NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, 14 August 2021 (Saturday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Catherine Clements
Info Line #: 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
**Peter Gadd had a better look at
the PIED-BILLED GREBE family Friday afternoon at Miramichi Marsh. They
were closer to shore where the water is actually deeper and perhaps better for
fishing. After a while it seemed that one of the parents returned to the
nest and eventually the young ones did. He thought perhaps for a nap but looking
at a video clip it seemed that they spent time on the nest preening, perhaps to
make themselves more waterproof as some of the photos seem to show they looked
a little water-logged.
The parents seem to be
supplying fresh plant material to the nest perhaps to maintain its buoyancy.
Looking at an Ebird “Abundance
Map” it seems we are lucky to have them, at least this far north in NB. They
have bred at Miramichi Marsh in past years but not for a few, although some
years one seems to come by in the spring and moves on.
Peter captured some great photos of
the family.
**Georges Brun experienced the ultimate reward of caterpillar rearing.
He had collected a few small milkweed plants from the Dieppe trail just in case
they mowed them down back on July 13th, then transplanted them at home. But
they were out too long, and as much as he tried, he could not get them to hang
on. They did send out stems but eventually they just wilted. The funny thing
is, one morning on July 24th, out came a MONARCH
BUTTERFLY larval caterpillar. Georges went out and gathered some milkweed
leaves and fed it a leaf every day. It went through all the stages, the “J”
stage, then the chrysalis, then on Friday morning, August 13th the adult
Monarch Butterfly made its grand entrance. Georges is leaving it to let its
wings dry off, and today he will set it free. It spent 10 days as a chrysalis.
Photos of the beautiful female are attached.
**It’s so great to hear all the successful EASTERN BLUEBIRD nestings this season. It is either an excellent
season for them, or more people are noticing them. I suspect the former, as the
population is building up. Bev Schneider had two Eastern Bluebird families
fledge in their Douglas yard near Fredericton. Bev got a great photo of two
young of the year birds enjoying the bird bath. It is important for us all to
recognize that first post-natal plumage that is quite different from the adult
plumage.
**Mac
Wilmot photographed what appears to be a group of SCARLET WAXY CAP
mushrooms. The cap and stalk of this
species is a striking scarlet red. They usually appear later in the season, but
they had suitable conditions before the heat wave hit. An underside view when
photographing mushrooms is helpful in identification.
**On
Thursday Brian Stone drove to the Hillsborough area to look for interesting
photo subjects but was deterred by the heavy rain showers and left with only
one shot of a group of COMMON MERGANSERS with a DOUBLE CRESTED
CORMORANT chaperone resting on a concrete platform in Gray Brook Pond.
Determined to do better Brian again ventured out the next day in the heat on lucky Friday the 13th to the area behind Crandall University. Most life seemed to be hiding from the high temperatures and humidity, but he managed to record a few hardy patrons of the area and a few plants that had no choice in the matter. He was happy to get his yearly DOG DAY CICADA pictures at the same site as before and a brown TIGER BEETLE that was running the dirt road in front of him.
These hot days of August are when these cicadas make their
high-pitched drone lasting approximately 15 seconds that start soft, get
louder, then taper off at the end sounding like an electric saw. Only the males
call (stridulate) to attract females. They are harmless to humans.
A
very worn and damaged VICEROY BUTTERFLY was a stark comparison to a fresh-looking
WHITE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY. A ROBBER FLY with prey landed on a
nearby Queen Anne's Lace flower and 2 varieties of bumblebee, the TRI-COLOURED
BUMBLEBEE and the COMMON EASTERN BUMBLEBEE, were busy in the same
spot. A WHITE-FACED MEADOWHAWK DRAGONFLY was holding an upright position
on some small buds.
Some plant and flower life imaged were ALTERNATE-LEAVED DOGWOOD showing its berry clusters, PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE in bloom, and the mushroom FLY AGARIC MUSHROOM. (Editor’s note: this mushroom comes in yellow or red with the universal veil remnants on the cap looking like dandruff are a good identity clue)
Brian comments that the heat was near unbearable, and the 2-hour
walk might have been a bit much for the conditions but just to be sure he will
try it again in Saturday's heat and see how it goes.
**
The live whole SKATE is a fish we do not often get to see that is a
common bottom dweller in out salt waters. One recently took my bait for some
photo ops. They are fished commercially for use of their large wing-like
pectoral fins for haute cuisine. They are in the ray group of fish and are
beautifully adapted to slide along the sea bottom to forage. A few photos are
attached to show the top side with visual area and spiny skin and bottom side
to show mouth and smooth skin to glean the sea floor. They are flat in shape.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
