil like a
falling apron and one photo shows that in one specimen with one beside it where
the partial veil has not yet split from the cap. The bulbous base (often at
underground level) is characteristic of the Amanita genus as are the free gills
which create a separation between the gills and the stalk (see arrow).
The
spore print is white. I use a black piece of black paper attached to a white
piece to easily see the true spore print colour which is a helpful clue in
identifying gilled mushrooms.
An
interesting scenario has happened with this patch as some were parasitized by
another fungus to create a mushroom with a new name AMANITA MOLD (Hypomyces
hyalinus) which favours to parasitize. the Blusher Mushroom. The new appearance
is described as phallic in some literature which will lead to polite Latin
scholars (like Mr. Google) to translate the meaning due to the family nature of this blog.
**The
Tuesday night Nature Moncton outing is on for tomorrow night, Tuesday with all
details attached below. Pleasantly surprising, weather conditions are forecast
to be good!
Nature Moncton Tuesday evening hike, Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
Spot: Tankville School Trail
Guide: Roger Leblanc
Meeting place: Tankville School Community Center parking lot at 1665
Elmwood Drive (Route 115)
Meeting time: 6:30 PM
Difficulty: The walk will be about 4 Km in and out on a level well-groomed trail and
boardwalk which makes for easy walking.
About the outing:
In the words of our guide Roger Leblanc, “this has to be one of the best
birding spots in the Moncton City limits.” This is explained by the fact that
the trail, a less traveled part of Moncton’s Irishtown Park, crosses in a short
distance, several natural habitats which in turn promote the presence of a wide
variety of species. Starting in an
upland mixed forest near the parking lot we will next follow an old train track
bed with a brook and some wetlands on both sides. We will then head to an open
marsh area where the city has built an impressive boardwalk that makes access
much easier than it was before. Then, time and energy permitting, we could
continue into a mature mixed forest. In the forested parts, warblers and other
woodland species abound and in the marshy area, typical residents of this type
of habitat, such as several species of swallows, flycatchers, raptors, blackbirds
etc. should be present. Of course, plants and insects (butterflies and dragonflies etc) will also be abundant.
But do remember that some insects might like you just a little more than you
like them. With the habitat and the recent rain bugs might be a factor, so
bring your spray and dress for it. But remember without bugs, there would be no
birds.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
