NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 29, 2021 (Wednesday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** More pleasant feeder yard visitors
for John Inman to his 225 Mary’s Point Rd. yard in Harvey. The immature RED-HEADED WOODPECKER that arrived on
Monday continued to be present. On Tuesday it was joined by no less than 3 BALTIMORE ORIOLES that John noted feeding
on small green caterpillars.
** Anita and David Cannon send some
items of interest from their Ammon Rd. area property. As others, they are
noticing lots of mushrooms seeming of every shape and colour conceivable. A
clump of bright yellow SPINDLE-SHAPED YELLOW CORAL caught the camera’s eye. This mushroom was imaged on a
Canadian stamp issue several years ago.
The Cannons noted a dead mouse being actually lifted by a duo of
CARRION BEETLES and carried off. We have several
carrion/burying beetle species in New Brunswick, some quite colourful. Their
legs have spikes on them to bury dead carcasses surprisingly quickly.
They also noted a seemingly very large bumblebee that cooperated for a photo. This bee appears to be the COMMON EASTERN BUMBLEBEE which is our largest bumblebee species.
The Cannons have watched a very docile hornet
construct and expand a nest all season. First there was just 1 but now there
are approximately 20. The nest is only 7 feet above ground level so they can
watch close up (2 or 3 feet away). They seem to ignore human presence. These
are PAPER WASPS, sometimes called
Umbrella Wasps due to the signature nest style. As the Cannons have noted, this
is not an aggressive wasp species.
** Yvette Richard adds an observation
of the SANDHILL CRANES that she
visited in the Miramichi Bay area on September 27. All are identically
positioned in the photo, which is their characteristic takeoff posture, a point
to take note of when this posture is seen as they are about to take flight and
also a time when one might hear their unmusical vocalizations.
Also on September 27, Yvette visited
the Sackville water retention pond on St. James St. to add even more interest
to this lively area seeing 5 WILSON’S
SNIPES in close proximity to one another.
She also photographed a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER at McManus
Pond on September 27. The Black-throated Green Warbler retains its bright
colours in fall plumage.
** Verica Leblanc was not seeing much
bird life on a morning walk so was pleased to have a beautiful male PILEATED WOODPECKER peek out at her
through some shrubbery. She moved farther away to be rewarded with a great
observation as it braved heading up a nearby pole.
Verica also noted some very large
bumblebees similar to what Anita and David Cannon noted. They do again appear
to be the large, COMMON EASTERN
BUMBLEBEE. Note the loaded pollen sac on the side of the leg that Verica
captured in one photo.
** Louise Nichols got a nice photo of a
COMMON LOOPER MOTH day flying and
visiting garden blooms. The looper moth species have a signature bright stigma
mark that appears almost fluorescent and can be reflective in the dark. Other
looper species have stigmas of various shapes to help identify them. Their
stance when perched is also a looper clue.
It is that time of year we tend to see
the larger female spiders more frequently. Louise got a photo of a BARN SPIDER
(Araneus cavaticus). I find this spider can vary in its markings
somewhat. They get the name from their tendency to construct their sometimes
large orb weaver webs in barns and out buildings as well as under the eaves of
buildings.
** Aldo Dorio got 2 photos of a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER at Hay Island in
non-breeding or juvenile plumage. One has the expected black and white speckled
plumage while the other is showing a sort of warm, brownish tone which may be a
photo aberration but that if accurate may make one want to rule out American
Golden-Plover. Some young of the year Black-bellied Plovers can have a warm
brownish tone when they first arrive. The large bill is one clue to
Black-bellied Plover over American Golden-Plover as well as the fairly short
primary projection beyond the tertials also points to Black-bellied Plover.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
