NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, August 9, 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)
**Nature
Moncton’s Tuesday night outing tomorrow night is repeated at the end of this
message and upfront tomorrow.
**Gordon
Rattray visited the Gray Brook Marsh Pond on Sunday to spot 2 GREAT EGRETS
at the far end of the pond just before the CATTAILS take over. Gordon knows they have been there for at
least a few days.
**Gart Bishop found Beech-drops (Epifagus Virginians) on Sunday in
a ridge in back of Urney near Sussex. It is an easily overlooked species lacking chlorophyll and leaves and is saprophytic on the roots of the Beech tree. Gart’s specimen he photographed is justfinishing flowering. The pale purple flowers are not showy.
**It’s that time of year when we start to find pupal
cocoons of moths and butterflies. Some form underground while others are
pendulant or attached to objects. With our hundreds of moths and near 100
species of butterflies in NB, the number of different styles of cocoon
structures can be difficult to identify each one. Lois Budd and a friend came
upon a pendulant cocoon in a raspberry patch in Havelock recently. BugGuide suggests
this one may be the cocoon of the GYPSY MOTH (Lymantria dispar) which has to
be a possibility as the emerged adults are flying at the moment.
**CEDAR WAXWINGS are enjoying the NB summer
with the abundant berry crop. Maureen Girvan photographed a posing specimen at
the Sackville Waterfowl Park recently.
**Jim
Johnson reports from his Scotch Settlement home that there are at least 6 or
more AMERICAN KESTRELS around his property and still lots of RUBY-THROATED
HUMMINGBIRDS. Two pair of EASTERN
BLUEBIRDS had young and fledged.
All Jim’s TREE SWALLOWS are long fledged. There were at least 40 to 50 BARN SWALLOWS
at his nearby brothers farm last week and Jim comments he is not seeing
many finches at the moment.
**Brian
Stone walked the long road/trail at the Irishtown Nature Park on Saturday in
search of butterflies and dragonflies but had almost no luck with those
items. He did manage to get photos of
other subjects. It was very warm and
humid and the wildlife seemed to be hiding out from the heat of the day but a
few things made themselves available for a photo. Not many birds were visible or heard but
Brian got photos of a BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
WARBLER and an immature YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER. A pair of BALD EAGLES were perched
in treetops overlooking the lake. A
small gang of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES seemed to have young fledglings as
they were begging food from others in the group.
Brian found a couple of LEOPARD FROGS hopping
in the damp grass and hiding well in it.
A lone dragonfly spotted appeared to be a WHITE-FACED MEADOWHAWK. CAROLINA GRASSHOPPERS, the non crackling
kind, were everywhere along the trail and one WHITE-SPOTTED SAWYER BEATLE added
a little variety to the scene. Some
plant additions were GOLDENROD, FRINGED WILLOW-HERB, tall RATTLESNAKE-ROOT
and NEW YORK ASTER. Gart
Bishop confirmed the plant identification.
Brian also
sends a photo of a MOUNTIAN ASH tree in his Moncton back yard loaded
with fruit clusters. He comments, “Last
year he could not see a berry n the same tree”.
An abundance of fruit/nut/cone crops seems to be pleasantly fruiting
this year.
**There are
a notable number of GYPSY MOTHS, day flying at the moment. This is a small to medium sized pale brown
(in flight) moth that flies very erratically and fast during the day. Those
moths are all male as the female is flightless.
They are hard to photograph or catch due to their flight and that they
never seem to land for more than a few seconds.
I am attaching a photo of one I captured and photographed a few years
ago. They look much paler when they are
flying about. Their larval caterpillar
stage is a significant defoliator of many species of trees.
**For the
regular Tuesday night Nature Moncton outing tomorrow, Tuesday August 10th
we are fortunate to have Dan Hicks, Director of Parks and Recreation for the
City of Moncton, lead us to see some of Moncton’s special trees. Dan is very experienced as an arborist and
has Moncton completely mapped as to what trees are where and will have a lot to
offer. A write up of the evening is attached below.
How is Moncton’s
urban forest preparing for climate change? Come check out some Carolinian
tree species in Centennial Park with a stroll along the Colvert Trail around
Centennial Pond. You’ll see Dawn Redwood, Redbud, Tulip tree, Catalpa, Sycamore
Walnut, Sweetgum and Flowering Dogwood to name a few. For those who wish to go
further there are some Katsura trees, Golden Chain Trees and what may be the
largest Mountain Ash in North America scattered around town. Meet at the top of
the hill at the stairway by the canteen at Centennial Park at 6:15 for a prompt
6:30 departure.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
